Khaberni - American military transport planes were spotted arriving and departing from a base in South Korea last week, raising speculation about the transfer of assets to the Middle East amid the escalating conflict with Iran.
According to the flight tracking site "Flightradar24", American transport planes of the "C-5" and "C-17" models landed at "Osan" Air Base in "Pyeongtaek", south of Seoul, since late last month, and departed between Wednesday and Saturday.
At least two "C-5" aircraft arrived at the air base in late February and were seen departing on February 28 and March 2, while "C-17" aircraft departed between March 3 and March 7, with six of these planes confirmed to be heading to "Anchorage" in "Alaska".
The "C-17" planes regularly stop at the main American base to transfer American assets and personnel, but the arrival of "C-5" planes seems to be a rare occurrence.
This latest move has sparked speculation that the American forces stationed in South Korea might be preparing to transport "Patriot" missile defense systems, as they have recently moved some "Patriot" batteries to "Osan" Air Base from other American bases.
Two "Patriot" missile batteries were deployed in the Middle East in June last year when Washington carried out major operations targeting nuclear facilities in Tehran, before returning to South Korea in October.
It was not immediately clear whether the planes were carrying missile systems or their exact destination, but the timing of the flights raised speculation that they could be headed to the United States or the Middle East.
The US forces in South Korea stated that they do not comment on the transfer or movement of their assets for operational security reasons, while the Ministry of Defense in Seoul said it was inappropriate to comment on the operations of US forces in South Korea.
