CENTCOM: B-52s from Minot Air Force Base sent to Middle East Saturday

© Provided by Minot-Bsmrck-Dcknsn(Wlstn) KFYR-TV The Air Force relocated B-52 Stratofortress bombers stationed at Barksdale Air Force to Minot Air Force Base, as part of a standard precautionary plan, amid the threat of Hurricane Laura.

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (KMOT) - B-52 Stratofortress crews assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base conducted a “short-notice, long-range mission” in the Middle East Saturday, according to U.S. Central Command.

According to CENTCOM, the mission was intended to “deter aggression and reassure U.S. partners and allies.”

The mission comes less than a week after the Pentagon announced reductions of troops to 2,500 in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Bill Urban, a spokesman for CENTCOM, the bombers integrated with at least four other national defense elements.

It’s unclear how many aircraft or crew members from Minot were involved in the mission.

Urban said the last U.S. long-range bomber presence in the Middle East took place earlier this year.

Minot Air Force Base is one of two military installations in the United States that houses the B-52s, the other being Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

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