Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Casualty Update 08 Sep 2015 [PDF]
• Airstrikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq AFPS 08 Sep 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq.
• Update: air strikes in Iraq UK MOD 08 Sep 2015 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL.
• Syrian Train-and-Equip Effort Will Continue, Pentagon Spokesman Says AFPS 08 Sep 2015 -- DoD will continue to support moderate Syrian forces in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
• US-led drone kills two in NE Afghanistan Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- An attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to American forces in northeastern Afghanistan has left two fatalities, Press TV reports.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 08 Sep 2015
• F-22s arrive in Estonia AFNS 08 Sep 2015 -- Two F-22 Raptors and a KC-135 Stratotanker arrived at Ämari Air Base, Estonia, Sept. 5.
• USS Carney Final Ship to be Forward Deployed to Rota, Spain NNS 08 Sep 2015 -- USS Carney departed her homeport of Mayport, Florida, Sept. 6 on her way to Rota, Spain, as the final of four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers to be forward deployed to Spain.
• Joint Forces conduct amphibious landing on San Onofre Beach during Exercise Dawn Blitz 2015 USMC News 08 Sep 2015 -- Marines with the Mexican Naval Infantry Forces and the Royal New Zealand Navy conducted an amphibious landing in conjunction with Exercise Dawn Blitz 2015.
• U.S. service members, coalition partners conduct amphibious landing during Dawn Blitz 2015 USMC News 08 Sep 2015 -- United States Marines and sailors, along with service members from Japan, Mexico and New Zealand, executed an amphibious landing on the beaches of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
• Fighting Fifth Marines blitz Camp Pendleton beach USMC News 08 Sep 2015 -- Marines with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment conducted an amphibious landing as part of Exercise Dawn Blitz on the beaches of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Sept. 5, 2015.
• Aircraft communications maintainers make RPA missions possible AFNS 08 Sep 2015 -- The Airmen of the 432nd Aircraft Communications Maintenance Squadron work hard attending to one of the many antennas strung throughout the base.
• CRG 2 Accepts the First Two of 12 MK VI Patrol Boats NNS 08 Sep 2015 -- Coastal Riverine Group 2 has taken ownership of the first two of 12 Mark VI Patrol Boats, in Portsmouth, Sept. 8.
• U.S. Cyber Command Chief Details Plans to Meet Cyberspace Threats AFPS 08 Sep 2015 -- The commander of U.S. Cyber Command has stressed the need for the command to integrate its capabilities into all aspects of the national security effort.
• US building spy network in Arctic to counter Russia, China Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- US intelligence agencies plan to research potential threats in the Arctic for the first time since the Cold War.
• Comfort Arrives in Honduras, Begins Continuing Promise 2015 Mission Operations NNS 08 Sep 2015 -- The Continuing Promise 2015 team, embarked aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort, commenced the tenth mission stop in the towns of Trujillo, Puerto Castilla, and Corocito, Honduras.
• Russia’s Armata Tank to Sport Helicopter Fire Control System Sputnik 08 Sep 2015 -- A leading Russian electronics company is ready to adapt a number of their combat helicopter gear for use on the latest types of armored vehicles, including the state-of-the-art Armata tank.
• Beast Killer: Russia’s Kornet-EM Stands Up to M1 Abrams Sputnik 08 Sep 2015 -- The missile system is designed to destroy advanced and modern tanks fitted with explosive reactive armor from 1,100mm to 1,300mm, light-armored vehicles and fortifications.
• Penny-Pinching Poland Asks Norway to Share Bill for New Subs Sputnik 08 Sep 2015 -- Poland may join other NATO members such as Norway or the Netherlands to buy submarines as a group instead of buying them alone to cut costs.
• RFA Lyme Bay receives praise from High Commissioner for Dominica Aid UK MOD 08 Sep 2015 -- Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Lyme Bay is approaching the final phase of her taking to assist the island of Dominica following Tropical Storm Erika.
• China relaxes restrictions on weaponry research, production People's Daily 08 Sep 2015 -- China has liberalized the market for research and production of weaponry by slashing restrictions on the types of arms that private firms are allowed to develop without licenses.
• Taiwan holds live-fire drill on outlying Kinmen island CNA 08 Sep 2015 -- Taiwan held a live-fire drill Tuesday on the outlying island of Kinmen, as part of the country's annual war games to test its combat readiness in the face of China's growing military power.
• Ma inspects exercise simulating major military, political incidents CNA 08 Sep 2015 -- President Ma Ying-jeou inspected an exercise that simulated major political and military incidents, which was part of the annual Han Kuang war games.
• September 8, 2015 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 08 Sep 2015
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 9/8/2015 The White House 08 Sep 2015

