Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF / OND / OEF / OIR / OFS Casualty Update 04 Apr 2016 [PDF]
• Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in the Pentagon Briefing Room DoD 04 Apr 2016 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook
• Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq AFPS 04 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.
• Update: air strikes against Daesh UK MOD 04 Apr 2016 -- British forces have continued to conduct air operations in the fight against Daesh
• US Considers Enhancing Deployment of Special Forces in Syria – Reports Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- The White House is considering a plan that involves a significant increase in the number of US Special Operations forces deployed in Syria.
• U.S. Airstrike Targets Meeting of Senior al-Qaida Leaders in Syria AFPS 04 Apr 2016 -- A U.S. military airstrike on a senior al-Qaida operational meeting in northwestern Syria resulted in "several enemy killed," possibly including the terrorist organization's leader, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters today.
• Senior al-Qaida Leader Target of US Strike in Syria VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- The United States targeted a senior al-Qaida leader in an airstrike Sunday in northwestern Syria, the latest in a series of so-called "decapitation" strikes aimed at terrorist organizations.
• Iraqi, Coalition forces turning tide in fight to defeat ISIL USMC News 04 Apr 2016 -- U.S. Marines and Sailors with II Marine Expeditionary Force packed up their bags and headed home after a nine-month deployment to Iraq's al Anbar province at the end of March 2016.
• Son, Brother of Late Afghan Taliban Leader Get Top Posts VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Afghanistan's Taliban announced Monday its deceased leader Mullah Omar's elder son has assumed command of the insurgency in 15 out of the country's 34 provinces.
• US Navy Says It Seized Alleged Iranian Ship Carrying Weapons in Arabian Sea Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- A US ship intercepted and seized a shipment of weapons that was reportedly being transported on an Iranian vessel in the Arabian Sea, US Department of Navy said Monday.
• US Intercepts Iranian Weapons Shipment to Houthi Fighters in Yemen VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- The U.S. military says it seized a cache of weapons it believes was being transported from Iran to Shi'ite Houthi rebels fighting for control of Yemen.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Detainee Transfers Announced DoD 04 Apr 2016 -- The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of Salem Abdu Salam Ghereby and Omar Khalif Mohammed Abu Baker Mahjour Umar from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the Government of Senegal.
• US Sends 2 Guantanamo Prisoners to Senegal VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- The U.S. released two inmates from its Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba on Monday, sending them to the west African nation of Senegal.
• Philippine-US Military Exercises Begin With Greater Regional Presence VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- This year's joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States are underway with Japan's Self-Defense forces observing for the first time and scores of Australian troops taking part in some special operations activities.
• US, Philippines begin military drills amid tensions over S. China Sea Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- About 9,000 troops from United States, Australia and the Philippines started a joint military exercise on Monday amid ongoing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region over the South China Sea.
• US, Philippines Launch Massive South China Sea War Games Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- Amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, the US and the Philippines began their annual war games on Monday, kicking off 11 days of military exercises meant as a show of force to China.
• Stout Powers Through Small Boat Drill NNS 04 Apr 2016 -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) completed an inbound, high-speed boat training drill, March 28.
• Eielson selected to receive operational F-35A aircraft AFNS 04 Apr 2016 -- Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, was selected as the new home for the Air Force's first operational overseas F-35A Lightning IIs.
• DoD Strategic Capabilities Office Gives Deployed Military Systems New Tricks AFPS 04 Apr 2016 -- Editor's note: This is the first of two articles about DoD's Strategic Capabilities Office
• Austin Reflects on Centcom's Achievements During 'Tumultuous Times' AFPS 04 Apr 2016 -- U.S. Central Command has responsibility for American military interests in the most volatile area of the world: the Middle East and Central and South Asia.
• World's Largest Maritime Exercise Underway in Middle East NNS 04 Apr 2016 -- The International Mine Countermeasures Exercise, the largest maritime exercise in the world, kicked off April 4, with international naval and civilian maritime forces from more than 30 nations spanning six continents training together across the Middle East.
