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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Dozens of Afghan border police surrender to Taliban Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Dozens of Afghan security forces have surrendered to the Taliban during intensified fighting by the militants for control of Afghanistan's western province of Badghis, which borders Turkmenistan.
• Dozens Of Afghan Soldiers Killed By Taliban As Government Suffers Setbacks RFE/RL 17 Mar 2019 -- Afghan officials on March 17 reported setbacks for government security forces in northwestern and northern parts of the country.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Joint NATO-Georgia Exercises To Kick Off Near Tbilisi RFE/RL 17 Mar 2019 -- Around 350 personnel from 24 NATO member states and partner countries are set to kick off 11 days of joint military exercises in Georgia on March 18.
• US, Japan to Develop New Aegis Radar to Counter Chinese, Russian Missiles Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- The new radar is reported to provide 360-degree coverage for US missile defense systems, with no blind spots.
• Japan Developing Missile to Strike Enemy Outside Air Defences' Reach – Report Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- The new missile is expected to be an upgraded version of the Japanese supersonic cruise missile ASM3 which was developed in 2017 and has a range of 200 kilometres.
• Two destroyers to join Iran's Navy: Cmdr IRNA 17 Mar 2019 -- Commander of the Iranian Navy announced that two destroyers Damavand and Dena will soon join the country's naval fleet.
• Iran's Naval Fleet departs for Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb IRNA 17 Mar 2019 -- The commander of the South Naval Fleet Headquarters of the Iranian Navy announced that the 61 Naval Fleet of the Navy departed for the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb.
• Iran sends naval group to Bab el-Mandeb Strait Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Iran's Navy has dispatched its 61st naval group, comprising a destroyer and a logistical vessel, on a mission to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to ensure the security of the shipping routes used by Iranian vessels.
• Iran's military overhauls components of Ground Forces Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- The commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces says the country has boosted the Forces' various subcategories in a major overhaul.
• Iran Dispatches Flotilla to Major Shipping Corridor Off Yemeni Coast Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Last week, Iranian Navy ships successfully fended off an attack against an oil tanker carrying some 150,000 metric tonnes of oil after it was ambushed by nearly a dozen pirate speedboats in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
• Google Denies Trump Accusations of Working With Chinese Military Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- The US president and top defence officials have alleged that the Chinese military benefits from the work that Google is doing in China. Last year, Trump unleashed a large-scale trade war against Beijing, partly due to the alleged theft of US intellectual property.
• Trump Accuses Google of Helping Chinese Military Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- US President Donald Trump has accused the US-based tech giant Google of helping the Chinese military by conducting business in the Asian country.
• US stance against Hashd Sha'abi forces violates Iraqi sovereignty: Lawmaker Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- An Iraqi legislator has condemned recent remarks by US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino against pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), describing them as "prejudicial" and "in violation of the sovereignty of Iraq."
• 'Big Problem': Bolton Blasts Turkey's Refusal to Abandon S-400 Deal With Russia Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Earlier, Turkey's defence minister set a firm deadline for the delivery of the first of Turkey's Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets despite the Pentagon lobbying to block transfer of the fifth-generation warplanes to Turkey if Ankara goes ahead with its plans to buy Russia's S-400 air defence system.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemenis' attack kills 11 Saudis, 26 Sudanese in Najran, Jizan IRNA 17 Mar 2019 -- Some 11 Saudi forces were killed and 26 Sudanese mercenaries were injured in Yemenis attack on southern Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi-US coalition uses 6,000 cluster bombs in Yemen IRNA 17 Mar 2019 -- Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman says the Saudi-led coalition has used over 6,000 cluster munitions in Yemen over the last 4 years.
• Yemeni forces kill Saudi, Sudanese troopers in Saudi Arabia Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Yemeni forces have killed nearly 40 Saudi and Sudanese soldiers during two separate operations in Saudi Arabia's southwestern border region, in retaliation for the ongoing Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen.
