Terror threat level at US military’s European bases is ‘highest in 10 years’
Four US military bases in Europe have raised their threat level amid “likely” terrorist action.
Three bases in Germany, including the US European command headquarters in Stuttgart, and one in Italy were put on the second-highest threat level, codenamed “Charlie”, on Sunday.
A US official told CNN they had not seen a threat level this high “in at least 10 years” and that it usually indicated that the military had detected an “active-reliable threat”.
A Charlie-level threat comes into force 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’s website.
The Ramstein air base, a hub for American support for Ukraine, and a further base in Rhineland-Palatinate also raised threat levels. The two bases together form the largest overseas US military community.
Stuttgart is set to host the quarter-final match between Germany and Spain at Euro 2024 on Friday. German authorities brought in an additional 580 international police officers to support the 22,000 German officers on duty daily, amid warnings that Germany could face Moscow-style terrorist attacks during the football championship.
Nancy Faeser, Germany’s interior minister, said ahead of the tournament: “We are preparing ourselves for all conceivable dangers: from Islamist terror to violent criminals and hooligans.”
She warned in mid-June that Germany is “in the crosshairs of jihadist organisations, in particular Isis and Isis-K”.
Isis-K is the Afghanistan-based wing of the Islamic State terrorist group. It claimed responsibility for the massacre at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March and is suspected of planning terrorist attacks in Cologne over Christmas.
The head of domestic intelligence also warned that the group could send operatives to Europe disguised as Ukrainian refugees.
France also raised its threat level warning this month ahead of a possible attack on the Paris Olympics.
The United States European Command refused to comment on specific threats for security reasons, but in a statement on Sunday it said it was “constantly assessing a variety of factors that play into the safety of the US military community abroad. As part of that effort, we often take additional steps to ensure the safety of our service members”.
About 52 Fighter Wing airmen at the Spangdahlem air base, also in western Germany, were prohibited from wearing their uniforms off base and told to commute in civilian clothing, the Stars and Stripes military news site reported.
