Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIL Strikes in Syria, Iraq AFPS 03 Apr 2016 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• UN Worried Over Expected Rise in Afghan Violence VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- The United Nations said it expects more violence with the onset of spring in Afghanistan and called for increased regional cooperation and coordination to help the war-hit nation counter the terrorism threat.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US sends F-15 fighter jets to Iceland, Netherlands Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- The US military has sent a dozen F-15C fighter jets and some 350 airmen to Iceland and the Netherlands, as part of an effort to deter alleged Russian aggression in Europe.
• U.S. Says Russia Increased Number Of Deployed Warheads, Despite Treaty RFE/RL 03 Apr 2016 -- The U.S. government said that Russia has increased the number of strategic warheads deployed on ballistic missiles, despite a 5-year-old treaty that mandates cuts to both countries' nuclear arsenals.
• Commander: Iran mass produces speedboats IRNA 03 Apr 2016 -- Iran managed to mass produce speedboats cruising at 80 knots last year and has plans to further increase the speed of its boats, according to a top commander at the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC).
• Speaker underlines boost of missile capability IRNA 03 Apr 2016 -- Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani during his speech in Sunday morning public meeting underlined boost of missile capability.
• Iran missiles not open to talks, compromise: Araqchi Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- An Iranian deputy foreign minister says the Islamic Republic's missile capability is a matter of defense and national security, which is not open to any negotiations or compromise.
• DPRK test-fires new-type guided rockets: report People's Daily 03 Apr 2016 -- Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 24, 2016 shows the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Unguiding a ground test for heavy-lift, solid-fuel rocket engine and its separation. The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has guided a ground test for heavy-lift, solid-fuel rocket engine and its separation, the country's official news agency KCNA reported Thursday. The test was aimed at testing the structural safety and the thrust of the newly developed rocket engine and gauging the working specification of heat separation system, said KCNA. (Xinhua/KCNA)
• Japanese submarine, destroyers arrive in Philippines near disputed waters Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- A Japanese submarine, along with two guided-missile destroyers, has docked at a Philippine port near the South China Sea, where there is a territorial dispute with China.
• UK jets and warship to bolster Baltic security UK MOD 03 Apr 2016 -- RAF Typhoon and the Royal Navy warship HMS Iron Duke will deploy to the Baltic this month.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Azerbaijan Announces Cease-fire in Fight With Armenia VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijan announced a unilateral cease-fire Sunday in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh after clashes with Armenian forces left 30 soldiers dead Saturday and both sides reported more fighting overnight.
• Ceasefire fails to end Karabakh hostilities Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Armenia and Azerbaijan have both reported bouts of fighting despite the announcement of a unilateral ceasefire by Baku in the disputed border region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Azerbaijan declares unilateral truce in Karabakh Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijan has announced 'unilateral' ceasefire as a gesture of goodwill in Nagorno-Karabakh after major clashes between the Azeri military forces and Armenian troops along the disputed border region.
• Battles Rage For Second Day In Disputed Nagorno-Karabakh RFE/RL 03 Apr 2016 -- Separatist forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh launched a counteroffensive and said they regained strategic high ground, as heavy fighting raged for a second day between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces.
• Turkey 'Spreads Instability' by Backing Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Syria isn't the only place where the Turkish government keeps putting spokes into others' wheels. This time Ankara is working to destabilize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan by supporting Baku's aggressive policies in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said.
• Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Ready to Discuss Ceasefire With Azerbaijan Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is ready to discuss a ceasefire with Baku provided the opposing sides would withdraw their forces to the positions they had held before the conflict escalated.
• Armenian Defense Ministry Doubts Azerbaijan's Claims on Truce in Karabakh Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijan's statement regarding the unilateral ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region is not consistent with reality, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said Sunday.
• Azerbaijan Destroys 10 Armenian Tanks in Nagorno-Karabakh - Ministry Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Armenia has lost 10 battle tanks during the intensified Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
• CSTO Head Discusses Karabakh With Armenian Defense, Foreign Ministers Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Secretary General of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikolay Bordyuzha, discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan in a telephone call on Sunday, according to the organization's press secretary Vladimir Zaynetdinov.
• Azerbaijan Decides to Unilaterally Halt Military Operations in Karabakh Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijan has made a unilateral decision to halt all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the head of the country's Defense Ministry's press service said Sunday.
• Azerbaijan Defense Ministry Refutes Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh Region Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijani Defense Ministry refuted the statement of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic that active military operations continue at the north and south-east of the region. The corresponding statement was made by head of Azerbaijani Ministry press-service Vagif Dyargahly.
• Intense Fighting Continues in Nagorno-Karabakh South-East, North Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Nagorno-Karabakh Republic prepares the lists of reservists to be sent to military units requiring reinforcement.
• 18 Armenian soldiers killed in clashes between Armenian, Azerbaijani troops People's Daily 03 Apr 2016 -- A total of 18 Armenian soldiers have been killed, 35 wounded in border clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops on the Karabakh conflict zone, according to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan Saturday.
