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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US helicopter gunship kills 7 Iraqi civilians Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- A US military helicopter has targeted several vehicles in Iraq's al-Anbar Province, killing seven civilians and wounding 11 others, including a local official.
• Resolute Support Remains Focused on Defeating Terrorists Following Kabul Attack AFPS 27 Jan 2018 -- The Resolute Support mission remains focused on defeating the insurgents in Afghanistan, the commander of the mission said today, following a terrorist bombing in Kabul.
• Kabul Suicide Car Bomb Kills 95, Wounds More Than 160 VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- A suicide car bomb Saturday ripped through a crowded area outside a government building in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 95 people and wounding more than 163 others.
• At Least 95 Killed As Ambulance Bomb Rocks Kabul RFE/RL 27 Jan 2018 -- Afghan officials say the death toll in a massive suicide car bomb attack in a crowded area in central Kabul has risen to 95, with 158 others wounded.
• Huge explosion hits near foreign embassies in Afghan capital; 95 dead Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- A fatal car bomb attack has hit near foreign diplomatic missions and government buildings in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
• Afghan Attacks: Kabul Bombing Body Count Nears 100, With 158 Injured Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- The death count in a horrific Saturday bombing attack in Kabul has risen to 95, while at least 158 have been injured, many seriously according to updated reports.
• Exporting the Surge: Trump Doubles US Afghan Bombing Over Two Previous Years Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- New data released by the Pentagon has revealed that in 2017, some 4,300 bombs were dropped on the country, doubling the amount of deadly attacks over the previous two years.
• UN condemns massive vehicle bomb attack in Kabul that leaves scores dead and wounded UN News 27 Jan 2018 -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the Security Council and the UN in Afghanistan have strongly condemned Saturday's massive vehicle bomb attack on a street near Government buildings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which reportedly left 95 people dead and scores wounded..

Defense Policy / Programs

• US-Made F-35 Fighter Jets Reveal 'Key Remaining Deficiencies' Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- Half of the aircraft are not ready for battle due to various technical shortcomings, ranging from problems with aerial refueling to software shortfalls, according to Bloomberg.
• UK to launch new radar in north to tackle 'severe threat from Russia' Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- The British defense secretary says a new radar facility will soon be fully operated on the UK's most northerly inhabited island to tackle what he described as "severe and real threat from Russia."
• 'Russian Aggression' Paranoia: UK to Install New Radar to Protect Its Airspace Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- The "Russian threat" rhetoric has been in the spotlight since Britain has been dealing with a decrease in defense expenditures and calls by politicians and military representatives to boost spending.
• China's Army Recruits Top Scientists to Develop Quantum Technology and AI Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- China is looking to the future as it embarks on a mission to develop cutting-edge technologies in order to become the new military tech superpower.
• Japan deploys first of ten US-made F-35A stealth fighters Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- Japan has deployed the first of its ten US-made F-35A stealth fighter jets at an airbase in the country's northern regions as tensions continue over Pyongyang's missile testing.
• Turkey 'Has Come a Long Way' in Developing Its Own Weapons - Generals Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- There have been conflicting reports about Germany mulling a suspension on the delivery of modernized Leopard main battle tanks to Turkey in light of Ankara's ongoing military operation in northern Syria.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni army attacks Saudi-backed militants, inflicts heavy casualties Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- The Yemeni army has inflicted heavy human and material losses on Saudi Arabian-backed militants during attacks in northwestern Yemen.
• Turkish General Staff Reports Destruction of 42 Targets in Afrin Saturday Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkey started a military offensive in Kurdish-dominated Afrin on January 20, aiming to protect its boundaries from various Kurdish militia formations, treated as a potential terror threat by Ankara.
• Kurds Reportedly Down Two Turkish UAVs Amid Offensive in Afrin Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkey began its operation in the Kurdish-dominated Afrin last week after the US announced that it would start training a border protection force comprising the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), affiliated with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey considers to be a terrorist group.
• Nearly 400 Kurdish, Daesh Fighters Killed in Afrin Op - Turkish General Staff Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- The Olive Branch offensive was launched by Ankara on January 20 in the Kurdish-dominated Syrian town of Afrin, controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
• With 'Support of the Turkish People,' Ankara Vows Larger Offensive in Syria Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- The Turkish-led assault on Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) positions in Afrin, Syria, is going to expand in scope to include an offensive on the town of Manbij, where US military personnel are stationed, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week.
• Turkey's Erdogan Says He's Ready to Risk Confrontation With US VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- A defiant Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Friday that he's prepared to risk confrontation with the United States over Turkey's military incursion into northern Syria, vowing to next target a Kurdish-held town where U.S. Special Forces are stationed.
