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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Taliban Says Killing Of Leader's Brother Won't Derail Peace Talks RFE/RL 17 Aug 2019 -- Afghanistan's Taliban says the killing of the brother of their leader in an August 16 bomb attack in Pakistan will not derail peace talks with the United States.
• Dozens Killed, Injured by Blast at Kabul Wedding Hall VOA 17 Aug 2019 -- Authorities in Afghanistan said a massive bomb blast late Saturday inside a packed wedding hall in Kabul "killed and injured dozens of civilians."
• US Air Force launches surveillance flights in newly-built airfield in Niger Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- US Air Force has launched flying operations from a recently constructed remote air base in the West African country of Niger in efforts to carry out intelligence gathering missions over the impoverished region.

Defense Policy / Programs

• First HIMARS live-fire training in Australia USMC News 17 Aug 2019 -- High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, Marines with 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, a part of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, participated in Exercise Southern Reach, a live-fire training exercise at Bradshaw Field Training Area, Australia from 13-15 August.
• US Army Developing AI-Guided Long-Range Smart Artillery Shell Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- The US Army is developing a new kind of "smart" artillery round that can find targets and adjust its flight path to hit them.
• China's participation in US mission in Persian Gulf 'wishful thinking': Paper Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- A state-run Chinese newspaper says it is "wishful thinking" to expect that Beijing will join a US-led naval mission purportedly aimed at protecting shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf.
• Chinese missile destroyer "Xi'an" makes technical stop in Egypt's Alexandria Global Times 17 Aug 2019 -- Chinese missile destroyer "Xi'an" of the 32nd Chinese naval escort fleet arrived at the port of Alexandria Naval Base of Egypt on Friday for a four-day technical stop.
• Tsai welcomes U.S.' decision to press ahead with sale of F-16 jets CNA 17 Aug 2019 -- President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday welcomed a move by the United States to press ahead with the sale of F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, saying the gesture symbolized the stable relations between the two countries.
• U.S. lawmakers support sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan CNA 17 Aug 2019 -- Several U.S. Congress members voiced their support Friday for a plan by the Donald Trump administration to sell new F-16 fighter jets valued at US$8 billion to Taiwan.
• US prepares sale of F-16s to Taiwan despite Chinese warning Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- The administration of US President Donald Trump has reportedly decided to sell billions of dollars' worth of Lockheed Martin's latest and most advanced F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, despite Beijing has warned the United States against moving forward with the controversial plan.
• China warns of 'consequences' if US sell F-16 jets to Taiwan Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- China has warned the United States against moving forward with a new controversial plan to provide self-ruled Taiwan with F-16 fighter jets, saying Washington will be held responsible "for all related consequences."
• Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Guides Test-fire of New Weapon Again KCNA 17 Aug 2019 -- Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, guided the test-fire of new weapon again on Friday morning.
• A spy ship, submarine, tugboat, helicopter joined Iran Army ISNA 17 Aug 2019 -- A "Behregan" spy ship, Ghadir-class submarine, "Arvand" tugboat and a AB212 helicopter were joined Iran's Navy fleet.
• IRGC's strength in Strait of Hormuz increased ISNA 17 Aug 2019 -- Deputy to the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said enemies had better not even think about conspiracy against Iran because they will regret it.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni drone attack on Saudi oil field biggest ever against kingdom: Houthi Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- The leader of Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement has lauded a drone attack by Yemeni army forces and fighters from allied Popular Committees against the Shaybah oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia, saying the assault was the biggest of its kind in retaliation for the Riyadh regime's deadly military campaign against its southern neighbor.
• Iran, Ansarullah, European diplomats urge end to Yemen crisis Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Representatives of Iran, Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement and four major European countries have stressed the importance of putting an immediate end to the ongoing devastating war in Yemen.
