ﷺA US air base in Italy went on lockdown Wednesday for several hours after security forces received word of a possible car bomb targeting the facility, though officials later determined there was no threat.
🎃Authorities evacuated a gate at the Naval Air Station Sigonella and locked down the facilities there for several hours as they investigated, the US Navy said in a statement.
꧙Italian police and bomb squad members “inspected the package and determined it was not a threat,” a US military statement from the base said.
🥀“We are grateful to our Navy Security Force personnel for their quick response,” the statement said.
🎐US Navy Lt. Andrea Perez, a spokesperson at the base, told The Associated Press there were “no injuries” in the incident.
🎉An Italian defence official said that it was a “false alarm that triggered all the due procedures.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
🍃NAS Sigonella is outside of Catania on the island of Sicily. It's on a base for the Italian Air Force and provides command and control for US and NATO forces, as well as a strategic location on the Mediterrean Sea for them to deploy across Europe, Africa and Asia.
ꦆNAS Sigonella hosts US Navy P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, as well as MQ-4C Triton drones. US Space Force personnel who work on identifying possible missile threats in the region are also based there.
