The US military has ordered security at bases nationwide to the highest level in nearly four years, Pentagon spokesman US Army Colonel Steve Warren said on Friday.
He characterized the threat level as low to low-middle.
The heightened security level covered recruiting stations, National Guard posts and camps in the continental US, Alaska and US territory in the Caribbean.
The general climate, including last weekend’s killing of two men who opened fire outside a Texas exhibit of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, spurred the upgraded security stance, Warren said.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the government received specific information that the two men might inspire others to attempt an attack.
Social media posts indicate that the Garland, Texas, suspects had contact shortly before the attack with at least two militants, including a British man officials linked to Syria-based Islamic State rebels.
Investigators believe the Garland attackers principally radicalized themselves through Internet contacts, and were not directly ordered or encouraged to carry out the attack by Islamic State leaders.
Warren said the heightened security level would require more bag checks at US military bases and posts, possibly leading to longer queues and traffic backups in some places.
The decision to increase security at US bases was made by Admiral Bill Gortney, commander of the US Northern Command, responsible for troops in North America, Warren said. The decision did not affect bases outside his region.
Warren said the last time security was raised to an elevated level at bases across the US was on Sept. 11, 2011, the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers.
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