The US ships arrived at Hamad Port south of Doha "to participate in a joint
exercise with the Qatari Emiri Navy," announced the Qatari News Agency (QNA) on
Wednesday.
The news agency noted that the crews of the two ships were received by Qatari
navy officers.
In early June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
broke off relations with Doha and suspended all land, air and sea traffic
with the monarchy. In their apparent bid to secure US support and that of
Israel, the four countries cited Qatar's links with the Palestinian
resistance movement of Hamas and accused it of supporting terrorism. Qatar has
denied the allegations, calling them unfounded.
It is not clear if the deployment was planned before the recent heightened
tensions in the region, or whether it is a sign of support for Qatar from the
US.
The US’ largest military base in the Middle East is located in Qatar with 11,000
troops assigned to the al-Udeid airbase which is the forward headquarters for
the US military’s Central Command for airstrikes in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, The Emirati ambassador to the US called on Washington to consider
the relocation of its airbase in Qatar and to pressure Doha over its alleged
support for terrorism.
SOURCE: PressTV