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/

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/

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/

DefenceTalkU.S. and Saudi Arabian military forces conducted eight airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant targets in Syria yesterday and today, U.S. Central Command officials reported. Four airstrikes southwest of Kobani struck a large ISIL unit and a small ISIL unit, damaged an ISIL staging location and destroyed an ISIL heavy-machine-gun firing position. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-saudi-arabia-conduct-airstrikes-against-isil-in-syria-60753/

DefenceTalkAdvancing Islamic State fighters seized a third of the Syrian border town of Kobane Thursday despite US-led air strikes, as Turkey rejected sending troops in against the jihadists on its own. In fighting that killed dozens, calls grew for ground action to support Kobane’s beleaguered Kurdish defenders. But after talks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/isis-advances-in-kobane-as-turkey-rejects-solo-ground-action-60733/

DefenceTalkThe campaign of air strikes against ISIS has now grown to include targets in Syria with support from several Arab states. And in their aftermath, the Administration has wasted little time in describing the effectiveness of these strikes in degrading ISIS capabilities and disrupting ISIS operations. However, this air-only strategy will never be decisive in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/destroying-isis-in-iraq-the-missing-element-60724/