About a thousand US diplomats and intelligence officers affected by a mysterious illness known as "Havana syndrome" may have been targeted by pulses of electromagnetic energy, a report by scientific experts working for US intelligence has concluded.
The US government has said that pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radio frequency range, plausibly explains the ear pain, dizziness and other symptoms of some of those suffering from the disease first reported by US diplomats in the Cuban capital in 2016.
There has long been a contentious debate over whether the symptoms affecting US personnel around the world are caused by some sort of device or are psychological in nature, according to the BBC.
However, in the latest report of the expert commission of the American intelligence community, it is stated that the symptoms are "real and believable" and that they may have been caused by an external source, reports Tanjug.
The latest study examined more than a thousand confidential documents and interviewed witnesses to focus on a group of people suffering from a specific set of symptoms.
It was concluded that this set of cases could not be explained by environmental or medical conditions, and could be caused by some kind of external source or device.
"Several aspects of this unique neurosensory syndrome suggest that it is unlikely to be caused by a functional neurological disorder," the panel said, adding that everything points to an "external stimulus" or source.
The study found that pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radio frequency range, "probably explains" the underlying features, but that "information gaps" remain.
It was concluded that non-standard antennas could have an effect on the human body, and that such a source could be hidden and require only moderate power, and could travel through the air and through the walls of buildings.
The latest report, however, did not go into the responsibility and who could be behind such activity.
Beginning in Havana and in 2016, American intelligence and diplomats began to complain of a series of unusual symptoms.
Their claims, however, were initially largely dismissed within the government, but in recent years, they have been taken more seriously and encouraged to report similar symptoms.
All this led to a flood of these cases, the number of which rose to at least a thousand worldwide.
Cases have been reported in Russia, China, Tajikistan, Austria and some African countries.
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