Several US military bases in Europe put on heightened alert amid concerns of terrorist attack: Reports

Several bases of the United States (US) military across Europewere put on a heightened state of alert during the weekend amid concerns of a terrorist attack that couldtarget US military personnel or facilities, American media reported on Sunday (June 30). The military baseswere raised to the "Charlie" alert level, a report by CNN said citing two US officials.

The highest level "Delta" is applied when a terrorist attack has occurred or one is "imminent."

When is Charlie alert ordered?

According to the US Army, a Charlie alert level is ordered when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely.

One of the two officials told CNN that they had not seen this threat level in at least a decade, and it usually meant that the military received an active-reliable threat.

A warning of potential terror threat

The report said it was not clear what intelligence triggered the Charlie alert. However, authorities in Europe had warned of a potential terror threat on the continent, especially ahead of the Paris Olympics later this month and the ongoing Euro 2024 in Germany.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, said that due to acombination of factors potentially impacting the safety and security of US service membersand their families stationed in theEuropeantheatre, US European Command was redoubling its efforts to stress vigilance during the summer months.

The US State Departmenthas advisedAmerican citizens in Germany to exercise increased caution due to terrorism.

(With inputs from agencies)