James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said Monday it is unlikely ISIS was able to shoot down a Russian passenger airline on Oct. 31, but he would not rule out the possibility. Speaking at the Defense One Summit in Washington, D.C., Clapper said there is no direct evidence of terrorist involvement, but said ISIS is active in the region, reported US News & World Report. The flight, Metrojet KGL 9268—an Airbus 321—crashed after takeoff from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh airport, killing all 217 passengers and seven crew members. ISIS affiliates issued statements saying the shoot?down was in response to Russia’s incursion into Syria. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said it appears the aircraft was operating outside the range of shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles, but that doesn’t completely rule out terrorist activity.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.