Five US soldiers in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province have been charged with murdering three Afghan civilians, The Washington Post reported today.
In its early edition, the Post cited Army charging documents as saying the infantry personnel, including one staff Sergeant, murdered the civilians between January and May of this year.
The Post cited military court documents and interviews with people familiar with the case to allege the killings “were committed essentially for sport by soldiers who had a fondness for hashish and alcohol.”
Washington Post reports that five US soldiers in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province have been charged with murdering three Afghan civilians
About 1,500 guests of a downtown hotel complex spent the night in a high school to escape the flooding Cumberland River, which was expected to crest Monday following weekend thunderstorms that killed at least 19 people in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.
Officials in Tennessee were preparing for more deaths and for the Cumberland River, which winds through the Music City, to crest more than 11 feet Monday afternoon, putting portions of downtown in danger of the kind of damage experienced by thousands of residents whose homes were swamped by flash floods.
The Cumberland River had already reached record levels since an early 1960s flood control project was put in place. With so much water inundating the Cumberland's tributaries, however, it was difficult to gauge whether the river would stop at 50 feet or exceed the forecast, increasing the water's spread in the city.
Authorities weren't taking any chances. They evacuated the downtown area and north Nashville where a leaky levee threatened residents and businesses. Flooding could hit the downtown tourism industry, a commuter train depot and the nearby LP Field, where the Tennessee Titans play.
Floodwater spilled onto a couple of downtown streets near the riverfront and restaurants and bars in the tourist district were closed.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked the Northern California city of Eureka on Saturday, snapping power lines, toppling chimneys, knocking down traffic signals, shattering windows and prompting the evacuation of at least one apartment building.
There were no reports of major injuries, but the temblor, which struck at 4:27 p.m. about 33 miles southwest of the coastal city of 26,000, was powerful enough to send people running into the streets, some fearing a tsunami.
Centered offshore about 13 miles deep, the quake was felt as far north as central Oregon, as far south as Santa Cruz and as far east as Reno, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
"It was a monstrous one," said Phil Burns, owner of Mity Nice Bakery Cafe Restaurant in Eureka, which is about 80 miles south of the Oregon border. "Usually, they're sharp, but this one was very wiggly. It was rolling in all directions."
In the south Eureka fishing village of King Salmon, the 10 seconds of shaking broke power lines and knocked out electricity throughout the isolated seaside community of about 750 people.
When it stopped, people gathered in the street. Some were visibly distraught. Shouts of "You all right?" were heard. Then car engines began revving up as residents raced to the only access road to the closest higher ground, the 150-foot-high Bell Hill, in case of a tsunami, said William Bowman, a resident. None materialized, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Residents of Northern California coastal communities have reason to worry about tsunamis. In 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off the Alaskan coast sent a catastrophic tsunami to Crescent City, north of Eureka, killing 11 people.
On Saturday, 25,000 customers lost power, according to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Water and gas lines were also disrupted.
Frayed nerves were evident throughout the Humboldt County region as dusk fell. Rooms at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata, 15 miles north of Eureka, were in the dark, and patients in robes were sitting in the hallway. Generators provided only enough power to keep vital machinery working, said nursing supervisor Annie Conkler.
"Everyone's shaken, but fine," she said, adding that there were no patients with quake-related injuries coming into the emergency room.
At Myrtle Avenue Pet Center on Hubbard Lane in Eureka, owner Melanie Noe spent the evening picking up shampoo bottles and shattered dog bowls. The only other casualties were the cats' nerves, she said.
On the other side of town, lamps and dishes crashed down at Antiques and Goodies, causing a couple to run out of the store, while two women took cover under a table. "We've been through a lot of earthquakes, but I can't recall there ever being any this bad," said store owner Sandra Hall.
To the south, floodlights fell at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, and windows shattered in Ferndale. Farther south, in Redway, shoppers abandoned their carts in a grocery store and raced to their cars.
State officials said authorities in the county have not asked for additional assistance from Sacramento.
"It looks like they will be able to handle it on their own," said Kelly Huston, a spokesman for the California Emergency Management Agency. "Our big concern now is aftershocks."
