US moves troops to hotels in Middle East – seemingly in violation of its own rules of war: report

The Pentagon may have violated its own rules of war by moving troops from U.S. bases, targeted by Iran, to hotels and other civilian locations in the Middle East region, the New York Times reported.

Since the start of the conflict, initiated by President Donald Trump’s missile strikes, Iranian forces have been targeting U.S. bases throughout the region. Bases, such as the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, have been damaged and at least a dozen service members have been killed.

As a result, troops have been moved to office spaces and hotels throughout the region where they’ve been working remotely, military personnel told the New York Times last month.

If true, this could mean the Defense Department has violated a U.S. Law of War, which says parties must use their best efforts to distinguish military forces from civilians to mitigate civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects.

The Independent has asked the Pentagon for comment.

Iranian forces have damaged US airbases throughout the Gulf region, which has led some troops to be relocated to other civilian areas, according to a recent report (SOCIAL MEDIA via REUTERS)Iran has launched a retaliatory missile strike campaign against the U.S. since America and Israel began their attack in late February. Iran has targeted U.S. military bases in addition to U.S. embassies and recently warned it would attack U.S. businesses throughout the Gulf region.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had already asked people to report locations where troops are located, which U.S. officials said would not intimidate them from ceasing attacks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a travel advisory this week, warning American citizens that “gathering” areas could be potential targets.

Mitigating civilian casualties is a main pillar of the U.S. rules of war as well as the Geneva Conventions. Forces are not to target civilians unnecessarily and are asked to do what they can to ensure civilians are kept out of harm’s way.

Section II of the U.S. Law of War states that parties in conflict should “physically separate, as feasible, their military objectives from civilian population and other protected persons and objects.”

However, the manual also says it may not always be feasible to do so in cases where forces are “housed in populated areas to take advantage of existing facilities.”

The US has launched thousands of strikes on Iran, hitting military, industrial and civilian site since the attack began in late February (AFP via Getty Images)