• Turkey: US to End Arms Supplies to Syrian Kurds VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkey said Saturday that Washington has pledged to stop giving arms to YPG Kurdish forces in Syria, as Turkey's offensive against the U.S.-backed group there enters its eight day.
• Turkish Foreign Minister Urges Immediate US Withdrawal From Syria's Manbij Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has stated that the United States should take concrete steps to prove the end of support for Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), rather than rhetoric.
• McMaster Confirms to Turkey, US Not to Give Weapons to Kurds - Reports Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin held phone talks with US National Security Adviser Herbert Raymond McMaster, during which McMaster confirmed that the US would not provide further weapons to Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Anadolu news agency reported Saturday.
• Syrian Kurdish YPG Reports Repelling Major Assault in Afrin Region Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- Syria's Kurdish militia YPG repelled a major offensive overnight by pro-Turkish Syrian rebels in the northwestern region of Afrin, killing dozens of fighters, the YPG command told Sputnik on Saturday.
• US needs to withdraw from Syria's Manbij region immediately, says Turkey Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says US military forces need to immediately withdraw from Syria's northern region of Manbij as Turkish troops are engaged in an operation in the Arab country's Afrin region against militants from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
• US promises Turkey to stop arming Kurds, again Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- Turkey says the United States has promised it for a second time to stop arming Syria-based Kurdish militants whom Ankara considers a threat to its security, as the American support for them risks pitting the two NATO members against one another.
• Top Fateh al-Sham militant cmdr. slain in Syria's Aleppo infighting Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- A high-ranking commander of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, has been killed in a fierce exchange of gunfire with a group of rival militants in Syria's northwestern province of Aleppo.
• Syria resolute in continuing anti-terror fight with help of Iran, Russia: Assad Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- President Bashar al-Assad has reiterated Syria's resolve to continue battling terrorism with the help of Iran and Russia, amid efforts for the peaceful settlement of the crisis in the Arab country.
• UN to send envoy to Syria peace talks in Russia's Sochi despite opposition boycott Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has decided to send his special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to an upcoming Syrian peace conference in Russia next week, a UN spokesman says.
• Peace proposal by US, Saudi Arabia 'not even worth the ink': Syria Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations and head of the government delegation to intra-Syrian peace talks has strongly rejected a proposal offered by some countries, including the US and Saudi Arabia, for the resolution of the Syrian crisis, saying the so-called peace plan is "not even worth the ink."
• Syrian Opposition Plans Boycott Of Russia's 'Peace Congress' RFE/RL 27 Jan 2018 -- United Nations Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura will attend a Russia-sponsored "peace congress" in Sochi next week, despite the main Syrian opposition group's refusal to participate in the meeting.
• UN envoy for Syria to attend Russia-sponsored talks in Sochi UN News 27 Jan 2018 -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will send his Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to Sochi next week to attend the Russia-sponsored Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue, talks reportedly on a political solution towards ending the seven- year Syrian conflict.
• UN to Send Envoy to Russia-Sponsored Syria Talks VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- The United Nations says it will participate in the Russian-sponsored Syrian peace meeting at the Black Sea resort of Sochi next week now that some of its concerns have been allayed. The U.N. has just wrapped up two days of U.N.-mediated peace talks with Syrian government and opposition delegations in Vienna.
• Hidden Forces: Israeli Ambassador Claims Iran has 82,000-Strong Army in Syria Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- On Tuesday, Israel's envoy to the UN Danny Danon said that Iran controls a force of 82,000 fighters in Syria: 60,000 Syrian troops; 10,000 Shiite militiamen from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan; 9,000 members of the Lebanese Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah; and 3,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
• Muqtada Sadr slams US killing of Iraqi forces Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- Senior Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has slammed a recent US airstrike that killed eleven people in Anbar Province, saying the air raid was part of Washington's repeated violations of the Arab country's sovereignty.
• Iraqi Hashd al-Sha'abi forces find dozens of bodies in mass grave in Kirkuk Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- Iraqi fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have found a mass grave in the country's northern province of Kirkuk, which contained the bodies of dozen of civilians believed to have been executed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists when they were in control of an area there.
• IRGC ground forces arrest Daesh terrorists in western Iran Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- A division of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has arrested a number of Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the west of the country.
• Russia 'Will Study' New U.S. Proposals For Ukraine RFE/RL 27 Jan 2018 -- U.S. suggestions on deploying a UN mission in war-ravaged eastern Ukraine look quite feasible and Russia will study them carefully, Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov was quoted as saying by Russian media after meeting with his American counterpart, Kurt Volker.
