US military bans Paris travel for troops and civilian personnel

The US military has banned troops and civilian personnel from any non-work-related travel to Paris, a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday, after deadly attacks across the French capital last week.

The new policy prohibits unofficial travel to Paris and within a 50-kilometre (31-mile) radius of the city by US military members, Department of Defense civilian employees, and contractors, said a Pentagon spokesman.

The State Department, meanwhile, has no plans to issue a travel warning to US citizens at this time, according to Niles Cole, a spokesman for the agency's Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday night's coordinated attacks, saying they were in retaliation for France's involvement in US-backed air strikes in Iraq and Syria.

US troops and civilian personnel can go on vacation at French sites outside Paris and its immediate surrounding areas with permission of a general officer, Davis said.

They can also continue to make commercial airline connections in France as long as they do not leave "secure portions of airport terminals," according to the statement . – (Reuters)