At least 10 aftershocks were reported in the hours after the temblor, the strongest of them registering 4.2.
Richard Allen, a UC Berkeley seismologist, said the area where the earthquake occurred was in the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates collide: the Pacific, North American and Juan de Fuca. It is one of the most seismically active parts of the San Andreas fault system that runs through the state.
"Although 6.5 is a large event, it is not uncommon there by any means," said Richard Buckmaster, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist.
The last major quakes in the offshore region, Buckmaster said, were magnitude 7.2 and 6.6 temblors in June 2005.
Major Nidal Hasan, the US Army doctor identified as a suspect in the shooting at the US Army post in Fort Hood, Texas, Thursday. Nidal relatives said he wish to resign because being harassed for being a Muslim.Commented muslim in Afganisthan and Irag should raise against the aggressor.
A complicated picture was emerging Thursday night of both the shootings at Fort Hood that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded, as well as the soldier suspected of carrying them out, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.
Officials have so far provided only the most basic of facts. Investigators believe Hasan alone was responsible for the attack, and contrary to earlier reports, Hasan is alive and in the custody of authorities, though he was shot by a female first responder, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the commanding officer at Fort Hood.
Cone adamantly refused to discuss Hasan, other than to say that his death was “not imminent.” But media reports throughout the day offered shreds of information that could illuminate potential motives for the attacks.
Hasan was a US-born Army psychiatrist who had never deployed to a war zone but was due to deploy to Iraq soon. Numerous reports suggest that he repeatedly said he did not want to deploy to Iraq and held strident views about US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What happened
The tragedy began to unfold at about 1:30 p.m. local time at Fort Hood, a sprawling base north of Austin. Cone says that only one suspect opened fire at the post’s soldier readiness center, where dozens of American soldiers had gathered for pre-deployment processing.
This contradicted early media reports that as many as three gunman were roaming the post. Cone says three other suspects were also detained and questioned, but all have been released.
Fort Hood was in “lock down” for at least five hours as authorities scoured the base to ensure the safety of the estimated 50,000 to 75,000 residents.
Cone says investigators have not dismissed the possibility that there might have been other accomplices. There are questions about how one person who reportedly had only two handguns could harm so many people. But Cone said the readiness center was crowded, which could account for the high casualty figures. The FBI is on site to investigate, he added.
There is no evidence, however, to suggest the attack was linked to terrorism, he said.
Who is Nidal Malik Hasan?
Seeking to understand why a psychiatrist trained to help soldiers cope with the stress of warfare instead turned on them, news networks patched together fragmentary stories about Hasan throughout the day.
Terry Lee, a retired Army colonel who knew Hasan, told Fox News about a story he heard secondhand. He said a fellow colleague had told him that Hasan had made “outlandish comments” about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and US involvement in them and that “Muslims had a right to rise up and attack Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“[He] made comments about how we shouldn’t be over there – you need to lock it up, Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor,” Lee added.
But the suspect’s cousin, Nader Hasan, gave Fox News a different picture. He said his cousin had never deployed but was affected by the war and had been concerned about his impending deployment.
“He would tell us how he would hear things, horrific things, things from war probably affecting him psychologically,” Nader Hasan said.
Nidal Malik Hasan attended high school in Roanoke, Va., studied biochemistry at Virginia Tech, played sports, didn’t get into any trouble, and appeared to be a normal, well-adjusted individual, the cousin said. He was a psychiatry resident at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and was apparently working at Fort Hood during the pre-deployment process for soldiers.
The New York Times reports that Hasan felt he was harassed because he was a Muslim. CNN said he was being tracked by the federal government because of inflammatory views about suicide bombings expressed on the Internet.
“It is difficult enough when we lose brave Americans in battles overseas, it is horrifying that they should come under fire on an Army base on American soil,” President Obama in Washington.
Coast Guard C-130 transport alleged to have collided with a marine Cobra attack helicopter. Believed to have 7 people on board.
The AH-1 Cobra helicopter is the same type of attack helicopter that reportedly collided with a Coast Guard C130 transport plane off San Clemente Island. Cobra believed to have 2 pilot.
