The ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East does not seem to be ebbing as Bahrain has ordered Qatari troops to leave its territory, a source said.
The Qatari soldiers, part of the US Naval Forces Central Command (Navcent) which is headquartered in Bahrain, had been asked to leave the coalition and may depart soon, the source said. These troops form part of a coalition fighting ISIS.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added, “The Bahrainis told the US general in command of the base that Qatari soldiers must leave. They are still on the base but likely to leave within the next two days.”
The development has taken place as the Middle East region faces the biggest diplomatic crisis in the recent past as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain have suspended ties over Qatar's funding of extremists.
Qatar has deployed troops with Navcent since 2014. Navcent is part of the US Central Command whose area of operation includes the Middle East and Asia.
As part of their operations, numerous air strikes against IS targets in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have been conducted from Qatar's Al Udeid, the largest US base in the region.