• Yemen 'has advanced aircraft, coordinates of targets in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi' Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Yemen's army says it has advanced aircraft as well as the coordinates of legitimate targets in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which can be hit in retaliation for the war being waged against the country by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, including the United Arab Emirates.
• Yemeni Army Takes Control of Last Stronghold of Houthi Militia in Baqam, Saada SPA 17 Mar 2019 -- The Yemeni legitimate army announced making new progress in the western district of Baqam in Saada province, supported by air force Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen.
• Yemen Has Coordinates of Riyadh, Abu Dhabi Targets, Ready to Retaliate – Report Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- This comes as Yemen remains locked in a conflict between government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels.
• US coalition bombardment kills 10 civilians in eastern Syria IRNA 17 Mar 2019 -- Ten civilians were killed in a new aggression launched by US-led coalition on al-Baghouz Camp in the southeast of Deir Ezzor.
• Military mine blast kills 4, injures 36 in eastern Syria IRNA 17 Mar 2019 -- Explosion of a land mine in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, has claimed the lives of 4 civilians and injured 36 others.
• Syria 'will allow no foreign interference in constitution-related matters' Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Syria says its constitution is a "purely sovereign affair" and will allow no foreign interference in that area.
• Illegal foreign forces must leave Syria: Iran military chief Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Iran's top military commander says foreign forces, who are illegally present in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib and east of the Euphrates, should leave these areas at the earliest.
• US-led airstrikes claim 10 more civilian lives in Syria's Dayr al-Zawr Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Nearly a dozen civilians have lost their lives when the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group conducted a series of airstrikes in Syria's embattled eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.
• Syria lashes out at US, UK, France over statement Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Syria has strongly dismissed a joint statement by the United States, France, and Britain that declares they will not be participating in the war-torn Arab country's reconstruction as long as it is led by President Bashar al-Assad.
• Militants Violate Ceasefire in 2 Syrian Provinces - Russian MoD Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Militants breached the truce regime in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria said on Saturday.
• India, Pakistan Planned Missile Strikes on Each Other During Standoff – Report Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad culminated on 27 February, when the two sides' warplanes engaged in an air battle over Kashmir just a day after India's airstrike on an alleged jihadist camp on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control. The dogfight led to the downing of an Indian Air Force MiG-21 and a Pakistani F-16.
• India, Pakistan threatened to fire 'missiles' at each other: Sources Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- As tensions escalated last month between India and Pakistan across their borders in Kashmir, the two nuclear-armed neighbors threatened to fire a barrage of missiles at each other, sources say.
• Indian Military Confirms Deploying NUCLEAR Subs as Tensions With Pakistan Flared Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Tensions between the two nuclear-armed Asian powers escalated last month, after an incursion into Pakistani territory in Kashmir by Indian Air Force warplanes to strike at Jihadist militants led to skirmishes in the air and small arms and artillery fire along the shaky Line of Control border.
• Pakistan Military Claims Indian Spy Drone Shot Down Along Line of Control Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- The interception happened an estimated 150 meters inside Pakistani territory in the Rakhchikri Sector along the Line of Control which separates the Indian and Pakistani sections of the disputed Jammu and Kasmir regions.
• Bomb blast kills 4 on railway track in southwest Pakistan Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- At least four people have been killed and ten others injured in Pakistan following a bomb blast on train tracks in the country's troubled southwestern province of Balochistan.
• Mogherini Slams Russia As EU Marks Fifth Anniversary Of Crimea's 'Illegal Annexation' RFE/RL 17 Mar 2019 -- The European Union's foreign policy chief has marked the fifth anniversary of Russia's seizure and "illegal annexation" of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula with scathing criticism of the Kremlin.
• Putin To Visit Crimea To Mark Five Years Since Peninsula 'Rejoined' Russia RFE/RL 17 Mar 2019 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to Crimea on March 18 to mark the fifth anniversary of what Moscow considers the day Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula became part of Russia.