• Yemen attacks Saudi oil field at Shaybah with 10 drones: TV Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Yemeni forces have conducted attacks on an oil field affiliated to Saudi Aramco in the east of the kingdom in retaliation for Riyadh's war on their country, al-Masirah TV reports.
• Syrian army advances against foreign-backed militants south of Idlib Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- The Syrian army has made major advances against foreign-backed militants in the south of Idlib, in an operation aimed at fully liberating the province.
• France joins pressure campaign to prevent Syria's Idlib liberation Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- France has joined a pressure campaign on Syria to prevent the liberation of northwestern Idlib Province, the last terrorist stronghold in the Arab country, as the army edges closer to final victory over the Takfiri terrorist groups.
• Turkey-US center for Syria safe zone to start work next week: Turkish defense minister Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar says a Turkish-US operation center for a so-called safe zone in northeastern Syria, where US-sponsored Kurdish militants are operating, will be fully operational next week.
• Israeli helicopters, jets launch fresh attacks on Gaza Strip Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Helicopters and jets operated by the Israeli regime have launched fresh attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, less than a day after warplanes targeted facilities allegedly belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
• Israel Intercepts Two Out of Three Rockets Launched From Gaza - IDF Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- A day earlier, sirens went off in the southern town of Sderot, and in the communities of Or Haner, Nir Am, Erez, and Gevim as Israel's Iron Dome air defence system reportedly intercepted a projectile fired from the Gaza Strip.
• India, Pakistan exchange heavy cross-border fire in Kashmir Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- India and Pakistan have exchanged "heavy" fire across the militarized de facto border in disputed Kashmir valley, days after New Delhi's decision to scrap the autonomy of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.
• India announces easing of brutal curfew over Kashmir Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Officials in the disputed Indian-controlled Kashmir region have started restoring landline phone lines since imposing a brutal curfew and news blackout on the majority-Muslim territory in early August.
• Khan Welcomes UN Security Council Discussions On Kashmir RFE/RL 17 Aug 2019 -- Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 17 welcomed the UN Security Council's decision to discuss tensions in the disputed region of Kashmir.
• India, Pakistan Exchange Heavy Firing Along LoC Amid Kashmir Row, One Soldier Killed Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- Earlier in the month, India announced a decision to amend Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution, repealing the state's special status, and splitting the territory into two federally administered enclaves - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
• 'Jammu and Kashmir Restrictions to be Eased Gradually' - Politician Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- Restrictions imposed in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of constitutional Articles 370 and 35A granting special status to the state will be eased gradually, a top bureaucrat said on Friday.
• First UNSC Meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in Almost 50 Years Yields No Result Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- The only reported progress of Friday's closed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the disputed region was a handshake between Pakistani journalists and India's envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin, who reportedly assessed it "a sign of friendship."
• India Begins Restoring Communications to Kashmir VOA 17 Aug 2019 -- Officials in India-controlled Kashmir began restoring telephone service Saturday to the Himalayan region.

News Reports

• Guterres pledges UN support to Sudan after military and civilian opposition reach deal on transitional government UN News 17 Aug 2019 -- UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday congratulated the people of Sudan after the military council and civilian opposition alliance agreed earlier in the day on a power-sharing accord.
• The United States Welcomes Sudan's Adoption of the Constitutional Declaration US Dept. of State 17 Aug 2019
• Sudan's military rulers, opposition coalition sign final agreement on civilian rule Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Sudan's military rulers and the main opposition coalition have formally signed a "constitutional declaration" for a promised transition to civilian-led government four months after the ouster of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir through a military coup.
• Sudan's Military Council Chief to Head Sovereign Council for First 21 Months - TMC Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, who currently leads Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC), will head the Sovereign Council, a transitional national administration, for the first 21 months after its creation, the TMC said on Saturday.
• Sudan's Military Signs Final Power Transition Deal With Opposition Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- Sudan's ruling Transition Military Council (TMC) signed the final power transition deal with opposition Forces of Freedom and Change amid the ongoing protests that have been sweeping the African nation for months.
