Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Counter-ISIS Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq AFPS 12 Mar 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 22 strikes consisting of 82 engagements against ISIS targets yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Dunford: Americans Should Be Proud of Role U.S. Troops Play in Iraq, Syria AFPS 12 Mar 2017 -- Indigenous Iraqi and Syrian forces have made tremendous progress taking the fight to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and Americans should be very proud of the role played in the effort by a small number of U.S. troops, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during an interview.
• Trump signed off Yemen raid despite warnings of 'inherent risks' Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- Senior US military officials warned President Donald Trump, who has ducked responsibility for a botched January raid in Yemen, that there were "inherent risks" with the operation before he authorized the plan, according to a report.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Yemen Seeks to Establish National Army SPA 12 Mar 2017 -- Yemen seeks to build a national army through the development of a military doctrine that is derived from the principles of the new constitution, under which the armed forces respect human rights and international agreements that do not affect national sovereignty in accordance with the Constitution.
• Russian Nuclear Submarines Hold Underwater Torpedo 'Duel' in Arctic Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- Two nuclear submarines of the Russian Northern Fleet held an underwater torpedo duel in the Barents Sea, the deputy head of the Northern Fleet's press service, Captain II rank Andrei Luzik, said.
• What is Known So Far About New Russian Surface-to-Air Long-Range Guided Missile Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- On Tuesday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia is conducting tests of an advanced long-range surface-to-air guided missile.
• Russians First in the World to Reach Island in Arctic on Military Equipment Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- A Russian military expedition to the Kotelny Island in Russia's Arctic latitudes has crossed the Laptev Sea and has reached its remote destination, Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said Sunday.
• Iran unveils most advanced Karrar Tank IRNA 12 Mar 2017 -- Defense Minister Brigadier-General Hossein Dehqan said here on Sunday that updating armor equipment is the main strategy of the country's defense ministry.
• Iran unveils new advanced tank Karrar ISNA 12 Mar 2017 -- Iran has unveiled its first home-made highly advanced tank called "Karrar" on Sunday during a ceremony attended by defense minister Hossein Dehghan.
• Iran unveils world-class indigenous tank Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- Iran has unveiled its most advanced indigenous tank of amphibious mobility for induction into the country's armored assets, local news agencies report.
• Iran, Russia consider naval cooperation development IRNA 12 Mar 2017 -- During visit of Iran friendship flotilla to Makhachkala Port in Dagestan Republic of Russian Federation on Caspian Sea, Commander of the flotilla Commodore Mohsen Sheidaei called for naval cooperation development.
• IRGC navy cmdr.: New president in US will have no impact on Iran's global might IRNA 12 Mar 2017 -- Commander of naval force of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi said on Sunday that the new president taking office in the US and any other changes will have no effect on Iran's might in the world, particularly across the region.
• No plan listed in defense review to set up cyberwarfare branch CNA 12 Mar 2017 -- A defense review prepared for the Legislature does not contain any description of a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plan to establish a cyberwarfare branch in Taiwan's armed forces, as promised by the party during the election campaign of 2016.
• Serbia Defense Chief Says Putin Soon To Approve Delivery Of Fighter Jets RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- The Serbian defense chief says he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin to soon approve delivery of six MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni army is approaching Sanaa, spokesman says SPA 12 Mar 2017 -- Brig. Gen. Abdou Abdullah Bamajalli, spokesman of the armed forces and consultant at the General Staff of Yemen, announced today that the Yemeni army is approaching the directorate of Arhab and capital Sanaa.
• Western disinformation against Damascus lacks credibility: Syrian president Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the era of spreading disinformation by most of the Western media against the Syrian government has passed and their credibility is questioned even by the people in the West.
• Syria: UN chief Guterres condemns terrorist attacks in Damascus UN News 12 Mar 2017 -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the terrorist bombings in the Syrian capital of Damascus yesterday, his spokesman said today.
• Al-Qaida-Linked Group Claims Deadly Damascus Blasts VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- The death toll from twin bombings on a religious shrine in the capital Damascus has risen to 74, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
• One-third of western Mosul retaken from Daesh: Iraqi Cmdr. Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- A senior commander says Iraqi forces have so far managed to liberate over a third of western Mosul from the grip of Daesh terrorists in their operation to purge the city of Takfiri elements.
• Number of Iraqis Fleeing Western Mosul Reaches Nearly 100,000 Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- The number of people fleeing the western Mosul has reached nearly 100,000, Iraqi Minister of Displacement and Migration Jassim Mohammed Al-Jaaf said Sunday as the operation to recapture the city's western areas from Daesh terrorists continued.
• US Envoy Says IS 'Trapped' in Mosul VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- U.S. and Iraqi authorities say Islamic State fighters are surrounded and contained in western Mosul, after Iraqi troops on Sunday seized control of the last road leading out of the city.
• Nigeria vigilantes foil attack near Maiduguri Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- Two female bombers allegedly operating for the Takfiri terrorist Boko Haram group have been killed by Nigeria's vigilantes near the flashpoint city of the Maiduguri.
• Azerbaijan Violates Karabakh Ceasefire 40 Times Over 24 Hours - Defense Ministry Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- Azerbaijani forces have violated the ceasefire in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh 40 times on Saturday and in the early hours of Sunday, the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's (NKR) Defense Ministry said.