Jayhawk H-60 helicopter Coast Guard rescue helicopter searching for survivors and missing planes.
Navy T-34 training aircraft. Search began when the T-34 were reported to be missing.
The Coast Guard confirmed to reporters in San Diego tonight that a crash occurred between two aircraft -- possibly a Coast Guard C-130 transport airplane and a Marine AH-1 Cobra helicopter -- and said that rescue crews have spotted debris in the water.
Rescue units from the Coast Guard and Navy have responded to the crash site to search for survivors. The airplane was reported to contain seven crew members, while the helicopter contained two. No survivors have yet been spotted. Three Coast Guard cutters and four Navy ships, along with several helicopters, are involved in the search.
A Coast Guard spokesman said that search conditions were good with calm waters and light winds. The spokesman described the aircraft as a Coast Guard airplane and a Department of Defense aircraft. Federal Aviation Administration officials have identified the aircraft as a C-130 and a Cobra helicopter.
The collision is thought to have occurred 15 to 25 miles off San Clemente Island, the FAA said.
Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said that a pilot reported seeing a fireball about 7:10 p.m. near the suspected crash site. Earlier reports stated that a single Navy helicopter may have crashed.
The Coast Guard says an overnight search yielded no sign of a Navy plane and two pilots who failed to return from a flight.
Petty Officer Randy Hale told The Associated Press early Thursday that search aircraft were out all night and "we haven't been able to find anything as of yet."
The search began Wednesday afternoon for the crew of a Navy T-34 training aircraft after an air traffic controller at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas lost contact with the pair.
The single-engine trainer's last known location was near San Jose Island, east of Rockport and 2 miles off shore in the Gulf of Mexico.
As many as nine people were believed to be missing after a Coast Guard plane collided with a military helicopter off the Southern California coast Thursday, officials said.
The crash was reported at 7:10 p.m., about 15 miles east off San Clemente Island, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Allyson Conroy said.
A pilot reported seeing a fireball in the vicinity of the suspected crash site, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.
Gregor said preliminary information indicated the crash was between a Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra and a Coast Guard C-130 transport plane.
There were seven people on board the C-130 and two on the chopper, Gregor said.
Marine Corps spokesman Cpl. Michael Stevens confirmed an AH-1 Cobra had crashed. He had no additional details.
A search and rescue mission was underway.
San Clemente Island, the southernmost of the eight Channel Islands, is 68 miles west of San Diego.
A Navy helicopter has collided mid-air with a Coast Guard transport plane, leaving a reported 9 people missing, according to the FAA. A search and rescue operation is underway.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says a Coast Guard C130 transport plane is believed to have collided midair with a Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra helicopter at 7:10 p.m., approximately 25 miles east of San Clemente Island.
A pilot reported seeing a fireball in the vicinity of the suspected crash site.
The Coast Guard cannot account for a C130 and the Marine Corps cannot account for a Cobra, Gregor said.
The Coast Guard sent a Jayhawk H-60 helicopter to assist in the search for the downed aircraft, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Henry Dunphy said.
There were reportedly seven people aboard the C130 and two aboard the AH-1 Cobra.
Originally reported by the Coast Guard as a possible helicopter down, the crash has since been classified as a collision by the FAA.
The pilots were not talking to FAA air traffic controllers at the time of the collision, Gregor said.
Three Coast Guard cutters and four Navy ships, along with several helicopters have been dispatched to the suspected crash site and will search throughout the night to find any possible survivors, said Lieutenant Josh Nelson of the Coast Guard in a press conference.
Officials are calling search conditions in the area "ideal," with calm waters, light winds, and no cloud cover.
Search crews have reportedly found debris in the water, but have not located any survivors, according to Nelson.
Officials could not comment on where the aircrafts originated or what sorts of missions they were conducting.
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands off California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. ---------------- RELATED POSTS:-
A large wave fueled by Hurricane Bill swept spectators out to sea at a Maine park Sunday as the storm-churned surf attracted onlookers and daredevils along the Eastern Seaboard.
