DefenceTalkA comprehensive probe into last year’s deadly attack on US and local forces in Niger uncovered a series of avoidable blunders leading up to the assault, the Pentagon said Thursday. Four American soldiers and four members of Nigerien partner forces were killed in the October 4 ambush, when scores of jihadists overran their convoy in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-probe-finds-training-command-issues-in-niger-ambush-71670/

DefenceTalkThe Prime Minister is expected to make the announcement as part of the UK-France Summit at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where she will discuss the UK’s strong and wide-ranging bilateral relationship with President Macron. The helicopters, which will provide logistic support to French troops, are part of a wider effort to increase stability in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-to-deploy-chinooks-to-support-french-operations-in-africa-71094/

DefenceTalkThe Djibouti Logistics Support Base of the People’s Liberation Army conducted a live-fire exercise on Thursday with its heavy-duty weapons, according to the Chinese military. Several wheeled tank destroyers and wheeled infantry fighting vehicles from the base in the Horn of Africa took part in the exercise at a local shooting range and fired dozens […]https://www.defencetalk.com/live-fire-exercises-conducted-by-pla-base-in-djibouti-70863/

DefenceTalkFrance’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday encouraged African nations calling for greater autonomy over their security to “go for it”, following the launch of a regional anti-jihad force in the Sahel. France currently has its own a 4,000-strong counter-terror force named Barkhane tackling militants and banditry in West and Central African nations targeted […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-says-go-ahead-to-african-security-initiatives-70784/

DefenceTalkThe military operation that left four US commandos dead in Niger was actually a mission to capture or kill a militant leader, not a routine reconnaissance patrol as asserted by the Pentagon, ABC News reported Thursday. The target of the October 3-4 overnight operation was a militant leader — known locally as Dandou — linked […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-mission-in-niger-not-what-us-commanders-say-it-was-report-70731/

DefenceTalkWASHINGTON: The US military has carried out more air strikes against the Islamic State group in Libya, killing several fighters, the US Africa Command said Thursday. The strikes hit Tuesday about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of the Mediterranean city of Sirte, AFRICOM said in a statement. On Sunday, the Pentagon announced the first air […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-carries-out-more-airstrikes-in-libya-70561/

DefenceTalkBamako: Shelling and rocket fire on a UN camp in Mali’s troubled Timbuktu killed one yet to be identified person and wounded nine peacekeepers, the United Nations mission said Wednesday. It is the latest attack to hit the mission, known as MINSUMA, stationed in the country since 2013 and considered its most dangerous active peacekeeping […]https://www.defencetalk.com/rocket-attack-on-un-camp-in-mali-kills-one-wounds-9-69890/

DefenceTalkUS Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Sunday urged France to continue its African anti-terror operations under its new presidency, as he visited strategic Djibouti on the day of France’s first-round election. “I have no doubt that the French will continue to make their own decisions in their own best interest and that the terrorists will […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-counting-on-french-anti-terror-ops-in-africa-mattis-69796/

DefenceTalkU.S., U.K. and France began Exercise Alligator Dagger 17, April 5. The two-week multilateral amphibious exercise is taking place in international waters off the coast of Djibouti and in the vicinity of Djibouti and Arta Beach, April 5 – April 20. Exercise Alligator Dagger 17, led by U.S. Naval Amphibious Forces, Task Force 51/5th Marine […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-uk-and-france-begin-exercise-alligator-dagger-17-69694/

DefenceTalkPresident Donald Trump has boosted the US military’s authority to step up air strikes in the fight against Islamist insurgents in Somalia, the Defense Department said. According to a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the new leeway accorded to the military will mean they no longer will have to justify a decision […]https://www.defencetalk.com/trump-boosts-us-military-authority-for-somalia-fighting-69629/