Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Coalition Strikes Target ISIL in Iraq, Syria AFPS 25 Jun 2016 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Taliban Vows Retaliation as US Resumes Afghan Airstrikes VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- Afghanistan's Taliban said Saturday that it would strongly retaliate for the resumption of U.S. airstrikes against the insurgent group, and it rejected assertions that bombing operations ever paused.
• Daesh-linked terrorists abduct 30 in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Terrorists affiliated with the Daesh Takfiri group have kidnapped at least 30 people, including women, during an attack in Afghanistan's troubled eastern province of Nangarhar.
• Dozens Of Suspected IS Militants Killed In Afghanistan RFE/RL 25 Jun 2016 -- Dozens of suspected Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed in fighting in eastern Afghanistan.
• Former US Envoys Urge Obama to Delay Troop Cuts in Afghanistan VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- Three former U.S. envoys to Afghanistan called on the Obama administration this week not to cut U.S. troop levels in that country next year, even as the White House indicated that it remains committed to doing just that.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Pentagon Plans to Lift Ban on Transgender Troops VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- The U.S. Defense Department plans to repeal its ban on transgender service members, ending a year of contentious internal debate about how they can serve openly.
• North Korea not to surrender nuclear might under US threats: Official Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- North Korea says it has strengthened its nuclear might due to Washington's pressure and threats, stressing that Pyongyang cannot give up on its nuclear and missile tests with the 'US gun on its head.'
• North Korea is 'Proud' US Feels Threatened By Its Nuclear Weapons Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- A top Pyongyang official has claimed to US media that North Korea is a nuclear power the West cannot ignore.
• North Korea Nuclear, Missile Programs Meant to Hold US 'Hostage' Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- The likely intent of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests is to alter possible US military designs against Pyongyang, US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman said on Friday.
• India to Buy 145 M777 Howitzers From US - Defense Ministry Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- The India's Defense Acquisition Council approved purchase of 145 M777 howitzers from the United States, according to an official statement.
• India Carries Out Flight of Su-30 Equipped With BrahMos Missiles Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- The Indian Air Forces conducted on Saturday a demonstration flight of Su-30 fighter equipped with Russian-Indian supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles, BrahMos Aerospace said in a statement.
• Russia Hands Egypt Keys to Brand-New Corvette Warship Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- Russian Navy spokesman Viktor Kochemazov has confirmed that Russia delivered a R-32 missile corvette to the Egyptian Navy.
• Turkish Parliament Grants Immunity to Military for Anti-Kurdish Campaigns Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- The Grand National Assembly of Turkey voted Thursday to not prosecute soldiers engaged in a crackdown on Kurdish separatist groups.
• Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz The White House 25 Jun 2016

Defense Industry

• Russia, China Agree to Jointly Build Heavy Helicopter, Long-Range Plane Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- According to reports, Russia and China signed deals to cooperate on the construction of a wide-fuselage long-range plane and a civil heavy-lift helicopter.

Other Conflicts

• Syrian Kurds flee Daesh-held areas amid abductions Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Daesh Takfiri terrorists have reportedly killed and injured several Kurdish people fleeing militant-held villages in northern Syria.
• Russia's Unhelpful Game In Syria RFE/RL 25 Jun 2016 -- On June 16, U.S. F-18 fighter jets scrambled to intercept a group of Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers that had just conducted an air strike against a camp of soldiers who are central to the mission of the United States and the United Kingdom in their efforts to defeat the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
• Al-Nusra Front Shells Five Districts in Aleppo With Mortars Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- The Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization, banned in Russia, continues to hamper truce in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry stated Saturday.
• At least 45 People Killed in Syria by Russian and Government Planes VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- Russian and Syrian government airplanes killed at least 45 people, including children, Saturday in a town in eastern Syria, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
• Car bombing near hospital kills 4, injures 14 in Libya's Benghazi Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- A car bomb attack near a hospital in Libya's coastal city of Benghazi has left four civilians dead and 14 more wounded, medical officials say.
• 8 Killed in Rebel Attack on Police Convoy in Kashmir VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- Eight police officers were killed Saturday during a militant ambush in Kashmir, India.
• Kashmir Militants Kill Eight, Injure 20 Indian Police Officers in Ambush Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- Eight Indian security personnel were killed and 20 more injured in a gunfight with militants in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, according to local media.
• Terrorists gunned down around Mahabad city by IRGC IRNA 25 Jun 2016 -- Public Relations Department of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that its forces gunned down a number of terrorists in shootout around Mahabad city.
• Terrorists killed in western Iran ISNA 25 Jun 2016 -- Forces of Iranian Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Base killed a number of terrorists linked to anti-revolution groups in Sarvabad country in Kurdistan Province and Mahabad city in West Azerbaijan Province.
• IRGC engages militants in northwest Iran Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces have clashed with Kurdish militants who had infiltrated a northwestern village to stage terrorist and propagandist operations.
• 15 people die in Mogadishu hotel bombing Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Fifteen people were killed in a bombing targeting a major hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu Saturday, police said.
• 15 Killed in Terrorist Siege of Mogadishu Hotel VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- The terrorist siege of a Mogadishu hotel has ended, police in Somalia said Saturday, but not before at least 15 people were killed.

