TEHRAN (FNA)- Head of Iraq’s Badr Organization disclosed that the US Army has sent fresh troops and state-of-the-art military equipment to K1 military base in Kirkuk province.

“New US military convoys comprising advanced military vehicles and equipment together with fresh troops have arrived in K1 military base in Kirkuk province in Northern Iraq,” the Arabic-language al-Maloumeh news website quoted Mohammad Mehdi al-Bayati as saying.

Al-Bayati pointed to the US Army’s increased patrol near Kirkuk, including al-Havija, al-Riyaz and al-Rashad, and asked the Baghdad government to show reaction to the US Army’s presence and ask for the cause of its deployment in Kirkuk province.

He said that the number of the US troops stationed in K1 Military Base stands at 5,000 which is exactly the same figure as that of Ain al-Assad base in al-Anbar province.

This comes as Badr Organization had previously announced that the US has expanded its military presence to areas as far as Karbala province.

In a relevant development in late January, Iraqi sources revealed that the US forces deployed in al-Anbar in Western Iraq have conducted reconnaissance operations over the energy zone in the province.

The Arabic-language al-Ma’aloumeh news website quoted a source at al-Anbar provincial council as saying that the US forces, supported by combat helicopters, carried out reconnaissance operations in Okaz oil and gas field in Western al-Anbar without coordination and agreement with Iraqi security forces.

Earlier, Hameed Al-Hayes, the head of the al-Anbar Salvation Council, had warned that the Americans had established military bases near Okaz in the town of al-Qa’em in Western al-Anbar to take control over the gas field.

Iraqi sources reported earlier this month that the US army was searching for new locations to establish military bases in the two towns of al-Ramadi and Fallujah in al-Anbar province.

The Arabic-language al-Maloumeh news website quoted an Iraqi security source as saying that a number of US military advisors along with army forces traveled to the ‘Military Farm’ region in Eastern Fallujah to find a location for their new base.

He added that the US forces have located a number of positions in different parts of al-Ramadi, and said that they want to set up new bases in the province.

The source underlined that the reason for the US decision to establish new bases in al-Anbar and redeployment of forces in the province is not clear.