Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 27 Jul 2015 [PDF]
• Inherent Resolve Airstrikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 27 Jul 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Exercise tests, demonstrates new DOD capabilities AFNS 27 Jul 2015 -- As a C-17 Globemaster III flown by the Air National Guard slowly made its way down the Offutt Air Force Base flightline July 23, ambulances from the Omaha Fire and Rescue Department along with other local emergency response vehicles waited just outside an aircraft parking ramp.
• DoD, U.K. Defense Ministry Sign Reserve Forces Memorandum AFPS 27 Jul 2015 -- The U.S. Defense Department and the United Kingdom's Defense Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding today that officials say signifies expanding international relationships while serving a valuable role in security cooperation.
• Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work's Meeting with Republic of Korea (ROK) Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-Sung DoD 27 Jul 2015
• Pacific Partnership Concludes Successful Visit to Solomon Islands NNS 27 Jul 2015 -- The people of the Solomon Islands and members of Pacific Partnership 2015 celebrated the completion of a successful two-week mission by the Military Sealift Command joint high speed vessel USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3) July 24.
• USNS Mercy Crew Participate in Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief Seminar in Philippines NNS 27 Jul 2015 -- Multinational crew members of the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) wrapped up participation in a humanitarian assistance disaster relief (HADR) seminar July 24 hosted by Philippine government agencies at Capiz State University.
• US Navy Increases Cooperation, Enhances Partnership With Timor Leste Defense Forces During CARAT NNS 27 Jul 2015 -- The U.S. Navy and Timor-Leste Defense Force (F-FDTL) will conduct the third Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in Dili, Timor-Leste, and in the vicinity of Port Hera Naval Base, July 27-28.
• Fitzgerald Implements SECNAV's New Initiative During a Darwin Port Visit NNS 27 Jul 2015 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) implemented the Secretary of the Navy's (SECNAV) new initiative to pay husbanding service providers (HSP) during a port visit to Darwin, July 20-24 by using a new process, called Off-Ship Bill Pay (OSBP).
• AF's Task Force Cyber Secure develops partnerships with industry, academia AFNS 27 Jul 2015 -- Task Force Cyber Secure is midway through phase one of the four-phased chief of staff of the Air Force initiative to address challenges of the cyberspace domain within the Air Force.
• Turkey Requests NATO Meeting VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- The U.S. is backing Turkey's two-pronged air offensive and artillery strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq.
• Russian Air Force base in Kyrgyzstan is of current importance - republic's president TASS 27 Jul 2015 -- Kyrgyzstan's permission to open a Russian air base in Kant was caused by the situation at that time. Having the air base now is a current issue, the republic's President Almazbek Atambayev said during a meeting with heads of local media on Monday.
• Russia Has No Plans to Deploy Tu-22M3 Nuclear Bombers in Crimea - Air Force Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Long-range Tu-22M3 bombers will not be deployed in Crimea any time soon.
• Japan's upper house starts debate on contentious war bills amid plunging support for Abe gov't People's Daily 27 Jul 2015 -- Japan's upper house of parliament on Monday began discussions on a package of controversial security bills that, if enacted, will allow for the nation's Self-Defense Forces to have an expanded role abroad, despite an ongoing public backlash that has seen hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protests.
• Israel Calls Up Reservists in One of Largest Military Drills to Date Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- The initiative includes a real call-up of several thousand reservists and a simulation of mobilizing thousands more.
• US Army Chief Discusses Delivery of Armored Vehicles to Uzbekistan Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- The US Central Command head Gen. Lloyd Austin held talks with the Uzbek Foreign Ministry officials on Uzbek-US relations, as well as some international and regional developments.
• July 27, 2015 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 27 Jul 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for July 27, 2015

