Soldiers of the 5 th Air Defense Artillery Regiment demonstrate reloading a Patriot missile battery at Camp Buerhing , Kuwait in April 2017 . ( US Army Photo / Sean McCollum )
29 SEP 2018
Arab News , Jeddah , Saudi Arabia
LONDON - - Kuwait said the U . S . military ' s decision to withdraw Patriot missile systems from the country was a " routine procedure . "
The Pentagon is removing four Patriot missile systems from Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain .
A U . S. defense official told Reuters on Wednesday that Washington was making the decision as part of a shift in focus away from the fight against extremist militants, in order to address tensions with China and Russia .
Kuwait army ' s General Chief of staff Lt . Gen . Mohammad Al - Khuder said the decision was an interior routine procedure and in coordination with the Kuwaiti army .
" Kuwait' s Patriot missile system , independently, protects and covers all its geographical borders ," he said in a statement .
Patriots are designed to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles and other airborne threats .
The redeployment of the missiles comes at a time of increased tension between the U . S. and Iran , which President Donald Trump and his national security adviser John Bolton this week assailed at the United Nations.
When approached by Pentagon reporters , Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declined to comment on the matter , AFP reported .
Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Rebecca Rebarich said that , due to operational security , " we' re not going to discuss the movement of specific capabilities into and out of the U . S. Central Command area of responsibility . "
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