• US kicks off largest maritime exercise in Mideast Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- The United States has kicked off the world's largest maritime exercise in the Middle East, with more than 30 countries participating in the event.
• US to Hold Observation Flight Over Russia Under Open Skies Treaty Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- US military experts will fly over the territory of Russia under the Treaty on Open Skies on April 4-9, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said Sunday.
• Remarks by the President and Secretary General Stoltenberg of NATO after Bilateral Meeting The White House 04 Apr 2016
• Obama: US, NATO United in IS Militant Group Fight VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Two weeks after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, U.S. President Barack Obama and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg marked the tragedy while reinforcing the importance of staying focused on the fight against the so-called Islamic State militant group.
• NATO Secretary General thanks President Obama for US commitment to NATO NATO 04 Apr 2016 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US President Barack Obama discussed the Alliance's response to key security challenges at the White House in Washington D.C. and preparations for the Warsaw Summit in July.
• Trump Slams NATO Allies, Calls for Breakup of Military Alliance Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- Billionaire businessman and Republican frontrunner for the US presidency Donald Trump has blasted NATO allies for being over-reliant on the US, failing to make their way and suggesting the military alliance could break up.
• NATO training for Iraqi officers starts in Jordan NATO 04 Apr 2016 -- The first group of officers from Iraq's national security forces started their NATO training course at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Centre in Amman, Jordan, on 2 April 2016.
• Vikings Striking: Norway to Double Its Warships to Track Russian Fleet Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- The new FS Marjata IV military intelligence collection ship has become a new addition to the Norwegian Navy and will join NATO reconnaissance missions in the Barents and Norwegian Seas this spring, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported.
• South China Sea: Japanese Warships Dock in Philippines Near Disputed Waters Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- A Japanese submarine and two destroyers have arrived to the major Philippine port of Subic located in the vicinity of the disputed South China Sea water routes, to uphold "peace and stability" in the region, the Philippine Navy have said.
• Missile power, Iran's redline: Armed Forces spokesman IRNA 04 Apr 2016 -- Defensive capabilities and its missile power are Iran's redlines, Armed Forces Spokesman Brigadier-General Masoud Jazayeri said on Monday.
• Disarmament Commission has 'considerable potential' to produce solid results – senior UN official UN News 04 Apr 2016 -- Despite a "deepening paralysis and divisions within multilateral disarmament bodies," and the fact that many are looking outside traditional United Nations forums for progress, the top official on the issue stressed today that the UN Disarmament Commission has considerable potential to demonstrate that the existing disarmament machinery can produce results.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 4/4/16 The White House 04 Apr 2016
• April 4, 2016 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 04 Apr 2016

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for April 04, 2016

Other Conflicts

• 4 April 2016 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 04 Apr 2016
• Mine action is an 'investment in humanity,' says UN chief, calling for a world free of explosive remnants of war UN News 04 Apr 2016 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki moon today called for a world free of the threat of mines and explosive remnants of war, stressing that those hazards prevent aid from reaching those in need, and endanger the lives of the displaced persons returning home and children going to school.
• Iran defense minister, Azeri counterpart discuss Karabakh issue IRNA 04 Apr 2016 -- Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan and his Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov on Monday discussed latest developments in the Karabakh region in a telephone conversation.
• Azerbaijan appeals to international community on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict People's Daily 04 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijan has appealed to the international community to demand withdrawal of Armenian troops from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
• Four Armenian troops killed in fresh clashes with Azerbaijan over Karabakh Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- At least four Armenian military personnel have been killed in a series of clashes between Armenian-backed and Azerbaijani forces in the disputed Caucasus region of Karabakh.
• Three Azeri troops killed in clashes with Armenia over Karabakh: Azerbaijan Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of killing three of its servicemen in the border region of Nagorno Karabakh, as the two sides continue to clash for the control of the region.