• Armenia Violates Karabakh Ceasefire 118 Times Over Last 24 Hours Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- The Armenian military has violated the ceasefire along the contact line in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh 118 times over the past 24 hours, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Sunday.

News Reports

• US House of Representatives Wants Trump's Evidence in Wiretap Claim VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- The U.S. House Intelligence Committee is calling on President Donald Trump to produce evidence by Monday on his so-far unfounded claim that his phones at Trump Tower in New York were wiretapped during last year's presidential campaign.
• US House Intelligence Committee Asks Trump for 'Wiretapping' Evidence Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- The list of those asking US President Donald Trump to please present some evidence of the wiretapping he alleged his processor subjected him to is growing and now includes the US House Intelligence Committee.
• Asia Trip Poses Numerous Challenges for Tillerson VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, making his first trip to Japan, South Korea and China as the top United States diplomat this week, is expected to expand the effort to find new options for dealing with North Korea and the nuclear and military threat it poses to the region and to the world.
• Merkel Coming to Washington to Talk Trade, Russia Strategy VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- U.S. President Donald Trump plans to quiz German Chancellor Angela Merkel about her experience dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the chancellor visits the White House Tuesday. A senior administration official said Friday Trump would be "very interested to get German Chancellor Merkel's insights" as he prepares to engage the Kremlin leader.
• Trump, Merkel To Discuss NATO, Ukraine, Putin During Washington Meeting RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet in Washington on March 14, with the future of NATO and the conflict in Ukraine among the key topics.
• US demonizes Russia with claims of tampering election, Kremlin says Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- The Kremlin says Washington is trying to demonize Russia with claims that it interfered with the 2016 US elections.
• Kremlin Spokesman: Russia Impatient With Trump Administration RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- The Kremlin's main spokesman has said Moscow is frustrated with President Donald Trump's administration and a lack of progress in improving relations.
• French Foreign Ministry Calls on Turkey to Avoid Provocations Amid Rally Ban Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- France calls on the Turkish authorities to ease tensions and avoid provocations following recent bans on Turkish ministers by the Netherlands and Germany, the French Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
• Turkey's president says Netherlands will pay price for 'shameless behavior' Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the Netherlands will "pay the price" for its "shameless" treatment of Turkey's ministers after the European country barred the flight of the Turkish top diplomat and deported the country's family minister.
• Tensions Escalate Between Turkey, Netherlands After Turkish Ministers Barred From Rallies RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the Netherlands would "pay the price" after expelling a Turkish minister and preventing Ankara's top diplomat from landing ahead of planned political rallies.
• Turkey Vows to Retaliate for Netherlands' 'Unacceptable Behavior' VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Sunday that Turkey will retaliate in the "harshest ways" and "respond in kind to this unacceptable behavior" after the Netherlands refused to allow a Turkish minister into the country and expelled another one.
• Erdogan: Dutch Will 'Pay a Price' for Blocking Turkish Ministers from Rally VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the Netherlands Sunday it would "pay a price" for refusing to allow Ankara's foreign minister into the country and expelling another minister Saturday to keep them from holding rallies with Turkish immigrants.
• Ousted South Korean president leaves Blue House, apologizes to nation Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- South Korea's impeached President Park Geun-Hye has issued an apology for not completing her full term as she left the presidential complex, two days after the Constitutional Court voted to remove her from office.
• Impeached South Korean President Park Leaves Presidential Palace Sputnik 12 Mar 2017 -- South Korea's impeached President Park Geun-hye officially left the presidential residence on Sunday.
• Ousted South Korean Sorry for Failing to Fulfill Her Duty VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- South Korea's ousted former president Park Geun-hye apologized Sunday to her supporters for "failing to fulfill my duty as president."
• Belarus detains opposition leaders over tax protests Press TV 12 Mar 2017 -- Belarus has detained several opposition leaders after people took to the streets to protest a new government measure for imposing tax on "freeloaders."
• Belarusian Police Detain More Opposition Leaders, Journalists Amid Latest Tax Protests RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- Police have detained a group of opposition leaders and at least three journalists during the latest in a series of charged protests over a controversial government-backed unemployment tax.
• Pakistan Set to Conduct First Census in 19 Years VOA 12 Mar 2017 -- Officials in Pakistan say that arrangements are in place to conduct a national census for the first time in 19 years starting Wednesday, and more than 200,000 troops will assist civilian enumerators in collecting the data.
• Tajikistan's Deadly Export RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- State suppression of unofficial Islam, the humiliation of having to work as migrant laborers abroad, and a former special-forces commander flipping to the Islamic State group: these are the main factors behind why Tajikistan finds itself the world's leading exporter of suicide bombers to Islamic State (IS) battlefields.
• Long March-7 Y2 ready for launch of China's first cargo spacecraft People's Daily 12 Mar 2017 -- A Long March-7 Y2 carrier rocket arrived at a launch center in south China on Saturday in preparation for the launch of China's first cargo spacecraft next month.
• Moldovan President Looks To Bolster Russia Relations With Moscow Visit RFE/RL 12 Mar 2017 -- Moldovan President Igor Dodon says he will look to strengthen relations with Moscow when he travels to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin on March 16-18.