U.S. military bases in Europe are not taking additional security precautions in response to a mass shooting in Paris, a spokesman for U.S. European Command told Military Times on Wednesday.
France is on a heightened state of alert after three masked men armed with automatic rifles killed 12 people and wounded 11 others in an attack Wednesday on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hedbo, according to French authorities. Video footage of the attack that has been posted on the Internet appears to show at least two gunmen with military-style equipment, including Kalashnikov rifles, the Washington Post reported.
European Command has already taken a number of steps meant to protect troops and their families, said EUCOM spokesman Navy Capt. Greg Hicks. In November, EUCOM told troops not to wear their uniforms off base unless commuting to or from work.
"In addition, all personnel should review individual social media account security and geo-location functions/settings to ensure their profiles are not overly revealing," the directive states, according to a Nov. 10 EUCOM directive.
At the time, officials would not say what prompted these steps, but the Army Threat Integration Center warned in an assessment Sept. 25 that the Islamic State group has called on its followers to to track down service members in the U.S. and attack them.
On Wednesday, Hicks said the security measures were not related to the Islamic State, but he did not specify what threat the security precautions are meant to guard against.