Other Conflicts

• 27 July 2015 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 27 Jul 2015
• Top UN relief official in Yemen warns of conflict's 'catastrophic' consequences; urges humanitarian access UN News 27 Jul 2015 -- Witnessing first-hand the "shocking" devastation in Yemen's main port city of Aden, the top United Nations relief official in the country today declared that the humanitarian consequences of the conflict are "catastrophic," making an urgent plea for safe, unhindered access for aid workers and a major scale-up of funding.
• Yemen Houthis Reveal Saudi-led Coalition Ceasefire Breach Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- The five-day UN-backed humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen that began midnight Sunday night was disrupted by two Saudi-led airstrikes early Monday morning, CNN reported citing Yemen Defense Ministry sources.
• When war creates environmentalists IRIN 27 Jul 2015 -- Surveying the skyline of the Yemeni capital Sana'a, you see destruction everywhere. A Saudi Arabian-led coalition has been bombing Yemen for four months and the damage is obvious – from blown-out windows to mounds of rubble where buildings once stood. But if you look a little closer you might notice something else new – small rectangles dotted across the city's roofs.
• Saudi warplanes hit allied Yemeni militants by mistake, kill 12 Press TV 27 Jul 2015 -- At least 12 militants loyal to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi were killed when Saudi military aircraft mistakenly struck the positions of pro-Riyadh forces in Yemen's southwestern province of Lahij.
• Turkey, US Try to Establish Buffer Despite Differences VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- Turkey says it has secured an agreement with the Obama administration to jointly secure a zone in a small part of northern Syria. But while U.S. officials are confirming the outlines of the deal, discrepancies in how Washington and Ankara view the buffer suggests the accord is not complete.
• Turkish PM Says Air Strikes Changing Regional Game RFE/RL 27 Jul 2015 -- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the country's air strikes against Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish militants in Syria and northern Iraq could 'change the game' in the region.
• Turkey's Military Operation in Syria Not Aimed At Government Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, said that Ankara does not conduct an operation against Assad in Syria, but Turkey and the United States have a common position on the necessity for Assad to resign.
• Civilians Not Targeted by Turkish Army Strikes in Syria, Iraq Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Ankara attacked only military targets of ISIL and PKK in Iraq and Syria, according to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
• Turkish Prime Minister Rules Out Boots on Syrian Soil Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ruled out on Sunday sending ground troops to fight the Islamic State military group in Syria, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.
• Turkish Jets Strike Kurdish Targets in Northern Iraq Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Turkish air force F-16 jet fighters attacked Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq as a three-year ceasefire came to end, local media reported Sunday.
• 'Paralyzing' funding gap forces shutdown of 80 per cent of frontline health services in war-torn Iraq - UN UN News 27 Jul 2015 -- The top United Nations humanitarian official in Iraq today declared as "devastating" the "inexplicable" closures of life-saving services in Iraq for people in need, citing the most recent shut-downs of basic health care will directly impact more than one million people, including some 500,000 children who now will not be immunized, spreading risk of a measles outbreak and resumption of polio.
• 18 ISIL snipers killed in clashes with Iraqi security forces Press TV 27 Jul 2015 -- More than a dozen Takfiri ISIL terrorists have been killed as Iraqi security forces launched an operation against the militants in the country's embattled western province of Anbar.
• Syrian Kurds: Turkey Continuing PKK Strikes VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- Syrian Kurdish forces of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) that are fighting Islamic State militants say Turkish tanks continued shelled villages under their control late Sunday, saying the attacks occurred west of the Syrian town of Kobani.
• Turkey shells Kurdish village in Syria: Report Press TV 27 Jul 2015 -- At least four allied militants have been injured in shelling by Turkish tanks against a Kurdish-held village in northern Syria as Turkey pushes ahead with its campaign of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.
• US, Turkey Work to Clear Islamic State from Northern Syria VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- The U.S. said Monday it is working with Turkey on an attack plan to clear Islamic State insurgents from northern Syria, a campaign that would escalate Ankara's involvement in the fight against militants in the region.
• Libyan Army Could Crush Islamic State by End of Year If Arms Embargo Lifted Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Libyan Information Minister said that Libyan Armed Forces could eradicate the Islamic State (ISIL) jihadist group by the end of 2015.
• India Tightens Pakistan Border Control After Punjab Attack Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that authorities have tightened control on the border with Pakistan after a terrorist attack.
• Official: South Korea Will Work Toward Resuming Family Reunions VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- South Korea will work toward resuming inter-Korean family reunions prior to a national holiday in the fall, South Korea's point man on North Korea has said.
• Parties continue to make progress towards 'shared vision' of united Cyprus, UN envoy says UN News 27 Jul 2015 -- The positive and results-oriented climate of the talks between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders continues to foster the progress required towards conclusion of a settlement as soon as possible, the United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, confirmed today.

News Reports

• Obama Urges Ethiopia to 'Open Political Space' VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- President Barack Obama says the United States and Ethiopia are 'strong partners' on many issues, but is urging the government to allow journalists and opposition parties to operate more freely.
• US-Ethiopia Relationship Strong, But Complicated VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Ethiopia has illuminated the complexity of that relationship, in which Ethiopia serves as a valuable security ally and a bulwark against terrorism -- and the U.S., as a major aid donor and economic stimulator.
• China Slams Obama's Africa Trip VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- China's state media are disparaging U.S. President Barack Obama's travels in Africa as motivated by concern over Beijing's broadening clout on the continent, a critique the White House discounts.
• Iran's atomic chief rejects secrecy in Tehran-IAEA agreement IRNA 27 Jul 2015 -- Vice-President and Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi underlined that there is no secrecy in recent agreement between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• US Disturbed by WikiLeaks German Spy Target Disclosure Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Providing German opposition with lists of US espionage targets was unreasonable, the head of American Academy in Berlin, Gerhard Casper, said in an interview with the German Bild newspaper, published Monday.
• Over 900 People Detained During Anti-Terror Operation in Turkey Sputnik 27 Jul 2015 -- Over 900 people have been detained during a counter-terrorism operation initiated by the Turkish authorities after a recent bombing and shooting in the Turkish cities on Syria-Turkey border, local media reported on Monday.
• Analysts: Russian Cooperation on Syria, Ukraine Less Promising Than Iran Deal VOA 27 Jul 2015 -- U.S.-Russian collaboration to secure a deal on Iran's nuclear program has raised hopes of closer cooperation on other world issues, but analysts say any progress is likely to be slow in coming.
• UN mission finds overall environment in Burundi 'not conducive' to credible election process UN News 27 Jul 2015 -- While the 21 July election in Burundi that won President Pierre Nkurunziza a controversial third term was relatively peaceful and conducted adequately, the overall environment was 'not conducive' for an inclusive, free and credible electoral process, the United Nations Electoral Observation Mission in the country (MENUB) announced today.