Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Officials Release Details of Latest Counter-ISIS Strikes in Syria, Iraq AFPS 11 Mar 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 28 strikes consisting of 111 engagements against ISIS targets yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Two Taliban 'infiltrators' shoot 8 police to death in Zabul Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- Eight Afghan policemen have been killed in their base by "infiltrators" in an attack claimed by the Taliban in Shinkia district of the southern province of Zabul.
• Russia Hints at Involving US in Talks on Afghanistan VOA 11 Mar 2017 -- Russia has hinted at involving the United States in a newly-launched regional dialogue Moscow says is aimed at seeking a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan. The move comes as Afghanistan's national security adviser is due to visit Moscow to discuss the prospects for promoting reconciliation with armed opposition in his country.
• Afghan Corruption Watchdog Warns of Graft's Consequences VOA 11 Mar 2017 -- John Sopko's message to the Afghan people is simple: Corruption kills.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Russia Starts Preparations to Modernize Naval Base in Syrian Tartus Sputnik 11 Mar 2017 -- Viktor Ozerov, the head of the Russian Federation Council's defense committee, said that the capital modernization work of the naval base in Syria's Tartus will start by the end of 2017.
• THAAD unaffected by S Korea political crisis Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- The US military says it will push ahead with plans to deploy the THAAD missile system in South Korea despite the ongoing political turmoil in the East Asian country.
• Iran to unveil Karrar tank Sunday IRNA 11 Mar 2017 -- Domestically-manufactured battle Karrar (Striker) tank would be unveiled in a ceremony on Sunday attended by Defense Minister Brigadier-General Hossein Dehqan, it was announced on Saturday.
• Iranian flotilla returns home IRNA 11 Mar 2017 -- 44th Flotilla of the Navy of Iran's Army returned home on Saturday after a five-month mission.
• Iran seeks constructive marine interaction with Russia: Commander Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- Iran seeks to bolster "good and constructive" marine cooperation with Russia, an Iranian naval commander says.
• Kosovo President Says Will Resign If Lawmakers Don't Create Army RFE/RL 11 Mar 2017 -- Kosovo's president said he will resign and force a parliamentary election if lawmakers do not approve his proposal to create a national army over the objections of Kosovo's Western allies and minority ethnic Serbs.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Houthi fighters kill 7 Saudi mercenaries in western Yemen Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- Fighters from the Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah movement have engaged in fierce clashes with militiamen loyal to Saudi-backed resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the country's southwestern province of Ta'izz, killing a number of them.
• Yemeni Official Confirms Coup Militia Looting more than 63 Relief Ships SPA 11 Mar 2017 -- Yemeni Minister of Local Administration and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief Abdulraqeb Fatah has expressed his wondering over the silence of the UN organizations towards the looting carried out by militia Al-Huthi and Saleh coup for humanitarian and relief aids.
• Spokesman condemns escalation of attacks on Yemen residential areas IRNA 11 Mar 2017 -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi here on Saturday said escalation of attacks on several Yemeni residential units is violation of human rights and should be investigated by international organizations.
• Unauthorized forces in Syria are invaders: Syrian president Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- President Bashar Assad says all foreign troops deployed to his country without the approval of the Syrian government are invaders, apparently referring to US and Turkish forces.
• Syrian Armed Opposition Sets Conditions for Attending Astana Talks Sputnik 11 Mar 2017 -- Syria's armed opposition delegation for the Astana peace talks the meeting to start after March 20 in order to assess the establishment of ceasefire regimes in the Al Waer and East Ghouta areas, the deadline for which has been set for March 20, according to official statement.
• President Bashar Assad Hopes Syrian War Will End in 2017 Sputnik 11 Mar 2017 -- In an interview with Chinese Phoenix Television, published by the news agency SANA, President Bashar Assad said he hopes Syrian war will end in 2017.
• Damascus Didn't Consent to US Military Presence in Manbij - Bashar Assad Sputnik 11 Mar 2017 -- Syrian President Bashar Assad does not consider presence of the US military in Syria as helpful in fight against terrorism.
