DefenceTalkCanada’s opposition leader accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday of having lied when he promised no ground combat alongside airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. The accusation comes after Canadian special forces exchanged gunfire with Islamic State fighters in the Mideast country in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between […]https://www.defencetalk.com/canadas-harper-lied-about-ground-combat-in-iraq-opposition-62050/

DefenceTalkA team of camouflage-clad Iraqi soldiers lines up near the door of a one-storey house north of Baghdad with rifles ready, preparing to enter and search it. For now, there are no militants inside, and American and Iraqi instructors are on hand to tell them how to position themselves, where to look when they enter […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-trains-iraqis-for-house-to-house-battle-against-is-61839/

DefenceTalkIslamic State jihadists are having to spend more effort defending key supply lines in Iraq due to US-led air strikes and pressure from local forces, the Pentagon said Friday. The IS group’s supply routes into Iraq from neighboring Syria have become a central focus of combat, with Iraqi government and Kurdish forces — along with […]https://www.defencetalk.com/is-forced-to-defend-supply-lines-in-iraq-us-61841/

DefenceTalkThe US military is reviewing several incidents in which civilians may have been killed in coalition air strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria, officials said Tuesday. The comments marked the first time the US military has acknowledged that the air war may have exacted a toll on civilians. US Central Command, which […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-led-strikes-may-have-killed-civilians-pentagon-61307/

DefenceTalkIran is to help Iraq rebuild its army under an agreement that could formalise Tehran’s military support for its neighbor, which remains under assault by the Islamic State (IS) group. No details of the pact were released but state television said the two sides had “agreed to continue cooperation in the defence arena with the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-in-new-deal-to-boost-iraq-army-61242/

DefenceTalkAyatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian navy officials on Sunday to improve their capability for combat, irrespective of political negotiations which may be taking place. “Given our vast maritime borders and the enemy’s huge investments in this area, our armed forces should continuously improve their (combat) readiness, irrespective of political calculations,” Iran’s supreme leader told assembled […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iranian-leader-tells-armed-forces-to-stay-ready-for-combat-61085/

DefenceTalkA pair of frontrunners have emerged to take charge at the Pentagon after President Barack Obama announced the departure of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. If former under-secretary Michele Flournoy gets the nod, she would be the first woman to hold the role, and neither she nor former deputy secretary Ashton Carter have served in uniform. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/frontrunners-emerge-for-top-pentagon-job-61073/

DefenceTalkThe initial group of F-16 fighter jets purchased by Iraq will be delivered to Tucson, Arizona, for Iraqi pilot training due to the security situation in Balad in Iraq, Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren said here today. Speaking to Pentagon reporters, the colonel discussed plans to send the aircraft to Arizona rather than […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraqi-pilots-to-train-on-iraqi-purchased-f-16s-in-arizona-60995/

DefenceTalkAfter more than two months of air strikes, a US-led coalition has prevented the fall of a northern Syrian town to Islamic State jihadists but is still struggling to halt the group’s advances on other fronts, experts say. Since the air war on the IS militants began on August 8, the United States and its […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-struggles-to-turn-the-tide-in-war-against-is-60859/

DefenceTalkOne bundle of weapons and medical supplies airdropped by U.S. forces to Kurdish fighters in Syria most likely fell into enemy hands, a Pentagon spokesman said today. The pallet was among 28 that were dropped by U.S. forces Oct. 19 to resupply Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/one-airdrop-to-kurds-fighting-in-kobani-intercepted-60817/