• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US evacuates first military warehouse in Syria IRNA 29 Dec 2018 -- Following its surprise decision last week to withdraw its troops from Syria, the first US military warehouse near the Iraqi border was evacuated on Friday.
• Diplomats: Afghan Pullout Plan Could Complicate Peace Talks VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- Former senior diplomats who have steered U.S. policy on Afghanistan say U.S. President Donald Trump's reported decision to pull thousands of troops out of that country complicates U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad's efforts to broker a cease-fire with the Taliban.
• Trump not drawing down military presence in Afghanistan: White House Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- The White House says President Donald Trump has not yet ordered the US military to pull troops out of Afghanistan, amid reports that Trump is planning for the withdrawal of thousands of troops from the country.
• Daesh suicide attacks plotter killed in Eastern Afghanistan IRNA 29 Dec 2018 -- The plotter of Daesh suicide attacks together with 16 other terrorists was killed in eastern Afghanistan, Nangarhar Province media center announced in a statement Saturday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Iran makes radar to detect satellites in low orbit: IRGC Deputy Cmdr IRNA 29 Dec 2018 -- Iranian experts have made radars that are capable of detecting satellites at the low Earth orbit, said the deputy commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday.
• Italy to halt arms sales to Saudis amid Yemen war Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says his government wants to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia due to war and atrocities in neighboring Yemen.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni spokesman: First round of Sweden agreement implemented IRNA 29 Dec 2018 -- Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree declared on Saturday the beginning of the first round of Sweden agreement and the change in deployment of the Yemeni forces in Al-Hudaydah Port.
• Child soldiers from Sudan's Darfur fight in frontline of Saudi war on Yemen: Report Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Child soldiers from Sudan's Darfur have reportedly been fighting on behalf of Saudi Arabia and its allies in the frontline of the deadly war on Yemen, with money being their only motive.
• Houthis start to redeploy in Hudaydah amid Saudi raids Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Yemen's Houthi fighters say they have started to redeploy from the port of the Red Sea city of Hudaydah as part of a UN-sponsored peace agreement signed in Sweden earlier this month.
• Yemeni Government Dismiss Houthis' Withdrawal Report from Hodeida Port, Accuses them of Circumventing Attempt SPA 29 Dec 2018 -- Yemeni legitimate government denied reports that the Houthi terrorist group, backed by Iran, had withdrawn from the port of Hodeida, west of Yemen.
• United Nations: Yemeni Legitimate Government and Houthis Agree to Begin Opening Humanitarian Corridors Closed in Hodeidah SPA 29 Dec 2018 -- The United Nations announced today the approval of the Yemeni Legitimate Government and Houthi delegations in the Coordination and Redeployment Committee to begin opening the closed humanitarian corridors from the Hodeidah road in Sana'a.
• Houthis Say Start to Withdraw Troops From Al Hudaydah Within Sweden Deal Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- The Houthi movement, officially known as the Ansar Allah, announced on Saturday they began redeploying from the port city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen after more than six months of fighting with the Yemeni authorities, as mentioned in the Sweden deal, the Almasirah TV channel reported on Saturday.
• Yemen's Warring Parties to Detail Hodeidah Pullout Plans by Jan 1 – UN Spokesman Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- Yemen's warring parties will brief United Nations monitors about their plans to withdraw forces from the port city of Hodeidah ahead of a meeting on January 1, the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said in a statement on Friday.
• Houthi Rebels Begin Withdrawing From Yemeni Port of Hodeida, UN Official Says VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- Yemen's Houthi rebels have started withdrawing from the port of Hodeida, a U.N. official said Saturday.
• Turkey will continue close cooperation with Iran on Syria IRNA 29 Dec 2018 -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that 'we will continue our close co-operation with Iran on Syria and regional issues'.
• Turkey to continue cooperation with Iran, Russia on regional issues, Syria: Turkish FM Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey would continue to be in close cooperation with Iran and Russia on regional developments, especially the Syria conflict as Ankara is reportedly preparing to launch a military incursion against US-backed Kurdish militants in northern Syria.
• Iran's IRGC: US pullout from Syria sign of defeat Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- The deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says President Donald Trump's decision to pull out US troops from Syria is a sign of Washington's defeat in the region.
• US may let Kurdish militants to keep arms after Syria pullout: Officials Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- US officials say the Pentagon is considering recommending that Kurdish militants be allowed to keep American-supplied weapons after the withdrawal of troops from Syria.
• Kremlin Confirms Information on Syrian Army Taking Control of Manbij Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brushed off the report on Manbij passing under the Syrian government's control as a "psychological operation", saying that "there is nothing definite yet".
