ISIS Threat To US Military: Bases Increase Security Over Islamic State, Terror Concerns

U.S. military installations have been directed to increase their security measures after the Pentagon raised the threat level over concerns that the Islamic State militant group poses a growing danger to personnel. Adm. Bill Gortney signed the order Thursday night that elevated the security threat to the “Bravo” level. It had previously been maintained for months at the “Alpha” level, the lowest security option, according to Military Times.

The upgraded security levels were not the result of any one direct threat in particular, according to a tweet by Fox News national security reporter Jennifer Griffin, who was among the first to report the news.

A spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command – which supervises all military installations in the U.S. – cited a renewed effort to thwart terror attacks on American soil as a primary reason for the security adjustments. "We have the same concern about the potential threat posed by violent homegrown extremists," Capt. Jeff Davis said, CNN reported. "While this change is not tied to a specific credible threat, recent events have led us to recognize the need to take prudent steps to ensure that our security measures can be increased quickly."

With the raised security levels, stricter enforcement of the identification-checking process and random security drills are likely, Griffin tweeted. The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs announced Friday that there probably will be delays in accessing its grounds because of the new security concerns, something that is sure to affect the other locations across the country.

The precautionary actions come less than a week after would-be jihadists staged a shooting in Texas at a cartoon contest for depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. At least one of the assailants had previously expressed allegiance to the Islamic State, or ISIS. While ISIS has taken responsibility for Sunday's attack, national security experts have expressed doubts about the legitimacy of that claim.