The United States has sent an anti-missile defense team to Israel amid heightened concerns of a Middle East war, reported the Middle East News Line (MENL).
Pentagon officials said the brigade will participate in an exercise in Israel scheduled for February 8th, adding that the exercise will last 15 days.
According to the news service, the exercise, called "Juniper Cobra," will include about 400 members of the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based near Frankfurt, Germany.
"It is a training event to sustain interoperability between the US Army and the Israeli defense forces," army spokesman, Maj. Tom Collins was quoted as saying.
Pentagon sources said the heightened tension in the Middle East prompted a decision to place US forces on alert in Germany and Italy.
They said Washington has been concerned about a possible Iraqi attack on Israel amid reports that several Iraqi divisions have moved close to the Syrian border, MENL said.
Iraq denied last week US press reports saying that it was manufacturing destructive weapons.
Iraqi official termed the reports as a "lie" by the new US administration -- Albawaba.com
