@DeptofDefense moving a a Stryker squadron, says 2nd Cavalry Regiment in #Vilseck will send a combined arms force equipped w/wheeled armored fighting vehicles
Change will bring total # of US troops in Romania to 1,900
- 1,700 from the 82nd Airborne Division, key enablers -inclu components of an Infantry Brigade Combat Team- from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Poland
- 300 from the 18th Airborne Corps will move from Fort Bragg to Germany
More on the 8,500 US troops on heightened alert in the #UnitedStates
"They are not currently being deployed, but remain ready to move if called to support the @NATO Response Force (NRF), if it is activated, or as needed for other contingencies..." per @DeptofDefense
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Happening now: @POTUS talks about operation that led to the death of #ISIS leader Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, aka Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and as Hajji ‘Abdallah
Says al-Malwa "responsible for the recent brutal attack on a prison in northeast #Syria"
.@POTUS says #ISIS leader al-Malwa "chose to blow himself up...in a final act of cowardice...just like his predecessor did"
.@POTUS says operation was aided by #SDF and US intel
BREAKING: "Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of #ISIS" per @POTUS statement
MORE: "Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place" per @POTUS "All Americans have returned safely from the operation"
BREAKING: Pentagon confirms major US counter-terror op
“US Special Operations forces under the control of US Central Command conducted a counterterrorism mission this evening in northwest #Syria. The mission was successful" per @PentagonPresSec
MORE: "There were no US casualties" per @PentagonPresSec "More information will be provided as it becomes available”
Worth noting: @CENTCOM Cmdr Gen Kenneth McKenzie had been scheduled to speak Thursday morning US ET at @MiddleEastInst BUT the event was canceled late Thursday
NEW: US intelligence experts examining #HavanaSyndrome say the only plausible explanation for a small number of cases is a device or a weapon of some kind
“Pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radiofrequency range, plausibly explains the core characteristics" according to a new report on #HavanaSyndrome, released Wednesday
“Sources exist that could generate the required stimulus, are concealable, & have moderate power requirements" per the US intel report “Using nonstandard … antennas & techniques, the signals could be propagated w/low loss through air for tens to hundreds of meters..."
NEW: Latest @SIGARHQ report finds overall violence in #Afghanistan is down since US forces left BUT...
"significant violence persists, including mass-casualty attacks by the #IslamicState-#Khorasan (#ISIS-K); civilian disturbances from abusive Taliban forces and others"
"A violent organization with a significant bankroll, IS-K often appears as the last & most extreme option for disaffected individuals or groups" per @SIGARHQ
BREAKING: @NATO SecGen welcomes US decision to send more troops to the alliance's Eastern Flank - #Poland#Romania#Germany
"This is a powerful signal of US commitment" per @jensstoltenberg
MORE: "Other Allies are also contributing addt'l forces to @NATO on land, in the air, & at sea" per @jensstoltenberg "We have increased the readiness of the NATO Response Force & we are considering the deployment of addt'l battlegroups to the south-eastern part of the Alliance"
MORE: "Our deployments are defensive & proportional" per @NATO SecGen @jensstoltenberg "...send the clear message that NATO will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend all Allies"