WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 The Trump administration dismissed media reports on Tuesday that Russia was involved in mysterious \u201cattacks\u201d against some U. S. government personnel in Cuba and\u2026<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 The Trump administration dismissed media reports on Tuesday that Russia was involved in mysterious \u201cattacks\u201d against some U. S. government personnel in Cuba and China.
\u201cWe have seen a firestorm of reports out there today assigning blame to the Russian government,\u201d with those reports attributed to unnamed sources, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.\u00a0\u201cI would caution you all to be very skeptical of those statements.\u201d
She said the State Department is still investigating the attacks on U. S. State Department employees in Cuba but has not reached any conclusions yet.
\u00ab\u00a0There is no known cause, no known individual or group believed to be responsible,\u00a0\u00bb she said. \u00ab\u00a0The investigation is ongoing. We have not assigned any blame.\u201d
\u201cWe still consider it be a health attack,\u201d she added.
NBC News reported Tuesday that U. S. intelligence agencies suspect Russia of carrying out the bizarre series of attacks that led to brain injuries for U. S. personnel in Cuba and China. The NBC story\u00a0said the agencies have evidence from communications intercepts collected during an ongoing investigation by the FBI, the CIA and other U. S. agencies.
In Cuba, U. S. staff reported hearing weird, loud sounds along with feelings of changes in air pressure in their homes owned and maintained by the Cuban government as well as hotel rooms. Although there had been no history of head trauma, the symptoms reported were consistent with brain injury. The diplomats described the sounds as \u201cbuzzing, grinding metal, piercing squeals and humming.\u201d
The State Department created\u00a0an expert panel in July 2017 to look into the matter. In its\u00a0initial findings, the panel said the symptoms were most likely related to \u00ab\u00a0neurotrauma from a non-natural source,\u00a0\u00bb and the department recommended further investigation.
The University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Center for Brain Injury and Repair was selected to coordinate the evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of the\u00a0patients. Whatever the cause, the Havana patients \u201cexperienced persisting disability of a significant nature,\u201d the University of Pennsylvania team found.
In China last month,\u00a0Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a U. S. government employee stationed in Guangzhou had reported \u00ab\u00a0abnormal sensations of sound and pressure\u00a0\u00bb suggesting a mild brain injury. Pompeo said the medical indications were\u00a0\u00a0 \u00ab\u00a0very similar\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0entirely consistent\u00a0\u00bb to those reported by American diplomats posted in Havana.
In response to the incidents in Cuba,\u00a0the State Department initially reduced the number of workers in Havana. But last March made the sharp reductions permanent, citing health concerns. State Department officials have told Congress that 26 embassy workers in Cuba were affected by the mysterious health incidents since it was first discovered in December 2016. The one employee in China found to have similar symptoms became known last May.
The Cuban government has denied there were responsible for any attacks and strongly rejected any allegations of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n