The US military claims to have “successfully” disrupted the online propaganda efforts of the Islamic State in a hacking operation dating back at least to 2016, according to declassified national security documents released Tuesday. The heavily redacted, previously top secret documents said the US Cyber Command “successfully contested ISIS in the information domain” and limited […]

At least 30 civilians were killed and 40 injured in an air strike conducted by the Afghan security forces, backed by US air support, in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday. The attack on Wednesday night was aimed at destroying a hideout used by Islamic State (IS) militants, but it accidentally targeted farmers near a […]

DefenceTalkAir strikes by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group in eastern Syria have killed at least 32 civilians in less than 24 hours, a monitor said Friday. Strikes on the village of Sousa killed 18 civilians including seven children late Thursday and 14 more civilians on Friday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/32-civilians-killed-in-coalition-strikes-in-east-syria-monitor-71910/

DefenceTalkDutch F-16 fighter jets will end bombing missions against Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria at the end of the year, the Netherlands government said Friday. “Cabinet has decided not to prolong the use of F-16’s in the fight against Islamic State past Dec. 31,” the Dutch cabinet said in a statement. Four Dutch F-16s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dutch-soon-to-pull-fighter-jets-striking-is-targets-71854/

DefenceTalkRussian warplanes battered Syria’s rebel-controlled Idlib on Tuesday for the first time in three weeks, a war monitor said, as expectations mount of a government offensive in the northwestern province. Regime ally Moscow and rebel backer Ankara have held several rounds of talks aimed at averting an assault, but government troops have been massing near […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-air-strikes-batter-syrias-idlib-monitor-71833/

DefenceTalkAfghan Special Security Forces, advised by U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers assigned to NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan, captured a major Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) stronghold in eastern Afghanistan in June 2018, effectively depriving the terror group of its local capital in one of the largest joint operations ever conducted between U.S. and Afghan special operations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/special-forces-soldiers-help-afghan-forces-defeat-isis-in-eastern-afghanistan-71799/

DefenceTalkBased on military progress in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command is undertaking an operational alignment and rebalancing effort to achieve three specific goals, CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. However, the commander said, “We remain very clear-eyed regarding […]https://www.defencetalk.com/centcom-undertaking-realignment-to-meet-defeat-future-threats-71521/

DefenceTalkFresh regime air strikes and heavy clashes shook rebel-held Eastern Ghouta on Sunday (Feb 25) despite a UN demand for a ceasefire to end one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria’s civil war. After days of diplomatic wrangling, the Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria “without […]https://www.defencetalk.com/strikes-clashes-rock-syrias-ghouta-despite-ceasefire-call-71505/

DefenceTalkA US-led coalition drone has destroyed a Russian-designed tank in eastern Syria close to the scene of last week’s attack on pro-regime forces that left more than 100 Damascus loyalists dead, officials said Tuesday. The strike on the T-72 tank occurred Saturday near Al Tabiyeh, in Deir Ezzor province, the Pentagon said in a statement. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/coalition-destroys-russian-made-tank-in-syria-71471/

DefenceTalkAMMAN, Jordan: A radio crackles to life on what seems like another routine security patrol in a remote village. 1st Lt. Brent Lemler, of Bravo Company “Bushmasters,” 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, keys his hand-held radio and responds. While listening to the communication, he motions for his squad leaders. After a moment, 1st Lt. Lemler […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-soldiers-sharpen-tactical-anti-terrorism-skills-in-jordan-71462/