• Security Council condemns 'barbaric' terrorist attack in central Mali that killed dozens on civilian bus UN News 27 Jan 2018 -- The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the "barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack" on 25 January against a bus transporting civilians near Boni, in central Mali, during which 26 people from Mali and Burkina Faso, including children, were killed.
• DR Congo: UN chief condemns killing of 'blue helmet,' calls on armed groups to lay down weapons UN News 27 Jan 2018 -- Condemning the killing today of a peacekeeper with the United Nations stabilization mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who was ambushed in the vast country's restive east, Secretary-General António Guterres again called on armed groups there to lay down their weapons and seek to resolve their grievances peacefully.
• Unidentified gunmen kill 14 soldiers in central Mali Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- At least 14 soldiers have been killed and 17 others sustained injuries in the central Malian city of Timbuktu after unknown gunmen attacked their camp, according to military sources.
• UN Chief Warns African Bloc Against Conflicts of Interests in South Sudan VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned countries of the regional bloc of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) against taking sides in the internal affairs of South Sudan.

News Reports

• US, allies in Europe, irked by new Russia gas pipeline scheme Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- US authorities have voiced deep frustration over a planned Russian pipeline that would bypass Washington's allies in Central Europe and carry gas to Germany.
• U.S., Poland Oppose Gas Pipeline Linking Russia And Germany RFE/RL 27 Jan 2018 -- The United States and Poland on January 27 took a common stand against a planned gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany, saying it is politicizing energy and undermining attempts to make Europe less dependent on Russian resources.
• Tillerson: Russia Using Energy as 'Political Tool' in Europe VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Russia of using energy as a "political tool" in Europe as he held talks with his counterpart Saturday in Warsaw, Poland.
• China Places New Controls on Center of Tibetan Buddhist Studies VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- Chinese authorities are placing tighter administrative controls over Larung Gar, a Buddhist study center, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
• Mattis Describes North Korea Regime as 'Threat to the Entire World' AFPS 27 Jan 2018 -- The regime of North Korea's Kim Jong-un remains a danger to the world, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said yesterday in Honolulu, while emphasizing diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.
• North Korea 'prepared' to face possible US assault Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- North Korea's military is "prepared" to defend the country in the wake of a possible assault by the United States, says a political commentator
• North Korea says US bans aimed at sabotaging dialog with South Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- North Korea has condemned the latest sanctions imposed by the United States against Pyongyang, calling them an attempt at sabotaging a nascent process of dialog with South Korea.
• Korea talks can't distract from denuclearization: Mattis Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says that Olympics talks between North and South Korea should not lead to distraction from the goal of denuclearizing Pyongyang.
• Billionaire prince released after 'discussions' with Saudi government Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has reportedly been released around two months after he detained as part of the Riyadh regime's so-called campaign against corruption.
• Saudi Billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal Released From Detention - Family Sources Sputnik 27 Jan 2018 -- The Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal had been detained under the government anti-corruption campaign, launched on November 4 and had spent over two months in luxurious custody.
• Media: Saudi Arabia Releases Top Financier, Close to 90 Others Held in Graft Probe VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- Arab media, quoting family members, is reporting that top Saudi financier Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal was released by the government Saturday, after being held for several months. Terms of any eventual financial settlement between the prince and the Saudi government were not immediately known.
• Hong Kong Bars Pro-Democracy Candidate VOA 27 Jan 2018 -- Hong Kong has barred a young activist from an upcoming election.
• French president urges more sanctions, pressure on Venezuela Press TV 27 Jan 2018 -- French President Emmanuel Macron has called for increasing European Union (EU) sanctions on Venezuela, just over a week after the 28-nation bloc, which has sided with the Latin American state's opposition in its anti-government struggles, slapped a fresh series of bans against Caracas.
• Czechs Reelect Populist, Russia-Friendly President In Tight Race RFE/RL 27 Jan 2018 -- Russia-friendly incumbent Milos Zeman has been reelected president of the Czech Republic for a second five-year term after winning a closely fought, often divisive, election.
• Greece, Macedonia Plan Strategy For Name Dispute Talks RFE/RL 27 Jan 2018 -- The prime ministers of Greece and Macedonia are holding talks in their home countries with political leaders to discuss strategy ahead of scheduled meetings next week in an effort to resolve the longstanding dispute over the name "Macedonia."
• At African Union Summit, Guterres outlines UN-AU approach to combatting terrorism UN News 27 Jan 2018 -- No single nation, institution, or organization can defeat terrorism in Africa or anywhere else, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told a special meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Saturday, as he called for a sustained, cooperative and coordinated approach in tackling this complex, ever-evolving menace.