WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd December, 2020) � The Department of Defense has stationed an nuclear-power aircraft carrier off the Horn of Africa as US Africa Command (AFRICOM) transfers 700 troops from Somalia to other parts of the continent, the US Naval Institute said in a report on Monday.
The nuclear carrier Nimitz, its escorts and the Amphibious Assault Ship Makin Island with the 15th Marine Expedition Amphibious Ready Group are on station and began operating in the region on Monday, the report said.
The group includes 2,500 Marines and a squadron of Marine F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters. The ships comprising the force left the South China Sea and sailed through the Strait of Malacca on December 12 entering the Indian Ocean, USNI news noted in a previous report last week.
Navy representatives from the US 5th and 6th Fleets said the ships were operating in the middle East but did not provide additional information, the report said.
The Defense Department announced the departure of the troops earlier this month on order from the Trump administration, the report added.
