Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIS Strikes in Syria, Iraq AFPS 19 Mar 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Three US soldiers wounded in Afghanistan 'insider attack' Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- An Afghan soldier has opened fire on a group of US troops at a military camp in the southern province of Helmand, wounding at least three of them, officials say.
• Russian Helicopters Talks With Afghanistan on Military Equipment Maintenance Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- Russian Helicopters is holding talks with the Afghan Defense Ministry on different options for cooperation, concerning repair and maintenance of Russian military equipment, which is currently exploited in Afghanistan, according to official statement.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Germany rejects Trumps claims on NATO contribution Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- Germany has dismissed remarks by US president Donald Trump on the need for Berlin to increase its contribution to the NATO military bloc.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Spotlight: Syria's key Homs city soon to be rebel free, completely back under gov't control People's Daily 19 Mar 2017 -- The central city of Homs will soon be free of any rebel presence, as the first batch of rebels and their families started evacuating their last stronghold in the city on Saturday under an activated deal with the government.
• Israel threatens to destroy Syrian air defense systems Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- Israel's minister for military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, has warned the Syrian government against launching ground-to-air missiles at Israeli warplanes carrying out strikes inside Syria, threatening to destroy Syrian air defense systems.
• Escalation Looming? Israel to Crush Syrian Air Defense if Jets Targeted Again Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has threatened to destroy Syria's air defense systems if they target the Israeli jets once again.
• Israeli Minister Confirms Airstrikes in Syria Targeted Arms for Hezbollah Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- The Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on a convoy in Syria, carrying a batch of weapons for Hezbollah, according to Israeli Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Yisrael Katz.
• Syrian Army Carrying Out Special Operation Against Militants at Damascus Edges Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- The Syrian army's elite units are carrying out a special operation in the Jobar district at the eastern edges of Damascus, a Sputnik correspondent reported Sunday.
• Syria repels massive Takfiri attack near Damascus Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- Syrian ground forces and warplanes have repelled a multi-pronged attack by the Takfiri terror group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in Damascus' countryside.
• Major Clashes Reported in Damascus after Anti-government Rebels Infiltrate Tunnels VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- Syrian forces and rebels battled on the fringes of Damascus Sunday after the insurgents infiltrated the capital through tunnels overnight and staged a surprise assault on government-held parts of the city.
• Iraqi forces retake 4 Mosul neighborhoods from Daesh Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- Iraqi government forces have managed to liberate four more neighborhoods in the country's second largest city of Mosul as they engage in joint operations with allied fighters to expel Takfiri Daesh militants out of their last urban stronghold in the country.
• Iraqi Forces Push Forward In Mosul As Residents Flee Fierce Fighting RFE/RL 19 Mar 2017 -- Iraqi forces engaged in fierce combat with Islamic State (IS) militants outside Mosul's Old City on March 19 as they pressed forward in a bid to recapture the western part of the city.
• Iraqi Forces in Mosul Close in on Key IS Mosque VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- Iraqi helicopters on Sunday fired rockets near a key mosque in the contested city of Mosul, as ground forces closed in on the site where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled caliphate in 2014.
• Myanmar extremist Buddhists protest Rohingya citizenship plan Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- Hundreds of extremist Buddhists in Myanmar have staged a protest against a government plan to grant citizenship to some members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community.

News Reports

• Key US Officials to Testify about Trump's Wiretap Claim VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- Two key U.S. officials are set to testify publicly about whether there is any truth behind the explosive, but unsubstantiated, claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower headquarters in the weeks before last year's presidential election.
• U.S. Lawmaker: 'No Evidence Of Collusion' Between Trump Campaign, Russia RFE/RL 19 Mar 2017 -- A senior U.S. lawmaker says he has seen "no evidence" of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia during last year's presidential campaign.
• Tillerson, Xi pledge closer cooperation over disputes, at least in public Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese President Xi Jinping have pledged to bolster ties between the two countries, sidestepping areas of disagreement with a public display of cooperation.