News Reports

• EU Ministers Call On Britain To Quickly Start Exit Process RFE/RL 25 Jun 2016 -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says the European Union's six founding states want Britain to begin leaving the union "as soon as possible" in order to keep the bloc from being stranded in political "limbo."
• Britain Wakes Up to Reality of Going It Alone VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- For some Britons, waking up Saturday felt like a hangover, facing the reality of the financial and political earthquake that followed the decision by the country's voters to leave the European Union.
• DPRK NDC Policy Department Blasts U.S., S. Korea for Turning Southwestern Waters in West Sea into Hottest Spot Waters KCNA 25 Jun 2016 -- The Policy Department of the National Defence Commission (NDC) of the DPRK in a detailed report on Saturday disclosed and denounced the thrice-cursed crimes committed by the sworn enemy given the prevailing situation in the hot spot waters in the West Sea which can be called the epitome of the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and the south Korean puppet forces' policy for confrontation with the DPRK.
• Day of Strategic Force Instituted in DPRK KCNA 25 Jun 2016 -- A decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK on instituting the Day of Strategic Force of the DPRK was promulgated on Friday.
• Putin's Pivot East Meets Tepid Chinese Enthusiasm RFE/RL 25 Jun 2016 -- Vladimir Putin has invested a lot of energy trying to pivot eastward to China to counterbalance Western economic sanctions over Ukraine.
• Belgian police detain 2 in fresh anti-terror raids Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Belgium has charged two people with participation in the activities of a terrorist group, as the country remains on high alert following the deadly attacks in the capital, Brussels, in March.
• Long March 7 carrier rocket facility prepares for launch People's Daily 25 Jun 2016 -- The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, China's newest space facility, will soon carry out its first mission to send the country's next generation Long March 7 carrier rocket skyward.
• DPP caucus accuses China of 'blackmailing, coercing' Taiwan CNA 25 Jun 2016 -- The legislative caucus of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) reacted angrily Sunday to China's suspension of official communications with Taiwan, saying that forcing Taiwanese to accept its version of the "1992 Consensus" is tantamount to "blackmailing and coercing."
• Cross-strait communication suspended after May 20: Chinese official CNA 25 Jun 2016 -- China on Saturday rejected Taiwan's protest over the handover of Taiwanese fraud suspects caught overseas to Chinese authorities, saying for the first time that the cross-Taiwan Strait communications mechanism "has been suspended" since a new government was sworn in in Taipei last month.
• Beijing cuts contact with Taiwan over Tsai pro-indep. stance Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- China has cut off contact with the main Taiwan liaison body as a result of the refusal of the self-ruled island nation's new president to recognize the so-called One China concept.
• Mainland China Suspends Cross-Strait Communication With Taiwan Sputnik 25 Jun 2016 -- Mainland China has suspended the the cross-Taiwan Strait communication mechanism after Taiwan refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, An Fengshan, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Saturday.
• Turkey detains 28 over alleged links to exiled cleric Gulen Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Turkey has reportedly arrested more than two dozen people for allegedly funding the movement of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen whom the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regards as an opponent.
• Report on Abuses in Eritrea Draws Demonstrators, Heated Emotions VOA 25 Jun 2016 -- This week, thousands of Eritreans gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, to both support and protest a new U.N. report alleging that the leaders of the Eritrean government have committed crimes against humanity.
• Venezuela opposition claims enough signatures for recall vote Press TV 25 Jun 2016 -- Venezuelan opposition leaders say they have authenticated enough signatures on a petition to step up the campaign for a recall referendum to unseat President Nicolas Maduro.