• US Withdrawal From Syria a Step in Right Direction – Russian Envoy to UN Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- The White House announced the withdrawal of its troops from the Arab Republic on 19 December. The US president noted that the goal of American troops of eliminating Daesh had been achieved and thus they can now return home.
• US Commanders Recommend Letting Kurdish Fighters Keep Weapons – Reports Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- US Commanders planning the pullout of the US troops from Syria are recommending that Kurdish fighters battling Daesh forces be allowed to keep US-supplied weapons, four officials said on condition of anonymity.
• Turkey Continues to Concentrate Tanks, Artillery Near Syrian Border - Reports Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- A new group of Turkish heavy military vehicles arrived in the country's southeastern province of Sanliurfa bordering northern Syria, the Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.
• Russia hits Ukraine with sanctions in 'tit-for-tat' measure Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Russia has introduced new sanctions targeting Ukraine in response to Kiev's earlier restrictions on specific Russian goods.
• Russia completes fence between Crimea and Ukraine Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Russian authorities say they have completed construction of a "defensive" fence dividing the Crimean Peninsula, which rejoined Russia in a 2014 referendum from Ukraine.
• Medvedev Announces Russian Ban On Ukrainian Goods RFE/RL 29 Dec 2018 -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced a ban on Ukrainian goods, including agricultural and industrial products, days after adding Ukrainian firms and individuals to Russia's sanctions list.
• Moscow Rejects French, German Appeal To Release Ukrainian Sailors RFE/RL 29 Dec 2018 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry has rejected what it says are unacceptable demands by Germany and France to release Ukrainian soldiers held by Russia.
• Kiev Claims of Taking Control Over Neutral Donbass Zone is Provocation - Moscow Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- Claims about Ukrainian army taking control over the neutral zone along the separation line in the Donbass sound like blatant provocation aimed at disrupting the peace process in conflict-hit eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
• Russia Will Defend Its Sovereignty, Stop Any Provocation Attempts - Moscow Sputnik 29 Dec 2018 -- The response comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russia to free the Ukranian sailors arrested during the Kerch Strait incident, as well as ensure the free passage of shipping in the Sea of Azov.
• At Least 8 Government Soldiers, 14 Militants Killed in Fighting VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- Fighting between Somali regional troops and al-Shabab militants Saturday left at least 22 people dead, witnesses and officials said.
• Egypt security forces kill 40 militants in Giza, Sinai: Ministry Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- Egyptian security forces have killed 40 suspected members of a terror outfit affiliated to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Giza province and the north of the Sinai Peninsula during counterterrorism operations, the interior ministry says.

News Reports

• UN Chief Calls for International Cooperation to Overcome Dangers to Humanity VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- In his New Year's message, U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres urges international cooperation to resolve the many dangers and divisions facing humanity.
• U.K. Says 'No Change' On Position On Russian Diplomats RFE/RL 28 Dec 2018 -- Britain has rejected comments by Russia's ambassador to London claiming the two countries have agreed to gradually reinstate dozens of diplomatic personnel who were expelled by both sides following the Novichok poisoning in the English city of Salisbury, Russia's state-run TASS news agency reports.
• Putin, Lukashenka Meet Amid Energy Dispute RFE/RL 29 Dec 2018 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, are holding talks in the Kremlin on an energy dispute that has hurt ties between the two allies.
• For Koreas, Will 2019 be 'Fire and Fury' or New Era of Peace? VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- From "fire and fury" to talks of a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula, 2018 was a significant year of engagement for the once reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, including multiple meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore.
• Anti-Government Protests in DR Congo's North Kivu Province Hamper Response to Ebola Epidemic VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- The World Health Organization says violent protests in DR Congo's conflict-ridden North Kivu Province are hampering efforts to control the spread of the Ebola virus. Protests erupted Thursday in response to the government's decision to delay presidential elections in the region until March.
• Bahrain has revoked over 800 nationals of citizenship since 2012: Report Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- The Al Khalifah regime in Bahrain has stripped more than 800 nationals of their citizenship during the past six years, a human rights group says.
• UN chief calls for violence-free elections in DR Congo Press TV 29 Dec 2018 -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged all sides to ensure that landmark elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo be free of violence to allow voters to peacefully cast their ballots.
• EU Leader Expresses Doubts About Romania's Ability To Take Over Bloc Presidency RFE/RL 29 Dec 2018 -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has voiced doubts about Romania's ability to take over the EU's six-month rotating presidency next week.
• Bangladesh's Prime Minister Seeks Third Consecutive Term VOA 29 Dec 2018 -- Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hopes to win a third consecutive term in general elections based on impressive economic growth under her decade-long rule, but her opponents accuse her of authoritarianism and eroding democracy.