Possible Islamic State Leaflets Found in Quantico Marine Base

Leaflets found at the site of the Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, Wednesday may have ties to the international terrorist organization ISIS, a source told the Tatler today. The leaflets, which portray the flag of the Islamic State, include a message in Arabic that says “We came from Mexico on a train.”

The leaflets raise the questions of whether the Islamic State has operatives in the heart of the United State’s Marine Corps headquarters, or alternatively, whether someone is testing security responses and military command communications.

The Tatler obtained a digital copy of the leaflet today, which is being distributed within the Marine Corps command. The source, who requested anonymity, wrote:

MCB Quantico personnel found 6-7 of these leaflets in Quantico Town (the shopping/residential area inside of Marine Corps Base Quantico) this afternoon (Wednesday). The picture depicts an ISIL banner. The translation of the writing is “We came from Mexico on a train.”

Marine Corps commands in the National Capital region have been informed and are increasing situational awareness at their installations.

The leaflet is being investigated by the Marine Corps, the FBI and Navy intelligence. The Tatler contacted public affairs at Quantico, but as of publication time the base has not commented.

Here is the one-page leaflet.

The Tatler has had the inscription independently translated. It says: “We are here from Mexico. We took the train.” Coupled with the ISIS flag, it is clearly intended to be a threat, connected to the porous U.S.-Mexico border.

But the ISIS flag is upside down and reversed with respect to the Arabic text. Here is an ISIS flag in its correct orientation.

“MCB Quantico” is Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Prince William County, VA, just outside of Washington, D.C. It is the Marine Corps’ headquarters, as well as the home of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Academy and Marine Corps Officer Candidate School. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is also headquartered at Quantico. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is also located at at the base. The U.S. Navy’s Indian Head facility is nearby.

Virginia Railway Express has posted a notice of heightened security including random searches of individuals who access the base by train.

The leaflet is being “widely distributed” within Marine Corps ranks and is being taken very seriously, according to the Tatler’s source.

The fact that the flag is inverted may suggest that either the person who dropped the leaflets is a poser not connected with ISIS at all — but who may sympathize with the terrorist group and could intend to launch some kind of “lone wolf” attack — or the leaflet was dropped to test security, communications and analysis responses.

The timing is also of interest. The leaflets were discovered at Quantico within a week of the mid-term elections, and they connect ISIS terrorism to the porous border, which has been an ongoing security and political issue.