Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Officials Provide Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS AFPS 16 Jul 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 29 strikes consisting of 46 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Afghan Forces Recapture Southern District From Taliban RFE/RL 16 Jul 2017 -- Afghan troops have recaptured a district from Taliban militants in the volatile southern province of Helmand, a government official said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Iran increases range, accuracy of sea-launched cruise missiles IRNA 16 Jul 2017 -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said that the Defense Ministry has elevated the range, accuracy and durability of its sea-launched cruise missiles.
• IRGC deployed on east to guarantee sustainable security IRNA 16 Jul 2017 -- The ground forces of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) are deployed on eastern borders of the country to guarantee stability and sustainable security there, according to an Iranian official.
• Iran says use of WMDs against its ideology IRNA 16 Jul 2017 -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) including nuclear weapons are against Islamic Republic of Iran's ideology.
• Iran, Russia hold joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea ISNA 16 Jul 2017 -- Naval forces from Russia and Iran on Saturday took part in naval exercises in the Caspian Sea.
• Australia should aim to become major arms exporter: minister People's Daily 16 Jul 2017 -- Australia needs to "reverse the current situation" and become one of the world's premier arms exporters, according to the nation's Defense Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.
• Chinese Air Force warplanes conduct drills over west Pacific People's Daily 16 Jul 2017 -- Warplanes from the Chinese Air Force have flown over the Bashi Channel and the Miyako Strait several times in the past week to conduct drill in the west Pacific, an Air Force spokesman said Saturday.
• Powerful drone ready for global market People's Daily 16 Jul 2017 -- China is ready to mass-produce the CH-5 reconnaissance/combat drone, the nation's latest offering to the international military drone market.
• China tests largest military drone ever made domestically Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- China has finished testing its largest ever military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Caihong-5, which is now ready for mass production.
• Pyongyang Observed to Be Ramping Up Nuclear Weapons Fuel Processing Sputnik 16 Jul 2017 -- Pyongyang has stepped up its manufacture of nuclear weapons fuel, according to a US group's interpretation of recent satellite surveillance data.
• US House bill proposes closer military ties with India Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- The US House of Representatives in Congress has passed a $621.5 billion military expenditure bill that proposes to advance military cooperation with India.
• U.S. House passes act backing closer military ties with Taiwan CNA 15 Jul 2017 -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 in a full session Friday that includes clauses backing expanded military exchanges with Taiwan and amendments on the matter of Taiwan ports of call by the U.S. Navy.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Russia's embassy compound in Syria hit by mortar shells Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- The Russian embassy in Syria has been targeted by shelling from foreign-backed militants operating in the capital Damascus.
• Takfiris fight each other as Assad ouster fades away Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- Raging clashes between Takfiri terrorists in Idlib are raising fears of widespread violence in the northwestern Syrian province which is held by militant groups.
• Iran Aims To Boost Prestige Of Beleaguered Afghan Proxy Force In Syria RFE/RL 16 Jul 2017 -- Iran has sent thousands of Afghan Shi'a to the battlefields of Syria, catapulting them to the front lines of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies' brutal six-year war against armed rebels, some of them foreign-backed, and Islamist extremists.
• Iraqi Interior Ministry Says Daesh Leader Baghdadi Likely Still Alive Sputnik 16 Jul 2017 -- Abu Ali Basri, the head of the intelligence and counterterrorism department of the Iraqi Interior Ministry, stated that Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the leader of the Daesh terror group (outlawed in Russia), is likely to be alive and he is hiding nearly Syria's Raqqa.
• 100s of Iraqi soldiers, fighters killed in US-led airstrikes: Iraqi MP Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- An Iraqi lawmaker has blamed the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the country and neighboring Syria for killing hundreds of army soldiers and pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilizations during airstrikes against alleged militant hideouts.
• Pakistan Launches Counterterrorism Operation in Tribal Zones Sputnik 16 Jul 2017 -- Pakistan has launched an offensive to "wipe out terrorists" in the Rajgal Valley in its Khyber District, which borders Afghanistan, where Daesh is "getting stronger," according to an army spokesman.
• Pakistan Unleashes New Anti-IS Military Operation Near Afghan Border VOA 16 Jul 2017 -- Pakistan's military launched a major ground offensive Sunday to clear an isolated militant-infested border valley that Islamic State loyalists are using to export terrorism into the country from its bases in neighboring Afghanistan, where the group is "gaining strength", said an army spokesman.
• Pakistan says India shelling killed 4 soldiers in Kashmir Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- The Pakistani military has accused the Indian forces of killing four Pakistani soldiers by firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the divided Kashmir region.
• 14 escape Philippine jail, 3 get killed Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- More than a dozen prisoners escaped from a jail in the restive southern Philippines on Sunday, but at least three of them were killed in police pursuits.
• Three Years On, Families of MH17 Victims Still Seeking Justice RFE/RL 16 Jul 2017 -- Zijtveld doesn't want to talk about the 2014 plane crash in eastern Ukraine that took the lives of his two teenage children. He wants justice.

News Reports

• Trump's Lawyer Defends Son's Meeting With Russians, Says President Had No Knowledge Of It RFE/RL 16 Jul 2017 -- One of U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyers has defended his son, Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer last year in hopes of obtaining damaging information about his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
• Gunmen Open Fire on Voters in Unofficial Referendum in Venezuela VOA 16 Jul 2017 -- Gunmen on motorcycles fired on a group of voters in Caracas casting ballots Sunday in a non-binding referendum on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's plans for a new constitution.
• Iran Says U.S. Dual National Jailed For 10 Years On Spying Charges RFE/RL 16 Jul 2017 -- Iran has identified the U.S. national sentenced to 10 years for spying as Xiyue Wang, a 37-year-old researcher at Princeton University.
• Iran Sends Chinese-American Scholar to Prison for 10 Years for 'Espionage' VOA 16 Jul 2017 -- An Iranian court has sentenced a Chinese-American scholar to 10 years in prison on "infiltration" charges, Iran's judicial spokesman said Sunday. The announcement triggered an immediate protest from the U.S. State Department.
• Iranian FM: US Fails to Implement Provisions of Iran Nuclear Deal Sputnik 16 Jul 2017 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that the United States has failed to implement its part of the Iranian nuclear deal.
• Libya's UN-backed government urges nationwide polls in March Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- Head of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) has called on all political groups and armed factions in the country to endorse nationwide elections next year, an initiative that is expected to stumble amid widening differences between rival camps of power.
• All those responsible for failed coup will be beheaded: Erdogan Press TV 16 Jul 2017 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that he will chop off the heads of traitors while the country marks the first anniversary of a failed coup.
• Political Polarization Deepens in Turkish Commemoration of Defeated Coup VOA 16 Jul 2017 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has inaugurated a monument to commemorate the 250 people who died opposing a military coup a year ago .
• U.K., EU Set To Open Next Round Of Brexit Talks In Brussels RFE/RL 16 Jul 2017 -- The United Kingdom and the European Union are set to launch the formal round of negotiations expected to settle terms for Britain's eventual withdrawal from the 28-member bloc.