• De Waal: Kremlin 'Not Primary Actor' Behind Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict RFE/RL 04 Apr 2016 -- A noted Western expert on the Caucasus says tensions between Azerbaijanis and Armenians over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh make their dispute one of the most menacing unresolved conflicts from the time the Soviet Union was breaking up in the early 1990s.
• Turkish Statements on Nagorno-Karabakh Could Aggravate Situation - Yerevan Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- The Armenian president slammed Ankara for making Nagorno-Karabakh statements which can further aggravate the crisis.
• Armenia to Recognize Nagorno-Karabakh Independence if Hostilities Increase Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- Yerevan will recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as an independent state if violence escalates, the Armenian president said.
• Baku Claims Some 170 Armenian Soldiers Killed in Karabakh in Past Hours Sputnik 04 Apr 2016 -- Some 170 Armenian soldiers were killed and at least 12 armored vehicles were destroyed in clashes along the separation line in the self-proclaimed region of Nagorny-Karabakh in the past few hours, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Monday.
• Armenia Warns Of 'Full-Scale War' Amid Fresh Casualties In Karabakh Fighting RFE/RL 04 Apr 2016 -- Armenia has warned that renewed hostilities over Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh could lead to "full-scale war" and the recognition of the territory as an independent state, while Baku has announced new fatalities among soldiers fighting separatist forces and threatened to expand its operations along the front line.
• No cooperation with China in South China Sea: Taiwan CNA 04 Apr 2016 -- The Republic of China (Taiwan) has its own foreign policy and will not join forces with China or act in its interests on South China Sea issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Monday.
• Saudis attack civilians in Hajjah, Sa'ada; casualties reported Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- Airstrikes by Saudi warplanes have killed one and injured a number of other civilians in neighboring Yemen as the kingdom continues to target residential areas across the impoverished nation.
• Islamic State Suffers More Reversals in Syria VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Islamic State militants have suffered a series of reversals in northern Syria, both at the hands of rebel fighters and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, that saw the terror group lose control of strategic territory bordering Turkey and withdraw from a town southeast of Homs, according to rebel fighters and political activists.
• Iranian commandos deployed to Syria Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- An Iranian military official says commandos from an Iranian army unit have been deployed to Syria on an advisory mission.
• Iran Deploys Army Commandos to Syria VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Iran is bolstering its military presence in Syria, deploying a top army unit to the country in what commanders call an advisory mission, according to state-run media.
• Al-Nusra spokesman killed in airstrike: Observatory Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- A high-ranking al-Nusra Front terrorist group leader has been killed in an air strike in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, says a UK-based monitoring group.
• Syria's Al-Qaeda spokesman, 20 other terrorists killed in Idlib IRNA 04 Apr 2016 -- The spokesman for Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, his son and 20 other terrorists were killed in air strikes Sunday in the northeast of the country.
• Iraqi forces enter Hit in major anti-Daesh operation Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- Iraqi elite forces have entered the western city of Hit in a major push to retake it from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
• Bombs, bullets, shells claim 23 lives across Iraq Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- Medical and security officials in Iraq say at least 23 people were killed and more than two dozen others injured in a series of bomb explosions, a shooting attack and shelling across Iraq.
• Kurdish Military Leader Supports Sunnis in Quest to Oust Islamic State VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Kurdish counterterrorism forces, or Diji Terror, are some of the best trained and equipped in the fight against the Islamic State. They were set up by the U.S. military in 2002 to battle extremists in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan.
• Turkish president says time for peace talks with PKK over Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to continue operations against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants, saying there remains no room for peace talks with the militant group.
• Turkish army kills 27 militants in restive southeast Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- The Turkish military says at least 27 members of a militant group have been killed during military operations in the troubled southeastern part of Turkey.
