Romania Scrambles Fighter Jets Second Time This Week over Breach of Airspace

Two Romanian military jet pilots fly their F16 Falcons during a demo flight following the opening ceremony for the European F-16 Training Center, held at the 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociornita", in Borcea, Romania, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
Two Romanian military jet pilots fly their F16 Falcons during a demo flight following the opening ceremony for the European F-16 Training Center, held at the 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociornita", in Borcea, Romania, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
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Romania Scrambles Fighter Jets Second Time This Week over Breach of Airspace

Two Romanian military jet pilots fly their F16 Falcons during a demo flight following the opening ceremony for the European F-16 Training Center, held at the 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociornita", in Borcea, Romania, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
Two Romanian military jet pilots fly their F16 Falcons during a demo flight following the opening ceremony for the European F-16 Training Center, held at the 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociornita", in Borcea, Romania, 13 November 2023. (EPA)

Romania raised fighter jets early on Saturday for the second time this week after an unidentified object breached its airspace by the Black Sea, the Ministry of Defense said.

The small object was detected over the Black Sea moving toward Romania, a European Union and NATO member, at around 2:30 a.m, the ministry said in a statement.

Romania shares a 650-kilometer (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has previously complained over Russian drones entering its airspace as Moscow attacks Ukrainian targets along the Black Sea and Danube River. Fragments of Russian drones have also been repeatedly found on Romanian territory near the Ukrainian border.

Two F-18 jets of the Spanish Air Force and two F-16s of the Romanian Air Force were dispatched but did not spot the target, which disappeared from the radar, the ministry said.

Two Spanish F-18s and two Romanian F-16s also were dispatched on Thursday in a similar incident.



US Investigates Unauthorized Release of Classified Documents on Israel Attack Plans

Vehicles drive past a banner of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Vehicles drive past a banner of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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US Investigates Unauthorized Release of Classified Documents on Israel Attack Plans

Vehicles drive past a banner of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Vehicles drive past a banner of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The US is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents that assess Israel's plans to attack Iran, three US officials told The Associated Press. A fourth US official said the documents appear to be legitimate.
The documents are attributed to the US Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency and note that Israel continues to move military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran's blistering ballistic missile attack on Oct. 1. They were sharable within the “Five Eyes,” which are the US, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The documents, which are marked top secret, were posted online to Telegram and first reported by CNN and Axios. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The investigation is also examining how the documents were obtained — including whether it was an intentional leak by a member of the US intelligence community or obtained by another method, like a hack — and whether any other intelligence information was compromised, one of the officials said. As part of that investigation, officials are working to determine who had access to the documents before they were posted, the official said.
The documents emerged as the US has urged Israel to take advantage of its elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and press for a ceasefire in Gaza, and has likewise urgently cautioned Israel not to further expand military operations in the north in Lebanon and risk a wider regional war. However, Israel's leadership has repeatedly stressed it will not let Iran's missile attack go unanswered.