The United States has dispatched 3,000 soldiers to the Middle East as tension between America and Iran rises over the killing of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military general.

Defense officials speaking on condition of anonymity announced the decision, adding that the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The 3,000 military personnel are in addition to about 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after the attack on US Embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq, according to Daily Mail UK.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for withdrawing from Syria and Afghanistan, but over the past year he has greatly increased U.S. troop in the Middle East.

“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, I have authorised the deployment of an infantry battalion from the Immediate Response Force of the 82nd Airborne Division to the U.S. Central Command area of operations in response to recent events in Iraq,” Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper, said in a statement.

Credit: Sahara Reporters