Important Takeaways:
- The US military has raised the alert level of several of its bases across Europe to the second-highest level in a move that hasn’t been seen ‘in at least ten years.’
- The US Army Garrison in Stuttgart, Germany, America’s military headquarters in Europe, bases in Rheinland-Pfalz and Ramstein, and Aviano Air Base in Italy were all put on alert level ‘Charlie’ over the weekend, several publications reported.
- The ‘Charlie’ threat level only ‘applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely,’ according to the US Army.
- It is not currently known why the four bases, which together make up the largest overseas US military community, raised their threat levels.
- But a US official told CNN that they haven’t seen a threat level this high ‘in at least 10 years’, adding that this usually means the military is aware of an ‘active-reliable threat.’
- In addition to the formally raised alert level, Spangdahlem Air Base in West Germany told airmen from its 52nd Fighter unit that they were prohibited from wearing their uniforms off-base, and must commute in civilian clothing, military publication Stars and Stripes reported.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Iranian proxies have continued to attack US troops despite Syria strike
- U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria were attacked multiple times by Iranian-backed proxies in the 24-hour period after U.S. forces conducted airstrikes against an Iranian-linked facility in Syria.
- Three U.S. troops were injured in the four attacks, one against U.S. troops in Iraq and three in Syria, that occurred following the U.S. strike on Wednesday, deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters. Two of them suffered traumatic brain injuries, and one suffered a noncritical non-TBI injury, though all three have since returned to duty.
- Two U.S. F-15s conducted airstrikes against what the Department of Defense described as a weapons storage facility used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in eastern Syria on Wednesday.
- This was the second such instance of U.S. forces carrying out strikes on IRGC-affiliated forces, though neither has convinced the proxies to cease their attacks against U.S. troops, as evidenced by the latest attacks. U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria that are there to counter ISIS have been attacked 46 times by Iranian proxies in the region since Oct. 17.
- In total, 56 people have been injured in the attacks since mid-October, though all of them have returned to duty
Read the original article by clicking here.
Zechariah 12:3 “ And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
Important Takeaways:
- ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi dies in US military raid in Syria
- Al-Qurayshi detonated a bomb that killed himself and several other people, including his wife and children, as U.S. special operations forces approached with the intention of capturing him, Biden said.
- U.S. forces landed in helicopters and assaulted a house in a rebel-held corner of northwest Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said.
- The commandos were aided by helicopter gunships, armed Reaper drones and attack jets.
- Biden described al-Qurayshi’s decision to set off the bomb as U.S. forces approached as “a final act of desperate cowardice, with no regard to the lives of his own family or others.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
North Korea has announced they will be launching satellites to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s ruling party.
“Space development for peaceful purposes is a sovereign state’s legitimate right … and the people of (North Korea) are fully determined to exercise this right no matter what others may say about it,” the director told Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) released a statement saying that “the world will clearly see a series of satellites soaring into the sky at times and locations determined” by the ruling Workers’ Party.
“The NADA is pushing forward at a final phase the development of a new earth observation satellite,” KCNA quoted NADA’s director.
“Successful progress made in reconstructing and expanding satellite launching grounds for higher-level satellite lift-off has laid a firm foundation for dynamically pushing ahead with the nation’s development of space science,” the director added.
The launches will be carried out with missiles that are causing concern around the world.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries both report the satellite launches are being used as methods to test long-range missiles that could deliver a nuclear payload to South Korea or surrounding nations.
Federal investigators are looking to a list published by ISIS that calls for jihadists in America to kill 100 U.S. soldiers.
The “kill list” was posted by the “hacking division” of the terrorist group. The list gave the names, addresses and photographs of the soldiers with instructions for “brothers in America” to “deal with them.”
The terrorists say the 100 troops listed were part of efforts to defeat the terrorists in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
“With the huge amount of data we have from various different servers and databases, we have decided to leak 100 addresses so that our brothers in America can deal with you,” the threatening message accompanying the list read. “And now we have made it easy for you by giving you addresses. All you need to do is take the final step, so what are you waiting for?”
U.S. officials say many of the soldiers on the list had never taken any actions against ISIS.
However, the situation is causing concern among military families who have been contacted by NCIS and other federal law enforcement agencies about being on the “list.” Parents are concerned that moving onto a base would be a victory for the terrorists in making them move out of fear.
Investigators say the names and addresses are of soldiers who are on social media or who have spoken to the press and that the information was not obtained through hacking.