A man, a woman and a 7-year-old girl were pulled from the sea near Acadia National Park, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Shane Coxon said, and rescue crews were searching for others believed to be lost in the waves.
"This is absolutely the effects of Hurricane Bill" coupled with the effect of high tide, park ranger Sonya Berger said.
The girl was unresponsive when she was rescued, the woman appeared to have a broken leg and the man had a previous heart condition that appeared to be acting up, Coxon said.
The hurricane was also blamed for the death of a 54-year-old swimmer Saturday in Florida. Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn said Angel Rosa of Orlando was unconscious when he washed ashore in rough waves fueled by Bill at New Smyrna Beach, along the central Florida coast. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Lifeguards there also rescued a handful of other swimmers believed to have suffered spinal injuries.
The storm drew onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of crashing waves as it marched through Atlantic Canada.
Despite repeated warnings, people gathered in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, and along the boardwalk in downtown Halifax as swells grew steadily in strength and size.
"So far, it's pretty wild," said Heather Wright, who was walking along the Halifax harbor.
In Massachusetts, President Barack Obama and his family arrived on Cape Cod on Sunday afternoon for vacation after the storm had passed well to the east.
"Our biggest thing right now is just the rough surf," he said.
Dozens of people showed up at South Beach on Martha's Vineyard with their cameras and camcorders to watch the big waves and churning Atlantic.
In Montauk, N.Y., swimmers weren't allowed in the water, but surfers were out riding the waves. State parks spokesman George Gorman said almost 2,000 surfers showed up at Montauk on Sunday — the most ever counted there. They enjoyed waves that reached as high as 16 feet.
People watch as water breaches a rock wall at Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, Canada, Sunday, August 23, 2009. Hurricane Bill has brought a steady downpour to parts of Nova Scotia, along with curious onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of crashing waves, as it continues its path into Atlantic Canada, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Sunday
A New York City police helicopter uses a spotlight to coax surfers out of the water in stong waves
Waves roll in towards Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada, Sunday Aug. 23, 2009. Hurricane Bill has brought a steady downpour to parts of Nova Scotia, along with curious onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of crashing waves, as it continues its path into Atlantic Canada, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Sunday.
Surfers enjoy the large waves at Rockaway Beach in New York, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. Rough waters and large waves from Hurricane Bill closed Rockaway Beach to swimmers, but not surfers.
With a swimming ban in place, Eli Holland, 13, Carter Bentley, 11, Cameryn Bentley, 8 and Keegan Bentley, 13, all of Bennington, VT., watch the surf at Nauset Beach Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009, in Orleans, Mass after Hurricane Bill rendered the waters unsafe
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 at 4:01 a.m EDT shows Hurricane Bill in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Bill taunted the New England coastline from a distance Sunday, after closing beaches and setting off a string of safety warnings for weekend boaters, swimmers and surfers along the eastern seaboard.
Surfers enjoy the waves at Rockaway Beach in New York, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009. Rough waters and large waves from Hurricane Bill closed Rockaway Beach to swimmers, but not surfers
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A large wave fueled by Hurricane Bill swept spectators out to sea at a Maine park Sunday. Coast Guard officials say 3 people were pulled from the waters near Acadia National Park. One of those rescues was caught on tape.
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Seawall area of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine - the effects of hurricane Bill moving off the coast toward Nova Scotia. The park service had to close the road and evacuate everyone because the waves came up over the road along with some small rocks! The sound was amazing. Just like thunder...this area is typically very calm, where you can only barely hear small waves rolling in.
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It's not a good beach weekend on the east coast, unless you're a surfer. Hurricane Bill apparently won't come near the coast, but there could be heavy wind and 20 foot waves.
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Hurricane Bill became a Category 4 storm as it rumbled across the Atlantic early Wednesday with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph.
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An HC-130J Hercules aircraft crew flew parallel to the coast from North Carolina to Cape Cod about 100 miles offshore Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, transmitting an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to notify mariners that Hurricane Bill is approaching
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From an altitude of 225 statute miles, cameras on the International Space Station captured spectacular views of Hurricane Bill at 11:46 a.m. EDT on Aug. 17 as the tropical system churned through the open Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center forecasts Bill to grow into a major hurricane, but remain isolated off the east coast of the United States
Image above show rescuer pulling up corpses from Hudson River.Believed upto 9 may have dead from the mid air collisions.
