Iran-US war latest: Assault ship carrying thousands of American marines arrives in Middle East

At least two Iraqi police personnel were killed ⁠and two wounded in an airstrike that targeted ⁠a ​Popular Mobilisation ⁠Forces headquarters in Mosul, which ⁠was located ​adjacent ⁠to a ‌police facility, security sources told Reuters on ‌Saturday.

The PMF, ‌known in Arabic as Hashd ⁠al-Shaabi, is an umbrella group of mostly Shi’ite paramilitary factions that was formally integrated into ‌Iraq’s state security ​forces and ‌includes several ⁠groups aligned with ⁠Iran.

Hundreds of people have turned out to protest against a memorial service in north London for Iran’s former supreme leader.

Protesters clashed with those demonstrating in support of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-backed Israeli air strike in February.

There was a heavy police presence at the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale on Saturday afternoon.

The Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police could be seen working to calm outbursts, asking disruptive protesters to move on and marshal traffic.

Two police officers were seen monitoring the protest with a video camera from the balcony of a residential property opposite the centre.

Kuwait International Airport was targeted by multiple drone attacks on Saturday that caused significant damage to its radar system but resulted in no casualties, state news agency KUNA reported, citing the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

The authority’s spokesperson later said the attacks were carried out by Iran, its proxies and the armed factions it supports.

Nine paramedics have been killed and seven others wounded in five separate attacks on health care in southern Lebanon, according to the World Health Organisation.

The incidents struck medical teams in five separate villages, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who confirmed the news in a social media post.

He added that the repeated strikes have severely disrupted health services in southern Lebanon. Four hospitals and 51 primary healthcare centres are now closed, with several other facilities operating at reduced capacity, he said.

Thousands of U.S. servicemembers have deployed to the Middle East as the war with Iran enters its second month, underscoring the scale of the American military buildup in the region.

On Friday, roughly 3,500 Marines and sailors aboard the USS Tripoli — an amphibious assault ship — entered the U.S. Central Command’s “area of responsibility,” the military command announced on Saturday. CENTCOM oversees U.S. operations in the Middle East.

The vessel also carries transport aircraft, tactical assets as well as strike fighter jets. Photos posted by CENTCOM show soldiers wearing helmets, goggles and combat fatigues.

Since the war broke out in late February, the U.S. has built up a massive military presence near Iran, deploying thousands of Marines and warships to supplement the roughly 50,000 U.S. troops already stationed in the region. Last week, reports also indicated the Pentagon plans to dispatch at least 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division.

Brendan Rascius reports from New York:

The US Central Command wrote in its announcement that the USS Tripoli warship had arrived in an “area of responsibility” but did not disclose a specific location.

However, the so-called area spans four million square miles across north-east Africa, the Middle East and central and southern Asia, according to the US military.

The warship was previously located in Japan.

Thousands of US marines and sailors have arrived in the Middle East aboard the USS Tripoli, according to US Central Command.

The arrival comes amid reports that President Donald Trump would be sending thousands of military personnel to the region in an attempt to defeat Iran alongside a potential ground invasion.

“The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group/31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about 3,500 Sailors and Marines in addition to transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets,” wrote US Central Command on Saturday.

Iran has said that an area close to the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab county has been hit in a new US-Israeli attack.

On Friday, an emergency meeting was held at the United Nations Human Rights Council, as calls were made for a US investigation into the original attack on 28 February that killed 175 school children and teachers according to Iranian authorities.

Ahmad Nafisi, the political, security and social deputy governor of the southern Hormozgan province, said the attack caused “damage to the storage facilities” at the Martyr Absalan Clinic.

He is reported to have said that the US and Israel used “several drones” in the attack on the medical complex, according to the Fars news agency.

“Fortunately, this attack did not lead to any casualties,” he said, adding that an investigation remains underway.