MILITARY VIDEO GAMES MLB Cafe aims to offer Breakpoint flawed Cole, Astros beat Afghan experience but there’s still Rays, advance to to Bagram troops fun to be had ALCS to face Yanks Page 3 Page 18 Back page Officials: Iranian oil tanker near Saudi Arabia coast hit by missiles » Page 2 Volume 78, No. 127A ©SS 2019 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2019 stripes.com Free to Deployed Areas US to send 2K troops to Middle East to deter Iran BY COREY DICKSTEIN of fighter jets and air defense capabilities sible for the recent attacks on Saudi Ara- to the Iranian regime, which has repeated- Stars and Stripes and follows the deployment of other troops bian oil facilities,” the defense chief told ly denied involvement in the attacks on oil last month to bolster Saudi defenses after reporters Friday at the Pentagon. “Our facilities and tankers in the region. WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will September attacks that devastated two international partners agree, including the “Do not strike another sovereign state, send about 2,000 troops to Saudi Arabia key Saudi oil facilities. Defense Secretary United Kingdom, France and Germany, do not threaten American interests, Amer- as part of its efforts to deter Iranian ag- Mark Esper on Friday called out Iran who have said so publicly.” ican forces, or we will respond,” Esper gression in the wake of several attacks at- said, directed at Iran. “Do not mistake our tributed to the regime or its proxy forces for those Sept. 14 drone and cruise mis- Esper urged those and other “like-mind- restraint for weakness. If you [do], you will in recent months, the Defense Department sile strikes, claiming evidence at the site ed” nations to provide additional defensive announced Friday. proves Tehran was to blame. capabilities to the Middle East to deter Ira- regret that.” The new deployment largely consists “It is clear that the Iranians are respon- nian aggression. He issued a stern warning SEE TROOPS ON PAGE 2 SYRIA Turkish forces advance, with deaths rising BY MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press AKCAKALE, Turkey — Turkish forces pushed deeper into northeastern Syria on Fri- day, the third day of Ankara’s of- fensive against U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters, as casualties mounted, international criticism of the campaign intensified and thousands of civilians fled the violence. Turkey said it captured more K u r d i s h - h e ld v i l l a g e s i n t h e b o r d e r region, while a camp for displaced residents about 7 miles from the frontier was evacuated after artillery shells landed nearby amid intense clashes. Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian crisis, with nearly a half-million people at risk near the border. U.S. President Donald Trump cleared the way for Turkey’s air and ground assault after he pulled American troops from their posi- tions near the border, drawing swift bipartisan criticism that he was endangering regional stabil- ity and abandoning Syrian Kurd- ish forces that brought down Firefighters battle Islamic State in Syria. the Saddleridge fire, Trump has warned Turkey to Wildfire rages in LA which broke out act with moderation and safe- late Thursday amid guard civilians, and the Pentagon strong Santa Ana said the operation is a threat to Fast-moving flames burn homes, prompting evacuations winds, in Sylmar, progress in combating ISIS mili- Calif., on Friday. tants and a potential threat to U.S. troops in Syria. Page 6 DAVID SWANSON/AP SEE SYRIA ON PAGE 4 PAGE 2 •STARS AND STRIPES• Saturday, October 12, 2019 MIDEAST Iran: Missiles Troops: Jets, missiles deploying FROM FRONT PAGE and Air Force units to quickly The new troops will include provide increased capability in two fighter squadrons, an air ex- the region if necessary,” he said. peditionary wing to control fight- “... We have a full timeline of ad- hit tanker off ditional forces that can flow into er operations, two Army Patriot missile batteries and one Army theater. We are taking this one Terminal High Altitude Area step at a time.” Defense, or THAAD, system, the Currently, the United States Saudi Arabia Pentagon said. It did not immedi- has 60,000 to 80,000 troops sta- ately identify which units would tioned around the U.S. Central deploy or when they would be Command area of responsibil- BY NASSER KARIMI AND JON GAMBRELL sent to Saudi Arabia. ity, which includes the Middle Associated Press The Patriot batteries join one East and southwest Asia. That /AP SHANA that was sent last month to Saudi includes about 14,000 troops in TEHRAN, Iran — Two missiles struck an Iranian Iranian oil tanker the Sabiti travels through the Arabia in response to the oil fa- Afghanistan, 5,200 in Iraq and tanker