40 years after Beirut’s deadly Marines bombing, US troops again deploying east of the Mediterranean

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Forty years after the bombing that killed 241 U.S. troops in Beirut, the United States is again sending troops to the eastern Mediterranean as tension between Israel and Iran increases over the Israel-Hamas war. Bases housing U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq are coming under attack with suicide drones and rockets, while the Iran-backed Hezbollah is exchanging fire with Israeli troops on a daily basis. The Iran-led axis of resistance is warning that if the U.S. joins the war the fighting will turn into a regional conflict, warning that U.S. bases will become legitimate targets.