WASHINGTON — Officials say they are investigating several Arabic-language leaflets that mysteriously appeared near the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va., which “may or may not be associated with the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State.”
According to a report by Marine Corps Times , base spokesman Maj. Andrew J. Bormann told the magazine Friday that a government employee came across the fliers on Wednesday while running in the town of Quantico. Sporting a reversed image of the terror group’s flag, the fliers proclaim,”We are here from Mexico and came by train.”
Quantico is home to the Marine Corps’ Training and Education Command, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, which transports President Obama in Marine One and tests experimental aircraft, according to Marine Corps Times.
“Security personnel from the base informed the town of Quantico, the FBI and NCIS,” said Bormann. “While these leaflets may be a hoax, base officials are taking their discovery seriously.”
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading an investigation to determine whether the fliers are authentic, he said. While the installation is not under any official alert due to their discovery, military facilities throughout the U.S. have been in a heightened security mode amid persistent threats from ISIS and since the killing of a Canadian solider at the parliament building in Ottawa on Oct 22.
The Marine Corps issued an administrative message on Wednesday night telling Marines to report “even the most minor suspicious activity.”
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