traveling through the Red Sea off the coast of Red Sea on Friday . cility attacks. Patriot batteries 1,000 in Syria, according to de- Saudi Arabia on Friday, Iranian officials said, the typically operate six launchers fense officials. latest incident in the region amid months of height- visible smoke. that shoot defensive surface-to- The new deployment also ened tensions between Tehran and the U.S. The ministry’s SHANA news agency said no ship air missiles designed to protect comes as the USS Abraham Lin- There was no word from Saudi Arabia on the re- nor any authority in the area responded to its dis- against short-range ballistic coln aircraft carrier and the other ported attack and Saudi officials did not immedi- tress messages. missiles, cruise missiles and air- ships in its strike group near the ately respond to requests for comment. Oil prices The Sabiti last turned on its tracking devices in craft. The THAAD system, also a end of their planned deployment. spiked by 2% on the news. August near the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. surface-to-air defensive system, The Lincoln, which has remained “This latest incident, if confirmed to be an act of Iranian tankers routinely turn off their trackers as protects against short-, medium-, in the Middle East since it was aggression, is highly likely to be part of the wider U.S. sanctions target the sale of Iran’s crude oil. and intermediate-range ballistic rushed into the region after Ira- narrative of deteriorating relations between Saudi “The oil tanker … sustained damages to the body missiles, destroying them as they nian provocations in May, de- and the U.S. and Iran,” private maritime security when it was hit by missiles 60 miles from the Saudi near their target. parted Norfolk in April, but it is firm Dryad Maritime warned. port city of Jiddah,” IRNA said. The agency did not Esper had said previously he scheduled in the coming weeks to “It is likely that the region … will face another say whom Iranian officials suspect of launching the had placed those air defense head to its new homeport in San period of increasing maritime threats, as the Ira- missiles. units on prepare-to-deploy orders Diego. nian and Saudi geopolitical stand-off continues,” it in the event they were deemed Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi de- Defense officials said Friday added. necessary. He said Friday he had scribed the incident as an “attack” carried out by the aircraft carrier’s deployment Iranian state television said the explosion dam- spoken earlier with Saudi Crown those committing “dangerous adventurism.” In a had not yet been extended, but aged two storerooms aboard the oil tanker and Prince Muhammad bin Salman, statement, Mousavi said the Sabiti was struck twice they did not rule out that possibil- caused an oil leak into the Red Sea near the Saudi who had requested additional in the span of a half hour and an investigation was ity. Esper would have to sign off port city of Jiddah. The leak was later stopped, underway. military support. on such an extension. He declined IRNA reported. Lt. Pete Pagano, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s The United States has also to comment when asked about the The state-run IRNA news agency, quoting 5th Fleet overseeing the Mideast, said authorities pledged to bolster military sup- ship Friday. Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Co., identified there were “aware of reports of this incident,” but port to the United Arab Emirates the stricken vessel as the Sabiti. It turned on its declined to comment further. mostly with equipment, but it has The U.S. Naval Institute’s news tracking devices late Friday morning in the Red Benchmark Brent crude oil rose over 2% in trad- not announced plans to deploy wing reported this week that the Sea, putting its location some 80 miles south- ing Friday to reach some $60.40 a barrel. new troops there. U.S. Navy has no other aircraft west of Jiddah, according to data from Marine- The reported attack comes after the U.S. has al- In all, Esper said he has ap- carrier available to backfill the Traffic.com. leged that in past months Iran attacked oil tankers proved an increase of about 3,000 Lincoln in the Middle East if its The ship is carrying some 1 million barrels of near the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Per- U.S. troops in the Middle East in seven-month deployment is not crude oil, according to an analysis from data firm sian Gulf, something denied by Tehran. recent weeks, primarily to Saudi extended. A Pentagon spokesman Refinitiv. Friday’s incident could push tensions between Arabia, aimed at deterring Iran. on Friday declined to comment Images released by Iran’s Petroleum Ministry Iran and the U.S.