Rescue looking for debris , survivors and corpses.
Fox show the footing of the occurs.The plane hit the back of the helicopter.
Map above show the location of the midair accidents.
Police and emergency crews continued their search for wreckage and bodies in the Hudson River a day after a small plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter carrying a group of Italian tourists, apparently killing nine people.
Fox News Channel
A plane and helicopter crashed above the Hudson River today, sending debris into the river and onto the Hoboken, N.J., waterfront.
Based on preliminary eyewitness reports of the low-altitude crash, which occurred in good weather, officials said the single-engine propeller plane apparently smashed into the rear of the helicopter as the two aircraft were flying in the same direction, scattering debris in the river and on the New Jersey waterfront. The accident took place in a narrow corridor over the river reserved for general aviation and other aircraft operating under visual flight rules -- and no requirement to communicate with air-traffic controllers.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the crash as "not survivable.'' Three bodies and helicopter wreckage were recovered before search efforts were halted for the night Saturday. Three hours after the crash, which took place around noon, the National Transportation Safety Board was on scene to direct the investigation. Investigators resumed their search at daybreak Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
Six people were on board the helicopter which plummeted into the river. Three people were believed to have been travelling in the plane
Cause of Accident
Mayor Bloomberg emphasized during a news conference that both aircraft were flying under so-called "see and avoid" rules that don't require monitoring by controllers despite the surrounding busy airspace and several major airports in the vicinity. "This could have happened over a cornfield as well as the Hudson River," he said.
Commercial and private jets are restricted from flying at such low altitudes. They follow takeoff and approach routes to metropolitan airports that take them well above the visual-flight corridor over the Hudson.
Hudson River corridor is a popular shortcut for northbound and southbound flights to and from New England. "It's scenic too," which helps make the fly zone a busy area. Complicating matters, while airplanes must fly along the river, helicopters, which aren't bound by the same rules, might cross it.
Helicopter pilots and others who frequently fly the Hudson sightseeing route—which keeps them under 1,000 feet--rely on special procedures, including broadcasting on and monitoring a dedicated radio frequency designed to make pilots aware of nearby traffic. Such transmissions are recommended but aren't required. It isn't clear whether the small plane's pilot was using the special frequency.
Witness Accounts
Witnesses to the crash described how debris from the two aircraft disappeared within seconds beneath the water's surface, and rescue workers soon determined that there were no survivors, officials said.
According to eye-witness reports, it appeared that the helicopter had just taken off from a mid-town helipad and turned south down the river when the plane smashed into it, shearing off a rotor. Both aircraft shed debris as they plummeted into the water.
There were unconfirmed reports that the plane may have lost part of a wing just before the smash. It had taken off from Teterboro, a private airport in New Jersey, a few minutes earlier
"It would appear that the airplane ran into the backside of the helicopter," Bloomberg(New York Mayor) said, saying the precise cause of the collision may not be known for days or weeks, pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The helicopter belonged to Liberty Harbour Sightseeing Tours which runs popular aerial tours of major New York landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty. The weather conditions were clear and calm at the time of the crash just before midday.
The Hoboken all-stars girls soccer team was in the middle of practice on Saturday when the goalie looked up and saw two aircraft flying into each other in the clear skies overhead.\
-Youth soccer coach Leo Pellegrini, orange shirt, is surrounded by reporters as he recounts his views the horrifying crash.-
"There was a big cracking sound and the propeller from the helicopter flew off and the plane's wing broke off," 12-year-old Marina Wardell said.
"The plane was swirling and landed a little bit aways. The helicopter went head first and plunged into the water.
"Then, like five seconds later, it sunk. It was like it was from a movie! It was shocking to see it actually happening."
For a moment, the dozen girls scattered across Sinatra Soccer Field cowered, fearing they were going to be hit by debris.
