DefenceTalkUS Army Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, assumed command of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve during a transfer of authority ceremony on Monday August 21. Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Central Command’s commanding general, presided over the ceremony in which command […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-operation-inherent-resolve-commander-continues-fight-against-isil-68041/

DefenceTalkSyrian government warplanes took to the skies again Saturday over the flashpoint northeastern city of Hasakeh, despite a US warning against new strikes that might endanger its military advisers. In another escalation of the five-year war, regime planes this week bombarded positions held by US-backed Kurdish forces in the city fighting the Islamic State (IS) […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syrian-warplanes-fly-over-flashpoint-city-despite-us-warning-68039/

DefenceTalkDefense ministers and other senior leaders of the counter-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant coalition have agreed on next steps in the accelerated fight against the terrorist army in Iraq and Syria, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today. Carter hosted the meeting, the third of its kind, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/carter-defense-ministers-agree-on-next-steps-in-counter-isil-fight-67870/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force will delay retiring the A-10 — a stalwart attack aircraft beloved by ground troops — because of the ongoing fight against the Islamic State group, a military news site reported Wednesday. Plans to postpone the mothballing will be outlined when the Pentagon submits its 2017 budget request to Congress next month, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-shelves-warthog-plane-retirement-amid-isis-fight-66358/

DefenceTalkWASHINGTON: Anti-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces have made significant gains in northern Syria, which will have positive effects in Iraq as well, a senior U.S. Central Command official said today. During a telephone conference from Southwest Asia with Pentagon reporters, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve Chief of Staff Marine Corps Brig. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/general-significant-gains-made-by-anti-isil-forces-in-northern-syria-64598/

DefenceTalkSOUTHWEST ASIA: U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial […]https://www.defencetalk.com/airstrikes-continue-against-isisisil-in-syria-iraq-63244/

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/

DefenceTalkThe strategy against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is working, but degrading and destroying the terror group will require “strategic patience,” Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III said today. Austin, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters at the Pentagon that Iraq remains the focus of operations for his command and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/anti-isis-strategy-working-needs-patience-austin-says-60792/

DefenceTalkBritain will shortly begin re-deploying its unmanned armed drones from Afghanistan to counter Islamic State jihadists in Iraq, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told parliament on Thursday. The remotely-piloted Reaper aircraft will provide surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence support to the Iraqi troops and international coalition forces taking on the IS group in northern Iraq. The drones […]https://www.defencetalk.com/britain-to-re-deploy-drones-from-afghanistan-to-iraq-60775/