• Two years of conflict leaves 1.5 million people hungry in eastern Ukraine - UN agency UN News 04 Apr 2016 -- The two-year long conflict in eastern Ukraine has left around 1.5 million people hungry, including almost 300,000 people who are severely food insecure and in need of immediate food assistance, the United Nations food relief agency said today.
• Burundi Welcomes UN Resolution Approving Police Presence in Burundi VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- The Burundian government says it welcomes the adoption of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2279, which calls for the deployment of a U.N. police contingent to monitor the security situation in Burundi.
• UN sexual misconduct investigation in DR Congo finds violations and cases of abuse UN News 04 Apr 2016 -- Findings of a United Nations Response Team tasked with investigating sexual abuse allegations committed by UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) indicate sex with minors along with paternity claims.
• Nigeria captures leader of terrorist group, Ansaru Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- The Nigerian army says it has arrested the leader of an al-Qaeda linked militant group, Ansaru, known for kidnapping and murdering Westerners.

News Reports

• World Leaders Scramble After Massive Leak On Offshore Intrigues RFE/RL 04 Apr 2016 -- World leaders have scrambled to react to the leak of a trove of documents linking many of them to secretive offshore companies that enabled vast sums of money to move around the world hidden from law enforcement and regulators.
• Police clash with assailants in Congo capital Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- Clashes have erupted in Congo's capital, Brazzaville, between police and armed assailants in the first outbreak of violence in the African country weeks after the re-election of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.
• Congo: Gunmen Attack Military Base, Police Stations VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- The Republic of Congo says gunmen attacked police, military and government targets in the capital Monday, in the first major violence since the re-election of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.
• N Korea conducting 'suspicious' activities, US think tank says Press TV 04 Apr 2016 -- North Korea is conducting "suspicious" activities at its main nuclear site at Yongbyon, meaning the North could be planning to produce more plutonium for atomic bombs, says a US think tank.
• DPRK FM Spokesman Slams "Nuclear Security Summit" KCNA 04 Apr 2016 -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK gave the following answer to the question put by KCNA on Monday accusing the U.S. of vociferating about "nuclear threat" from the DPRK at the 4th "Nuclear Security Summit":
• U.S. Takes off Its Deceptive Mask: Rodong Sinmun KCNA 04 Apr 2016 -- Recently U.S. media, reminding the readers of the on-going U.S.-south Korea joint military exercises, said whenever the military plays with fire in south Korea, it committed reconnaissance and watch of the highest level chiefly aimed at the supreme leadership of the DPRK.
• DPRK Will Exercise Right to Powerful Preemptive Strike: Rodong Sinmun KCNA 04 Apr 2016 -- The confrontational frenzy of the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet group of traitors has reached the worst phase.
• Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Drops 2 Cabinet Posts VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Myanmar's ruling party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has given up two of her cabinet positions, freeing her up to potentially take on a prime minister-like post the party wants to create for her.
• India Regional Polls to Test Ruling BJP's Popularity VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- In India, millions of voters are headed to the polls in the states of Assam and West Bengal to choose new governments – the first in a series of regional elections to be held over the next six weeks. The elections will test the popularity of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which suffered humiliating electoral losses last year.
• Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan's Unlikely Reformer RFE/RL 04 Apr 2016 -- He is a veteran conservative politician known for attempting to introduce strict Shari'a law in Pakistan in the late 1990s before a military coup temporarily sent him into exile. But since his return as prime minister, Nawaz Sharif has emerged as an unlikely torch-bearer for reform.
• Sharif Family Defends Offshore Assets, Denies Wrongdoing VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family has defended ownership of their offshore companies and property, denying any wrongdoing in their development.
• Kremlin Slams 'Putinophobia' of Panama Papers VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman on Monday dismissed a report that alleges close friends of the president hid some $2 billion dollars in offshore accounts.
• New Ebola Flare-up in Liberia VOA 04 Apr 2016 -- Health officials in Liberia say a five-year-old boy has tested positive for Ebola just days after his mother died of the virus.