The U.S. military is taking new steps to protect its troops in the Middle East as concerns mount about attacks by Iran-backed groups, and it is leaving open the possibility of evacuations of military families if needed, officials tell Reuters.

The measures include increasing U.S. military patrols, restricting access to base facilities and hiking intelligence collection, including through drone and other surveillance operations, officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. military is also beefing up monitoring from guard towers on U.S. military facilities, hiking security at base access points and increasing operations to counter potential incoming drones, rockets and missiles, the officials say.

The new package of force protection measures have not been previously reported.

“With the increase in the number of attacks and attempted attacks on U.S. military locations, continuous review of our force protection measures is critical,” U.S. Army General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement to Reuters.

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