a day ago
Israel gets help shooting down Iranian missiles from U.S. air defense systems, destroyer
WASHINGTON — American air defense systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and top military leaders, U.S. officials said.
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The U.S. has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the Middle East capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel's initial attack.
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A Navy destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean Sea also shot down Iranian missiles heading toward Israel, one official said.
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Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists — a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.
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Iran retaliated late Friday by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below.
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In a second round of attacks, sirens and explosions, possibly from Israeli interceptors, could be heard booming in the sky over Jerusalem early Saturday. The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by the earlier wave of missiles, to head to shelter.
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Israel's paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an Associated Press journalist saw burned out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away.
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The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes.
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The Navy directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House, U.S. officials said.
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American fighter jets also are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said.
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The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran.