• Yemeni forces capture 42 Saudi troops in Bayda, Jawf provinces Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Yemeni forces have managed to capture 42 Saudi soldiers in Bayda and Jawf provinces, and killed several others in Ma'rib.
• Yemen President Fires PM Ahead of Peace Talks with Rebels VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- Arab news outlets say Yemen President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi dismissed his prime minister and vice president, Khaled Bahah, in a major government shakeup ahead of United Nations-brokered peace talks with Iran-backed Houthi militants later this month.
• Syrian forces recapture Daesh-held town of al-Qaryatain west of Palmyra Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Syria's government forces have retaken control of the central town of al-Qaryatain, which is under the control of Daesh group, as part of Damascus's fight against Takfiri militants.
• Syrian Army Kills 12 Al-Nusra Front Terrorists Near Aleppo - Russian MoD Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- The Syrian army has killed 12 militants from al-Nusra Front terrorist group during clashes in the Aleppo province, the Russian reconciliation center at the Hmeymim airbase said on Sunday.
• Syrian Army Takes Control Over Christian Town Al-Qaryatayn in Homs Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Syrian government forces have gained control over a Christian town in the province of Homs, Al-Qaryatayn. Meanwhile, the fighting is ongoing in the western suburbs of the town, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Sunday.
• Western States 'Dishonest', Cannot Be Counted On - Assad Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Syrian President Bashar Assad thinks that the situation in Syria proved that the West was dishonest.
• Russian Bomb Squad Defuses Over 1,000 Mines in Liberated Syria's Palmyra Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- According to the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, the ceasefire in the country was violated seven times for the past 24 hours.
• Syrian Forces Seize Town of Qaryatain From Islamic State VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- Syria said Sunday its forces seized another town from Islamic State militants, Qaryatain, in the central part of the country, a week after retaking the historic city of Palmyra.
• 3,000 Iraqi families return to Ramadi Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Some 3,000 families from the western Iraqi city of Ramadi have begun returning home after the city was retaken from Takfiri Daesh militants.
• 60 Daesh militants killed in northern Iraq: Reports Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- A total of 60 Takfiri Daesh terrorists have been killed during military operations across Iraq's northern provinces of Nineveh and Kirkuk, security sources say.
• Pakistan in Final Phase to 'Clear' Border Tribal Regions VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- Pakistan's military said it killed more than 250 militants and lost eight soldiers in counterinsurgency operations near the Afghan border in the past two months.

News Reports

• Massive Investigative Report Documents Kremlin-Linked Shell Companies RFE/RL 03 Apr 2016 -- An international consortium of investigative reporters has documented a vast network of shady money transfers used by close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin to funnel more than $2 billion into offshore shell companies.
• International Journalists Say Putin Associates Ran $2 Billion Through Offshore Accounts VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- A team of international journalists, working with leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm, has concluded that associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin moved as much as $2 billion through offshore bank accounts over a nearly 40-year period.
• Erdogan says offended by Obama's remarks on press freedom Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says it is saddening that US President Barack Obama made comments in his "absence" about freedom of press in Turkey.
• Erdogan: Obama Spoke 'Behind My Back' on Press Freedom VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused U.S. President Barack Obama of criticizing him behind his back over press freedom issues during a visit last week to Washington.
• All-win nuclear security architecture needed People's Daily 03 Apr 2016 -- At the fourth and final nuclear security summit in Washington, world leaders have reached consensus on pushing ahead with a more robust global nuclear security architecture, vowing to make continued endeavors to tackle the threat of nuclear terrorism.
• DPRK denounces Security Council for ignoring call for discussing U.S.-S.Korea war games People's Daily 03 Apr 2016 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday denounced the UN Security Council for dismissing its call for convening a meeting to discuss ongoing U.S.-S.Korea joint military exercises.
• Taliban sold Indian spy to Pakistani intelligence: Senior German diplomat Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- The Taliban sold an Indian spy to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), says a high-ranking German diplomat.
• IRGC busts terrorist group in southeast Iran Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has busted a terrorist group in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, a senior commander says.
• No More Spending? Saudi Arabia Feels Dire Consequences of Oil Price Decline Sputnik 03 Apr 2016 -- Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing the consequences of falling oil prices. The foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank have further decreased, while the Saudi population has started to spend less money, German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported.
• One killed in Saudi police car bomb explosion Press TV 03 Apr 2016 -- A Saudi national has been killed after a booby-trapped police vehicle exploded in the kingdom's central city of al-Dalam, local media report.
• South African Parliament to Debate Impeaching President Zuma VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- South Africa's parliament will open debate Tuesday on an opposition motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma for violating the constitution.
• Cameroon Opposition Defies Police, Protests Biya's Hold on Power VOA 03 Apr 2016 -- The opposition in Cameroon has defied police and continued protests against efforts by the ruling party to organize early elections, with several protesters having been wounded or arrested since last Tuesday.