• Sudanese Military, Protest Leaders Sign Transition Deal VOA 17 Aug 2019 -- Sudan's Transitional Military Council and protest leaders on Saturday signed a historic power-sharing agreement in Khartoum.
• Mission: Impossible? Ukraine's New President Ventures To Reform Powerful State Spy Agency RFE/RL 17 Aug 2019 -- When Ukraine's domestic security service revealed last year that it had faked the death of a dissident Russian journalist to expose a team of hit men allegedly hired by Moscow to destabilize the country by assassinating high-profile figures in Kyiv, it expected to take victory lap.
• In Kim's Threats and Appeasement, Experts See Move to Manipulate Trump VOA 17 Aug 2019 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is using a divide-and-conquer tactic in an effort to detach President Donald Trump from Seoul and his own government by using both missile threats and an apologetic letter, said experts, all to secure sanctions relief.
• War Rehearsal Will Bring Disastrous Consequences: KCNA Commentary KCNA 17 Aug 2019 -- The U.S. and the south Korean authorities keep staging joint military drills for aggression despite warnings from the DPRK and denunciation from the international community.
• UK had no option but to end maritime piracy: Iran's Larijani Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says Gibraltar's decision to release the Iran-operated Grace 1 supertanker shows that Britain had to retreat from its maritime piracy.
• A timeline of Grace 1's seizure and detention Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Britain's seizure of a supertanker carrying Iranian crude oil has proven to be a legal, diplomatic and political defeat for London. This is evident in Britain's retreat following the Gibraltar "Supreme Court's" decision to order the release of the tanker.
• Enemies will gravely regret any mischief: IRGC deputy head Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has called on the country's enemies to learn from past "trials" attempting to challenge Iran, warning against any attack on the country.
• Iranian Tanker Ready To Leave Gibraltar 'In 24 To 48 Hours,' Despite U.S. Pressure RFE/RL 17 Aug 2019 -- The shipping agent for an Iranian oil supertanker says the vessel is ready to depart Gibraltar in "24 to 48 hours," despite a last-minute effort by the United States to seize it.
• China condemns US politicians' false remarks on HK situations Global Times 17 Aug 2019 -- China has strongly condemned some US politicians' false remarks on the Hong Kong situations, which conflate wrong and right, apply bigoted double standards and make them colluders with extremist and violent offenders.
• China responds to US remarks on Hong Kong: FM spokesperson Global Times 17 Aug 2019 -- China on Friday responded to US President Donald Trump's remarks concerning the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).
• Hong Kong police says will not use force if not attacked by protesters Global Times 17 Aug 2019 -- A senior Hong Kong police officer said on Friday that the police will not use force if they do not face violent attacks by protesters.
• Israel should not take US money for banning Congresswomen: Sanders Press TV 17 Aug 2019 -- US Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has suggested that Israel should decline US foreign aid for denying the entry of two Muslim Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
• Commercial carrier rocket SD-1 makes maiden flight Global Times 17 Aug 2019 -- China's new carrier rocket Smart Dragon-1 (SD-1), designed for commercial use, made its maiden flight on Saturday, sending three satellites into planned orbit.
• China Launches 3 Satellites Into Orbit With Jielong-1 Rocket - Reports Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- China's new Jielong-1 (Smart Dragon-1 or SD-1) rocket, which is designed for commercial missions, launched three satellites into orbit for the first time, the Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
• Russia Space Agency Develops Stealth Technology for Satellites Sputnik 17 Aug 2019 -- Russia's State Space Corporation Roscosmos has patented the technology protecting satellites from being detected by optical means, according to the database of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent).
• UN Condemns Government Crackdown on Peaceful Protests in Zimbabwe VOA 17 Aug 2019 -- The U.N. human rights office is condemning a crackdown Friday in Zimbabwe by riot police on peaceful protesters in the capital, Harare. The agency is calling for an investigation into excessive use of force by security forces.