US Pentagon orders troops to prepare for potential Minnesota deployment

The Pentagon in the United States has ordered some 1,500 active duty soldiers in Alaska to be ready to be deployed to Minnesota, where large protests have been taking place against federal immigration raids, US media reported.

Two unnamed officials told Reuters on Sunday that two infantry battalions from the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska and specialises in operating in arctic conditions, have been given prepare-to-deploy orders to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, where protests against raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are continuing, despite freezing conditions.