DefenceTalkPERSIAN GULF: The French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) conducted its first missions against ISIS from the Arabian Gulf as the flagship for Commander Task Force (CTF) 50 on Dec. 20. In a move that demonstrates the interoperability and partnership between the naval forces of the U.S. and France, the French Navy […]https://www.defencetalk.com/french-aircraft-carrier-conducts-first-missions-against-isis-66158/

DefenceTalkDamascus: The Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes, captured a rebel stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo on Sunday, driving out the Islamists, a monitoring group said. State news agency SANA also said that army units and other pro-regime forces had seized control of Khan Tuman and neighbouring farms. Khan Tuman was the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syrian-army-makes-strategic-gain-in-north-66152/

DefenceTalkMoscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin fired off an angry tirade against Turkey on Thursday, ruling out any reconciliation with its leaders and accusing Ankara of shooting down a Russian warplane to impress the United States. In comments littered with crude language, Putin dismissed the possibility that the downing of the warplane over the Turkey-Syria border […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-rules-out-reconciliation-with-turkey-66131/

DefenceTalkThe French air force used its first cruise missiles against Islamic State group targets in Iraq on Tuesday, the defence ministry said. “Launched from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, the raid was made up of a dozen fighter planes equipped with cruise missiles and bombs,” the French ministry said in a statement. The jets […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-uses-first-cruise-missiles-against-isis-66115/

DefenceTalkMoscow: Russia on Monday said a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan penciled in for December 15 had been cancelled, with ties between the two leaders in tatters over the downing of a Russian warplane. The meeting between the two leaders had been agreed at the G20 summit in Turkey […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-russia-summit-canceled-kremlin-66082/

DefenceTalkWashington: A coalition air strike killed an Islamic State finance chief in Iraq last month, the US military said Thursday, hailing it as another scalp in its bid to shatter the extremists’ financial network. Abu Saleh was killed in late November, US military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said in a videoconference from Baghdad, calling him […]https://www.defencetalk.com/isis-finance-chief-killed-in-iraq-air-strike-us-66033/

DefenceTalkMoscow: Russia flexed its military muscles as it launched strikes in Syria for the first time from a submarine stationed in the Mediterranean, ratcheting up its bombing campaign in the war-torn country. The strikes came with Syria’s splintered opposition due to begin Saudi-organized talks in Riyadh on Wednesday for difficult discussions on forming a united […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-launches-syria-submarine-strikes-ahead-of-talks-66021/

DefenceTalkBaghdad: Decades of irresponsible arms transfers to Iraq fueled the Islamic State group’s firepower and ability to carry out atrocities on a massive scale, Amnesty International said in a report published Tuesday. The London-based human rights watchdog called for tougher controls in order to put a stop to the alarming fallout from the proliferation of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/reckless-arms-transfers-to-iraq-fuelled-is-crimes-report-65998/

DefenceTalkBeirut: Suspected US-led coalition air strikes killed at least 26 civilians in a Syrian village, piling pressure on the alliance after allegations another bombing raid left regime soldiers dead. The coalition has been bombarding the Islamic State group for more than a year in Syria and neighboring Iraq, where the jihadists have declared a self-styled […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-suspected-us-led-syria-raids-kill-dozens-of-civilians-65996/

DefenceTalkAnkara: Turkey on Saturday said it was seeking alternatives to Russian energy as relations with Moscow plunge over the downing of a warplane, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing his country will “not collapse” under sanctions. Moscow has imposed a series of economic sanctions against Ankara after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian jet […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-seeks-alternatives-to-russian-energy-after-warplane-crisis-65977/