Iran begins navy drill off Strait of Hormuz as U.S. warily observes
Iran’s navy began an annual drill Feb. 26 near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, its first major exercise since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, state television reported.
The TV report quoted navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the two-day maneuver will cover an area of 2 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles) in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean near the strait. It showed Iranian warships and helicopters taking part in the exercise.
Nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes through the strait and it has been the scene of previous confrontations between the U.S. and Iran.
But the drill does not involve Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force the U.S. Navy often criticizes for harassing its vessels.
The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, declined to comment on the exercise or discuss if it had any plans to monitor the drill.
Iran’s navy routinely holds war games it says are aimed at improving its readiness against threats. It also sends its warships to international waters off the Gulf of Aden to fight piracy. AP
Pentagon seeks to expand fight against extremists in Somalia
U.S. officials say the Pentagon wants to expand the military’s ability to battle al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia.
That would potentially put U.S. forces closer to the fight against a stubborn extremist group that has plotted attacks against America.
The officials say recommendations sent to the White House would allow U.S special operations forces to increase assistance to the Somali National Army in the struggle against al-Shabab militants.
Bolstering the military effort in Somalia fits with President Donald Trump’s broader request for a Pentagon plan to accelerate the U.S.-led battle against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and defeat other extremist groups, including al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The officials aren’t authorized to publicly discuss the confidential review and spoke on condition of anonymity. AP
Website: A Jordanian F-16 jet has crashed in Saudi Arabia
A news portal linked to the Jordanian military says an F-16 fighter jet has crashed in Saudi Arabia, and the pilot has survived.
The Hala Akhbar website quotes an unidentified military official on Friday as saying that the jet was taking part in the Saudi-led coalition’s campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The website didn’t provide details on the site of the crash but said that pilot Adnan Nabas has safely landed with a parachute. He will be heading to Jordan Feb. 24.
The U.S.-backed coalition of mostly Arab Gulf countries, which includes Egypt, Jordan and Sudan, was formed to restore the internationally recognized Yemeni government after Houthis forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country.
The coalition has carried out hundreds of airstrikes targeting Houthi sites across Yemen. AP