• UN Middle East Coordinator strongly condemns 'arrests and violence' by Hamas security forces during Gaza protests UN News 17 Mar 2019 -- The UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has strongly condemned the violent response by security forces in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip during the past three days, towards Palestinian protests over the deteriorating economic situation there.

News Reports

• Revolution? Guaido Calls for Venezuelans to Mobilize for 'Operation Freedom' Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- The self-proclaimed leader has started a trip across Venezuela in an attempt to create "freedom cells" in order to oust President Nicolas Maduro from office.
• US envoy to discuss Venezuela with Russian officials Global Times 17 Mar 2019 -- The US envoy for Venezuela will meet with Russian officials on Venezuelan crisis, said the US State Department on Saturday.
• UN standing with Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique as Southern Africa death toll from deadly cyclone mounts UN News 17 Mar 2019 -- The UN chief has expressed his sadness at the loss of life and displacement across Zimbabwe, as a result of the deadly Tropical Cyclone Idai, which has pounded Southern Africa in recent days, leaving at least 150 dead in Malawi alone, according to latest news reports.
• Negotiations Held between DPRK and Russian Foreign Ministries KCNA 17 Mar 2019 -- DPRK Vice-Foreign Minister Im Chon Il, on a visit to Russia as head of a delegation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, had negotiations with Igor Morgulov, his counterpart of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in Moscow on Mar. 14.
• Complete discontinuance of war games needed Pyongyang Times 17 Mar 2019 -- Though the US and south Korea talk about the "end" of joint military exercises under strong public opposition at home and abroad, they have recently staged a war drill under the codename "alliance", which is similar to the previous ones in terms of content and purpose.
• Defying US sanctions, Iran inaugurates new South Pars gas field phases Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has inaugurated four new phases of the huge offshore South Pars gas field in a move, which has been seen as a clear sign of the failure of US sanctions against the country.
• Iran Promises to Unveil 100+ 'Nuclear Achievements' to 'Send Message to Enemies' Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Tehran is prohibited from developing nuclear technology for military uses under the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, which Iran remains committed to despite the US' decision to unilaterally withdraw from the treaty last May.
• Macron's trip to Africa seen as attempts to counter China's influence Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a four-day trip to the Horn of Africa nations last week, with the visit largely seen as part of attempts by France to cement new ties in a region where China's influence has been growing fast.
• France Starts New Chapter in National Debate Aimed to End Yellow-Vest Crisis VOA 17 Mar 2019 -- After wrapping up thousands of town hall meetings, France starts a new chapter of its "great debate," aimed to address longstanding public grievances and offer solutions to the yellow vest protest movement.
• Azerbaijani President Pardons Hundreds, Including Political Prisoners RFE/RL 17 Mar 2019 -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned more than 400 people, including several members of the opposition considered to be political prisoners by international rights organizations.
• UK selling spyware technologies to autocrat rulers: Report Press TV 17 Mar 2019 -- The British government is facing new allegations of supporting dictatorial and autocratic regimes by selling them spyware technologies that they use to crack down on growing dissent.
• Israel's Top Court Bars Far-Right Politician From Next Month's Election VOA 17 Mar 2019 -- Israel's Supreme Court Sunday disqualified an extreme right-wing politician from next month's parliamentary election for inciting violence and racism against Arabs.
• EU Welcomes Pardonings In Azerbaijan, Wants More Activists, Political Opponents Released RFE/RL 17 Mar 2019 -- The European Union has welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's decision to pardon jailed rights activists and political opponents as part of a broader amnesty and said it expects similar moves to follow.
• 'Feels Good': First Thai Elections Since 2014 Coup See Big Early Voter Turnout Sputnik 17 Mar 2019 -- Hundreds of Thai voters stood in long lines Sunday for early voting, a week before the country's first parliamentary elections since a 2014 military coup.