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for September 8, 2015

Other Conflicts

• British Defense Chief: More Syria Strikes Possible VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- Britain's defense minister said the military would consider more airstrikes against militants in Syria if they meant stopping likely terror attacks against British interests.
• Pentagon Reportedly Preparing to Overhaul Syrian Rebel Force VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- The New York Times says U.S. defense officials are drawing up plans to revise the training of moderate Syrian rebels.
• "UK would not hesitate to conduct more drone strikes in Syria" Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon says London would not hesitate to carry out more secret drone attacks on British militants in Syria.
• First France surveillance flights completed over Syria Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- France says that two French fighter jets have successfully completed the country’s first reconnaissance flights over Syria.
• UN envoy says it is now time to have ‘a real discussion’ to end Syrian conflict UN News 08 Sep 2015 -- The United Nations Special Envoy on Syria tsaid the images of the drowned Syrian toddler wearing a red shirt and blue shorts lying face down on a Turkish beach should be a wake-up call to the world.
• Russia, Iran May Create New Way to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Syria Sputnik 08 Sep 2015 -- Iran and Turkey could assist Russia if Greece fulfills the US’ request to close its airspace to Russian aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria.
• Bulgaria Denies Airspace to Russian Aid Flights to Syria Sputnik 08 Sep 2015 -- Bulgaria has denied its airspace to Russian aid flights to Syria, Reuters reports on Tuesday citing the Bulgarian foreign ministry's spokeswoman.
• Three reasons to pay attention to Turkey's Kurdish war IRIN 08 Sep 2015 -- As the world fixates on the Syrian refugee crisis, Turkey's conflict with Kurdish rebels has suddenly escalated rapidly. At least 30 security personnel have been killed in the past three days and Turkey confirmed today that its troops had entered Iraq in pursuit of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the first such incursion in years.
• Turkish Forces Enter Northern Iraq to Hunt Kurdish Rebels VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- Turkish ground forces entered northern Iraq Tuesday for the first time since 2011, conducting what an official termed a "short-term" operation to hunt Kurdish rebels behind attacks on Turkish soldiers and police.
• Turkey ground forces invade Iraq in 'hot pursuit' of PKK Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- Two units of Turkish special forces have crossed into northern Iraq in "hot pursuit" of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party militants after a deadly attack on the army.
• Daesh kidnaps 127 Iraqi children in Mosul: Kurdish official Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- The Daesh group has kidnapped around 130 Iraqi children in the city of Mosul which is under the control of the terrorist group.
• Report: Germany Confirms Mustard Gas Use By Islamic State In Iraq RFE/RL 08 Sep 2015 -- Germany's foreign intelligence agency BND has collected evidence of mustard gas use by the Islamic State extremist group.
• Kyiv Invites ICC To Probe For War Crimes In Eastern Ukraine RFE/RL 08 Sep 2015 -- Ukraine has accepted the International Criminal Court's (ICC) jurisdiction to probe possible war crimes committed during Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
• Close to 8,000 people killed in eastern Ukraine, says UN human rights report UN News 08 Sep 2015 -- Close to 8,000 people have lost their lives in eastern Ukraine since mid-April 2014, according to the latest report by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission.
• Nigeria imposes horse ban to stop Boko Haram attacks Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- Nigeria’s military has banned the use of horses to stop deadly raids by the Takfiri Boko Haram militant group in the country’s northeastern state of Borno.
• Resentment Still Stirring in Nigeria's Former Biafra VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- It’s been decades since Nigeria’s southeast tried to secede, renaming itself Biafra and sparking a civil war that left nearly 1 million people dead. Biafra is long gone, but some in the southeast are still agitating for separation.
• South Sudan Government to Approve Peace Deal Soon VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- South Sudan’s government said it will present to its national legislature the peace agreement signed last month between the government and rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar to end nearly two years of conflict.
• UN peacekeeping chief announces weapons-free zone in Central African Republic town UN News 08 Sep 2015 -- The United Nations has established a weapons-free zone in the town of Bambari in the Central African Republic.
• Israeli demolition orders boost vulnerability of thousands of West Bank Palestinians, UN warns UN News 08 Sep 2015 -- A new United Nations report shows that, according to official data released by the Israeli authorities, more than 11,000 demolition orders are currently outstanding in the West Bank's Area C.
• Israel forces make incursion into Gaza Strip, level fields Press TV 08 Sep 2015 -- Israeli military vehicles have carried out a cross-border military incursion into the southern part of the besieged Gaza Strip.
• Pakistan Baluch Separatist Leader Reported Killed RFE/RL 08 Sep 2015 -- A top official in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province says the leader of the banned separatist Baluch Liberation Front has been killed.
• Pakistan's Sharif Consults Religious Scholars on Future of Madrassas VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif consulted with representatives from top religious seminaries on reforms to be introduced in the religious schools’ curriculum, registration and funding process.

News Reports

• Obama Won't Have to Wield Veto for Iran Nuclear Deal VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- Democrats in the U.S. Senate have rallied 41 votes — enough to block a resolution opposing the Iran nuclear agreement.
• North, South Korea Agree to Resume Family Reunions VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- North and South Korea have agreed to resume the reunion of families separated for more than 60 years by the Korean War.
• EU Chief to Push Migrant Quotas VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker is calling for an expanded country-by-country migrant quota plan throughout much of Europe, to accept thousands of asylum-seekers from the Mideast over the next two years.
• Refugees have to be dealt with as human beings, stresses senior UN official UN News 08 Sep 2015 -- Refugees have to be dealt with as human beings, and the broader migrant community, including economic migrants, cannot be dismissed “with a wave of the hand,” the top United Nations official dealing with migration said.
• France, UN Condemn Favoritism for Christian Refugees in Europe VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- French and U.N. leaders on Tuesday condemned officials who say that Europe's acceptance of refugees from the Mideast ought to be limited to migrants who are Christians.
• Paris Conference Rallies Support for Mideast’s Persecuted Minorities VOA 08 Sep 2015 -- France announced Tuesday that it would earmark nearly $28 million in aid for persecuted minorities in the Middle East, as Europe grapples with a mounting refugee crisis on its doorstep.