• Tillerson, China's Xi Stress Cooperation As North Korea Tests New Rocket Engine RFE/RL 19 Mar 2017 -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese President Xi Jinping cast aside differences on March 19, pledging to seek greater cooperation despite disagreements over North Korea and other issues.
• Secretary Tillerson's Meeting With President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) US Dept. of State 19 Mar 2017
• Remarks With President Xi Jinping Before Their Meeting US Dept. of State 19 Mar 2017
• North Korea 'tests new high-thrust rocket engine' Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- North Korea has conducted a ground test of a new high-performance rocket engine, state media have said, branding the successful test a breakthrough in the country's space program.
• Malaysian Police Identify New Suspects in Kim Jong Nam's Murder Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- According to reports, Malaysian police have identified new suspects in connection with the murder of North Korean leader's half-brother Kim Jong Nam.
• North Korea Claims to Have Tested New High-Thrust Rocket Engine Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- North Korea has conducted a successful ground jet test of a new high performance rocket engine at Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, local media reported Sunday.
• N. Korea Concerns on Forefront on Secretary of State Tillerson's Visit to China VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. and China feel a sense of urgency about North Korea, which on Sunday tested a high-thrust rocket that it called the "new birth" of its rocket industry.
• Paris Orly Airport Attacker Said He Wanted 'to Die for Allah' VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- French authorities are still working to determine whether a man shot dead at Paris' Orly airport acted on impulse or carefully planned an attack.
• Belarus Protest Leaders Detained As Hundreds Rally Against 'Parasite Tax' RFE/RL 19 Mar 2017 -- Authorities in Belarus on March 19 detained at least three organizers of protests against a controversial tax on the unemployed, as hundreds took to the streets in the latest in a series of demonstrations against the levy in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.
• Moscow Authorities Ban Navalny Anticorruption Event RFE/RL 19 Mar 2017 -- Moscow city authorities have banned an anticorruption rally planned by opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.
• Cross-strait relations in cold but peaceful situation: report CNA 19 Mar 2017 -- The China policy planner and implementer of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government of Taiwan regards relations with China as being in a cold but peaceful situation, while Beijing intensifies opposition to any Taiwan independence attempts.
• Capital punishment 'red line' for EU membership, Brussels tells Ankara Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned Turkey against any return of the capital punishment in the Anatolian country, saying the measure is a "red line" in Ankara's stalled bid for membership in the European Union.
• Turkey summons German ambassador over Frankfurt PKK rally 'scandal' Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned the German ambassador to Ankara to voice its outrage at a Frankfurt rally in which tens of thousands of protesters brandished the insignia of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), lambasting Berlin for the "pro-PKK rally scandal."
• Turkey Threatens Another Rally In Germany, Escalating Tensions Further RFE/RL 19 Mar 2017 -- Turkey says there is a possibility that Turkish ministers could plan another rally in Germany ahead of an April 16 referendum, a move that could further escalate tensions between Ankara and Berlin.
• German Intelligence Chief Says No Evidence Gulen Behind Turkey Coup Sputnik 19 Mar 2017 -- Germany is not convinced that US-based writer, political activist and former imam Fethullah Gulen was behind the failed July 15 coup in Turkey, the country's intelligence chief said Saturday.
• Germany Turkey Tensions on Rise following Nazi Comment by Erdogan VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- Tensions between Germany and Turkery are on the rise again, with the Turkish president accusing the German chancellor of using "Nazi" measures. The accusation follows a pro Kurdish rally in Germany Saturday that turned into a rally against the Turkish President.
• Turkey's Referendum Campaign Unfair, Erdogan Opponents say VOA 19 Mar 2017 -- Opposition figures in Turkey say they have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and even sabotage in the campaign for a referendum on expanding the president's powers.
• Bangladesh court upholds death sentence for top extremist leader Press TV 19 Mar 2017 -- Bangladesh's highest court has dismissed an appeal seeking the scrapping of a death sentence for the former head of a banned extremist group and two of his associates for a grenade attack on the UK's former envoy to the country.