Then, when it was clear they were safe, they ran over to the fence along the river and pressed up against it, craning to see if anyone survived.
"I just saw the pieces floating around. It happened really fast. I didn't see anyone," Marina said. On the other side of the sparkling, crowded river, Jahangir Alam was selling empanadas and sodas at a Hudson River Park refreshment stand.
"The plane and the helicopter were flying at each other and they turned away not to crash. But the plane hit the back of the helicopter," said Alam, 49, a Bangladeshi immigrant who lives in Queens.
"My first thought was, 'someone save the people.'"
At a cafe on Little W. 12th St., Alanna Duffy, 29, saw huge chunks of mangled aircraft falling across the sky.
"I just saw the propeller twisting through the air," she said. "The body was doing a nosedive. It went right in the water."
Retired machinist Gabriel Stise, 78, was eating lunch on a shady riverside bench in Hoboken when the plane went over his head.
"It didn't sound right. It was loud. It was very low," he said.
"It came down and just sank. I didn't see anyone in the water. They must have gone down with it. There's so much room up there. How could this happen?"
Nearby, Hilda Igartua, 53, sat in her wheelchair talking on the phone as her husband, Angel Vacqez, 50, fished happily.
"I saw the plane hit the helicopter," she said.
"The helicopter went spinning down, breaking into pieces. I saw debris falling everywhere. My husband got scared and pushed me back. He was screaming."
"It sounded like putting a fork in a blender, but louder, like fireworks," said Grendaly Torres, who was helping her mother sell jewelry in the park.
Past Accidents
In October 2006, a private plane that took off from Teterboro ended up flying into a high-rise apartment building along Manhattan's East River. New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor were killed in the crash and it seriously injured one person on the ground. In the wake of that accident, authorities restricted private planes from flying certain routes over the East River.
Seven months ago, the same river was the scene of a spectacular aircraft accident that resulted in no loss of life. In January, a US Airways flight taking off from LaGuardia Airport slammed into a flock of birds and lost power in both engines. The plane crash-landed in the Hudson River, roughly half a mile from Saturday's crash, and all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.
Two years ago, a Liberty helicopter fell 500 feet from the sky into the same river during a sightseeing trip. The pilot was credited with safely landing the chopper on the water and helping evacuate her seven passengers.
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--NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Statement On Helicopter & Small Plane [Piper PA-32] Crash Over New York City's Hudson River --
Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines have been patrolling in international waters off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in a rare mission tracked by Washington, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Just 200 miles off of USA soils.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. military was "mindful" of Russian military activities, but he declined to comment on any specific submarine maneuvers.
"Navies, including the United States, operate around the world. Vessels operating safely in international waters ought not to concern anybody," he said.
Another U.S. official familiar with the intelligence, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Alarm bells are not ringing."
The submarines have not taken any provocative action, the official said.
The New York Times, which first reported the presence of the vessels, described them as Akula-class submarines.Akula is the NATO codename for the Soviet-designed Nerpa, which has been in service since the mid-1980s. They are armed with torpedoes, cruise missiles and can carry underwater missiles.
One of the Russian submarines remained in international waters on Tuesday about 200 miles off the coast of the United States and the second sub made a port call in Cuba in recent days, the Times said, citing Defense Department officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. officials declined to speculate on what weapons might be aboard the two submarines, and described the Russian exercise as rare.
"The Russian navy systematically pinpoints the location of NATO submarines, including US Navy submarines, in direct proximity to the territorial waters of the Russian Federation," Interfax news agency quoted the source as saying.
"This however has never been a reason to make a lot of noise in the press," the source said, adding: "Consequently, any hysteria in such a case is inappropriate."
The US military's response indicated the episode did not appear to pose any immediate threat to the United States.
The submarines are not among the larger class of Russian submarines that can launch nuclear missiles, The Times reported.
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-Fairly detailed presentation of the gigantic Russian "Akula" ("Typhoon") class submarine. In size this sub is comparable to a WWII battleship or aircraft carrier. The footage is from various documentaries with music added.-
![[SB124975510036816833]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-EF354_crash0_D_20090808205048.jpg)
