Pentagon Says Security Level Has Been Raised At Its U.S. Bases

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has ordered an increase in security at its bases around the United States for the first time in nearly four years because of general threats at home and abroad, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Army Colonel Steve Warren said the decision was based not on any specific threats but rather a broader security climate that included last weekend's killing of two men who opened fire on a Texas contest for cartoonists drawing the Prophet Mohammad.

Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the heightened security level would require more bag checks at military bases and posts, possibly leading to longer queues and traffic backups in some places.

He said the last time security was raised to an elevated level at bases across the United States was on Sept. 11, 2011, the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Howard Goller)