Heightened Terror Threats In Europe

WASHINGTON….. In an effort to preempt a suspected terrorist plot(s) against European targets, the Central Intelligence Agency has targeted missile strikes against militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions, according to current and former officials.

The strikes, launched from unmanned drone aircraft, represent a rare use of the CIA drones to preempt a possible attack on the West.  The terror plot, which officials have been tracking for weeks, is believed to target multiple countries, including the U.K., France, and Germany, these officials said.

The exact nature of the plot or plots couldn’t be discussed, and counterterrorism officials in the U.S., Pakistan and Europe are continuing to access the situation. We have seen multiple terror warnings in recent days in France, Germany and the U.K.

“There are some pretty notable threat streams,” said one U.S. military official, who added that the significance of these threats are still being reviewed by counterterrorism officials,  but threats of this height are unusual.  “The strikes are a product of precise intelligence and precise weapons,” the official said. “We’ve been hitting targets that pose a threat to our troops in Afghanistan and terrorists plotting attacks in South Asia and beyond.”