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'UK's Air Force bases on ISIS hit list for lone-wolf attacks'

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Press Trust of India London
The Royal Air Force is reportedly on the Islamic State's hit list for "lone wolf" attacks, a media report said today, citing a document drawn up by a British couple fighting alongside the dreaded terror outfit in Syria.

Targets include Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, two US-run airbases in Suffolk, and RAF Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire, the spying station used to intercept terrorist communications.

RAF Alconbury in Cambridgeshire, another US-run airbase, has also been identified, 'The Sunday Times' reported.

The hit list is believed to have been drawn up by a British couple now in Syria fighting alongside the terror outfit.
 

The document - seen by the newspaper before it was removed from the internet - was compiled by a group calling itself the "Islamic State hacking division".

More than twelve personnel who have served at the four sites are named in a dossier of military and diplomatic staff leaked online last week by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Islamic State (IS).

It is believed to be run by Junaid Hussain, a 21-year-old hacker-turned-jihadist from Birmingham, who runs the ISIS information and recruitment arm from Syria.

He has been identified by the US Secret Service as a top- five target for elimination by drone strike.

His wife, Sally Jones, from Kent, is also in Syria working alongside Hussain in Raqqa but dealing with female ISIS- supporting jihadists. Both joined ISIS in 2013.

Those identified on the list are warned, "We are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah [caliphate] who soon... Will strike at your necks in your own lands."

The UK Ministry of Defence said, "Security arrangements at UK military establishments are regularly reviewed to ensure the appropriate safety and security of staff."

The hit list has been drawn up in apparent revenge for the coalition "bombing campaign against the Muslims" in Syria and Iraq, according to IS.

Islamic State is now focused on urging British would-be recruits to carry out "lone wolf" attacks in the UK instead of travelling to fight in Syria, a media report said last week.

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First Published: Aug 16 2015 | 5:28 PM IST

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