DefenceTalkIraqi forces on Tuesday recaptured from the Islamic State group the first three districts of militant bastion Tal Afar as the Pentagon chief visited Baghdad in a show of support. The United Nations said thousands of civilians had fled Tal Afar in the two days since the start of the broad offensive backed by the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraqi-forces-retake-three-districts-of-is-bastion-70343/

DefenceTalkUS warplanes Wednesday carried out their first air strikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria after taking off from a Turkish base, kicking off a key new phase in the campaign against the jihadists. A US drone had last week executed a single lethal air strike against an IS target in Syria but this […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-jets-launch-first-anti-is-syria-strikes-from-turkey-64992/

DefenceTalkThe United States launched its first airstrike from Turkey on an Islamic State target in Syria, as Ankara vowed it was ready to step up its own fight against militants. “A US drone today carried out one airstrike in Syria near Raqa,” a Turkish official told AFP, referring to the town in northern Syria that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-bombs-is-syria-target-from-turkey-for-first-time-64955/

DefenceTalkPresident Barack Obama said he would not flinch from sending US special forces to kill Islamic State leaders, as he called for Congress to authorize military operations that stop short of a full-scale invasion. Tantamount to a declaration of war, Obama on Wednesday asked lawmakers for formal authority to take the fight to the Islamic […]https://www.defencetalk.com/obama-says-special-forces-could-target-is-leaders-62935/

DefenceTalkSyria will not allow foreign ground troops on its territory to fight the Islamic State group, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Monday. Speaking at a news conference in Damascus, Muallem also said Jordan had not responded to a Syrian request to coordinate efforts against IS after the group killed a captured Jordanian pilot. “So […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syria-rejects-foreign-ground-troops-to-fight-is-62858/

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/