ISTANBUL

Several American military transport aircraft have been spotted landing and departing from a US air base in South Korea over the past week, triggering speculation that US Forces Korea may be deploying some of its assets such as Patriot missile defense to the Middle East amid the heated conflict in the region, local media reported on Sunday.

According to real-time flight tracking website Flightradar24, C-5 and C-17 US transport aircraft landed at Osan Air Base south of Seoul late last month and departed between Wednesday and Saturday, Yonhap News reported.

At least two C-5 aircraft arrived at the air base in late February and were spotted departing on Saturday, Feb. 28 and the following Monday, while C-17 aircraft departed between Tuesday and Saturday, March 7, with six confirmed to be heading to Anchorage in the US state of Alaska.

The latest development has fueled speculation that US Forces Korea may be preparing to move Patriot missile defense systems, as it is known to have recently relocated some Patriot batteries to Osan Air Base from other American bases.

Last June, at least two Patriot batteries were deployed to the Middle East when the US carried out strikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities, before they were returned to South Korea in October.

US Forces Korea and Seoul's defense ministry refused to comment on the move, saying it is not appropriate to comment on troop operations.