The Russian special forces deployment raises the specter of a direct confrontation on the ground between Russian forces and pro-Syrian troops they back on one side, and the U.S.-supported Kurdish-led Syrian forces on the other. U.S. special forces are also operating with the SDF, prov...
This image made from video provided by Kurdistan 24 shows an Iraqi tank moving into position as forces begun the operation to retake the town of Hawija, Iraq from the Islamic State group Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Prime minister Haider al-Abadi says the operation began at dawn in a sta...
Sailors assigned to the Honors and Ceremonial Guard unit of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) fold the National Ensign during an ash-scattering ceremony for Pearl Harbor survivor U.S. Navy Chief Machinist's Mate Melvin Stone on Sept. 19, 2017, at the USS Utah Memorial on Ford Isl...
Nathan Patin, who analyzes extremist social media for the website Bellingcat and reviewed the report and database, said the ability to scrape social media for geotags offers new insight into Islamic State supporters. ISIS supporters still rely primarily upon the encrypted app Telegram...
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials for the second time this year fired the director of the department’s medical center in the nation’s capitol, this time using new accountability measures passed by Congress this summer. The case now becomes the first major test of those new firin...
WASHINGTON — U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters known as the People’s Protection Unit, or YPG, claim to have liberated nearly 80 percent of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of ISIS, according to a video press release by the militant group. The Kurdish YPG fighters are a major group within the Sy...
WASHINGTON — Turkey’s state run news agency Anadolu on Wednesday published an infographic showcasing the capabilities of the country’s new Russian-acquired S-400 missile defense system — and its ability to shoot down U.S. aircraft. The graphic from the NATO ally’s news agency explains...
“This is about making sure that Afghanistan doesn’t once again become a safe haven for international terrorists, and the best way of doing that is to enable the Afghans to have defense security forces which are strong enough to do that,” Stoltenberg said. “I don’t think this is an eas...
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials for the second time this year fired the director of the department’s medical center in the nation’s capitol, this time using new accountability measures passed by Congress this summer. The case now becomes the first major test of those new firin...
The Legion of Honor medal worn by Napoleon Bonaparte while he was in exile at Sainte Helene island is displayed at the Museum of the Legion of Honor in Paris, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010. The National Order of the Legion of Honor is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802....
TOKYO — Japan on Tuesday moved a mobile missile-defense system on the northern island of Hokkaido to a base near recent North Korean missile flyover routes. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor unit was deployed at the Hakodate base on sou...
Equipment Operator 3rd Class Samuel Timici, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit (EODESU) 2, uses a bar to loosen a strap across equipment, Sept. 7, 2017, onboard Naval Station Norfolk, Va., in preparation to respond to any requests to bolster Northern Co...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. delivered the first two of a planned 159 U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to Afghanistan on Monday, according to Capt. William Salvin, a spokesperson for Operation Resolute Support. The helicopters were delivered to Kandahar airfield by U.S. Air Force C-17 loadm...
U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flanked by U.S. Marine Corps F-35 Lightning II and Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighters execute a bilateral mission over the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 18, 2017, conducted in direct response to North Korea's intermediate range ballistic missile laun...
Trump talked up the idea Monday as he sat down with French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the president and first lady Melania Trump for France’s military parade in the center of Paris on Bastille Day in July. Trump said the two-hour procession was a “tremendous thing for Franc...
WASHINGTON ― Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is looking into whether the military has an inability to say “no,” and whether that culture may be part of the reason behind a spate of non-combat troop deaths in recent months. Since June, at least 56 service members have been killed or injur...
U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flanked by U.S. Marine Corps F-35 Lightning II and Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighters execute a bilateral mission over the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 18, 2017, demonstrating the United States' ironclad commitment to our allies in the face of aggre...
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon released the details of its transgender policy Monday, outlining how the department will navigate tricky personnel issues while it finalizes a decision on whether any transgender military members will be allowed to continue to serve. The interim guidance rema...
WASHINGTON — A small contingent of U.S. special operations forces is operating out of Mali, where violence is soaring and heavy weapons from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s plundered armories flow through the country. Operating at the request of the Malian government, U.S. fo...
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s top court on Monday temporarily suspended the northern Kurdish region’s referendum on independence that’s due next week, a decision that put further pressure on the Iraqi Kurds to call off the controversial vote. The Supreme Court in Baghdad released a statement, sayi...
“It makes a lot of sense to prepare for a wide variety of natural disasters,” said retired Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Even if there were no climate change, you would want to be ready for hurricanes, you woul...
NEW YORK — The Trump administration is considering closing down the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Havana following a string of unexplained incidents harming the health of American diplomats in Cuba, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday. Tillerson’s comments were the strong...
“If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior, if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed and we all know that and none of us want that,” Haley said. “None of us want war. But we also have to look at the fact that yo...
BAGHDAD — The U.S.-led coalition says several Islamic State suicide bombers have attacked one of its bases in northern Iraq, without causing any Iraqi or foreign casualties. U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, the coalition spokesman, says all the attackers were killed. Dillon says Sunday’s a...
MOSCOW — A Russian military spokesman is denying claims that a Russian airstrike wounded six fighters from a U.S.-backed opposition force in Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Saturday that its fighters had been hit in the airstrike near the eastern city of Deir el-Z...
Photos published by North Korea’s state media showed the missile being fired from a truck-mounted launcher and a smiling Kim clapping and raising his fist while celebrating from an observation point. It was the first time North Korea showed the missile being launched directly from a v...
WASHINGTON — Suicide among military veterans is especially high in the western U.S. and rural areas, according to new government data that show wide state-by-state disparities and suggest social isolation, gun ownership and access to health care may be factors. The figures released Fr...
Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017. Iraq's Kurdish region plans to hold the referendum to gauge support for independence from Iraq for the autonomous region on Sept. 25, but Al-Abadi say...
BEIRUT — A U.S.-backed force in Syria says a Russian airstrike has wounded six of its fighters near the eastern city of Deir el-Zour. The command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement that Saturday’s attack occurred on the eastern side of the Euphrates River ...
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is putting his brawn behind the effort to get the word out to all veterans about a new online benefit that launches in November. The actor and professional wrestler is featured in a 46-second video clip promoting the new veterans online shopping benefit, whic...
