December 29, 2002	Sunday	Shawwal 24, 1423

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WASHINGTON, Dec 28: Deployment of approximately 25,000 US troops to the Persian Gulf region has been ordered starting early January, the NBC television reported on Friday.

The report said that the Navy had also been ordered to prepare amphibious assault groups and aircraft carriers for possible action in the Gulf.

Talking to Dawn, US defence experts described the development as a significant move towards a military offensive against Iraq.

The US has been gradually building up its military might in the Gulf region. The NBC report said that most of the 25,000 troops were logisticians, cargo handlers and other support forces.

Their deployment will increase the US military presence to more than 80,000 troops. Defence experts say the Pentagon may send more combat troops and aircraft to the region after the New Year. The Pentagon has already ordered a large number of troops to prepare to deploy, including warships.

The forces awaiting deployment order include two amphibious-ready groups. These are three-ship groups that carry more than 2,000 Marines. At least one of the groups is based in San Diego — the USS Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group. Within the next week or so, in preparation for possible deployment, these amphibious ships are likely to begin to load ammunition and make other preparations necessary for a long deployment.

The hospital ship Comfort, based in Baltimore, was activated on Friday and officials said the vessel was likely to deploy with a small crew of fewer than 100 aboard in early January. Medics and other hospital staff would link up with the ship once on station. The Comfort is likely to take up position off Diego Garcia, the British-run island in the Indian Ocean. The voyage to Diego Garcia could take up to a month.

The Navy has been directed to have four aircraft carrier battle groups ready. They include the USS Constellation, now in the Gulf, and the Harry S. Truman, which is deployed in the Mediterranean.

In addition, additional Air Force aircraft, including B1 bombers, F15E Strike Eagles, A10 Warthogs and F16 Falcons, have been alerted.

dpa adds: The US Navy has ordered two aircraft carrier battle groups to prepare for deployment to the Persian Gulf region as the military buildup for a possible war against Iraq continues, the Cable News Network reported on Friday.

The order covers the USS George Washington carrier group, which returned to its home base in Norfolk, Virginia, only on Dec 20 after a tour in the eastern Mediterranean, CNN said.

The second carrier group would come from the US Seventh Fleet in the Pacific, either the USS Kitty Hawk, based in Japan, or the USS Abraham Lincoln, currently on a port call in Perth, Australia, en route to its home base on the western US coast, the network said.