• UNSC: Astana Ceasefire Agreement Enabled Continuation of Syrian Political Talks Sputnik 11 Mar 2017 -- The UN Security Council says that the continuation of the intra-Syrian political dialogue in Geneva became a possibility because of the ceasefire agreement achieved during talks in Astana.
• Twin Blasts Kill at Least 46 in Damascus VOA 11 Mar 2017 -- At least 46 people, most of them Iraqi pilgrims, were killed and more than 120 others wounded Saturday in Damascus in twin bombings that targeted a religious shrine.
• Iraq's Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters uncover mass grave of hundreds near Mosul Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- Iraqi fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units have found a mass grave at a detention facility near the northern city of Mosul, which contained the remains of hundreds of people killed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists.
• Rights, aid groups denounce South Sudan's sharp increase in visa fees for aid workers Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- Rights and aid agencies have censured South Sudan for its controversial decision to significantly raise the cost of foreign aid work permits as the crisis-wracked country is desperately struggling with an unprecedented famine and starvation that threaten millions of lives.

News Reports

• Trump Transition Team Knew of Flynn's Foreign Ties VOA 11 Mar 2017 -- The White House confirmed Friday that President Donald Trump's transition team was aware before January's inauguration that Michael Flynn, Trump's choice to be national security adviser, might be required to inform authorities he was acting as an agent on behalf of a foreign government.
• E-Mail Hack Gives Glimpse Into Russia's Influence Drive In Eastern Europe RFE/RL 11 Mar 2017 -- Belarusian Alyaksandr Usorsky describes himself as a historian and publicist. His works include titles such as Who Set Hitler Against The U.S.S.R?, Churchill's Cannon Fodder, and God Save Stalin! Tsar Of The U.S.S.R. Josef The Great.
• Turkey summons Dutch charge d'affaires over canceling FM's flight permit Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Netherlands' charge d'affaires in Ankara after authorities in the Dutch city of Rotterdam withdrew the landing permission for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's plane in an escalating row over Turkey's campaign rallies in Europe.
• Netherlands bars Turkish FM's plane from landing Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- The Netherlands has barred a plane carrying the Turkish foreign minister from landing to drum up support for an April referendum in Turkey, saying the trip was be a threat to public order.
• Proposed constitutional reforms in Turkey non-democratic: Council of Europe Press TV 11 Mar 2017 -- The Council of Europe has censured a hotly-pursued drive by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to change the country's parliamentary ruling system to a presidential one.
• Erdogan Calls Dutch 'Nazi Remnants' After Landing Permission Denied For Turkish Foreign Minister RFE/RL 11 Mar 2017 -- A diplomatic spat between Turkey and the Netherlands over attempts by Ankara to campaign for a referendum escalated throughout March 11 - with tit-for-tat reactions in both countries - after Dutch authorities denied the Turkish foreign minister's plane permission to land.
• Ankara 'Will Retaliate': Erdogan Squares Off as Netherlands Keeps Turkish FM Out Sputnik 11 Mar 2017 -- Turkey will retaliate over the Netherlands refusing to let Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's plane land in the country, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.
• Turkey-Europe Row Deepens, But Germany Wants Ankara Onside VOA 11 Mar 2017 -- Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, was barred Saturday from landing in the Netherlands as opposition grows to Turkish campaigning throughout the European Union.
• Former Abkhaz Leader Seeks Election To Parliament RFE/RL 11 Mar 2017 -- On March 12, voters in Georgia's breakaway Republic of Abkhazia go to the polls to elect a new parliament. The election campaign has been overshadowed by an acrimonious dispute over the participation of former de facto president, Aleksandr Ankvab, who was forced to resign in early summer of 2014 under pressure from the then opposition Coordinating Council.
• Hundreds Protest In Belarus City Against Tax On Jobless RFE/RL 11 Mar 2017 -- Several hundred people have staged a protest in the southwestern Belarusian city of Pinsk, calling for the scrapping of a law imposing a tax on jobless people.