All posts tagged: US military

Rockets fired from northern Iraq target US-led coalition base in Syria

Rockets fired from northern Iraq target US-led coalition base in Syria

Published by Sam

Rockets were fired late Sunday from northern Iraq at a military base in Syria housing a US-led coalition, according to Iraqi security forces. Issued on: 22/04/2024 – 02:24Modified: 22/04/2024 – 07:25 2 min In response, the Iraqi forces launched a major search operation in northern Nineveh province and found the vehicle used in the attack, they said in a statement. It is the first major attack against the coalition forces in several weeks. It comes days after Israel reportedly responded to an Iranian attack with a drone strike on the Islamic republic, amid tensions fuelled by the Gaza war. The statement from the Iraqi security forces accused “outlaw elements of having targeted a base of the international coalition with rockets in the heart of Syrian territory”, at around 9:50 pm (1850 GMT). The security forces burned the vehicle involved in the attack, the statement added. Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, said several rockets had been fired “from Iraqi territory at the Kharab al-Jir base” in northeast Syria, …

Taiwan to discuss new arms funding with US as Chinese warplanes again near island

Taiwan to discuss new arms funding with US as Chinese warplanes again near island

Published by Sam

Taiwan’s military said on Sunday it will discuss with the United States how to use funding for Taipei included in a $95 billion legislative package mostly providing assistance to Ukraine and Israel, as Chinese warplanes again got close to the island. Issued on: 21/04/2024 – 11:29 2 min The United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Democratically governed Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory. Taiwan’s government rejects those claims. The defence ministry expressed thanks to the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the package on Saturday, saying it demonstrated the “rock solid” U.S. support for Taiwan. The ministry added it “will coordinate the relevant budget uses with the United States through existing exchange mechanisms, and work hard to strengthen combat readiness capabilities to ensure national security and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”. Taiwan has since 2022 complained of delays in deliveries of U.S. weapons such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as manufacturers focussed …

US agrees to withdraw troops from key drone base in Niger

US agrees to withdraw troops from key drone base in Niger

Published by Sam

The United States agreed Friday to withdraw its more than 1,000 troops from Niger, officials said, upending its posture in West Africa where the country was home to a major drone base. Issued on: 20/04/2024 – 08:24Modified: 20/04/2024 – 08:25 3 min The long-expected move effectively marks a new regional gain for Russia, which has ramped up its focus on Africa and backed military regimes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell accepted the call to remove troops in a meeting in Washington with the prime minister of the junta, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, US officials told AFP on condition of anonymity. They agreed that a US delegation would head within days to the capital Niamey to arrange an orderly withdrawal, the officials said. Nigerien state television earlier announced that the US officials would visit next week. The State Department made no immediate public announcement and officials said no timeline was yet set to withdraw the troops. Niger was long a linchpin in the US and French strategy to combat …

Deadly ‘explosion’ hits Iraqi military base housing pro-Iranian armed groups, says Iraq

Deadly ‘explosion’ hits Iraqi military base housing pro-Iranian armed groups, says Iraq

Published by Sam

One person was killed and eight wounded in an overnight explosion at an Iraqi military base housing a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups, officials said Saturday. Issued on: 20/04/2024 – 07:52Modified: 20/04/2024 – 15:27 2 min The full details remain unclear hours after the blast hit the Kalsu military base in Babylon province south of Baghdad, where regular army, police and members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, are stationed. It comes days after Iran launched an unprecedented assault on Israel which reportedly responded with a drone strike on the Islamic republic, amid tensions fuelled by the Gaza war. The Iraqi security forces’ media unit said “an explosion and a fire” hit the Kalsu base in the early hours of Saturday, leaving one person dead and eight wounded. Air defence command reported “no drones or combat aircraft in the airspace of Babylon province before or during the explosion”, it added in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Shortly after the explosion, the US military said its forces were not behind …

US Destroys Houthi Missiles, Drones in New Yemen Strike

US Destroys Houthi Missiles, Drones in New Yemen Strike

Published by skeptic

washington —  The U.S. military said it destroyed seven missiles and three drones Monday in areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels that presented threats to merchant ships and U.S. Navy vessels. Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea region since November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza. United States Central Command forces operated “in self defense” when they engaged and destroyed the anti-ship missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas, CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X, the former Twitter. “It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said. The Houthi attacks have sent insurance costs spiraling for vessels plying the key Red Sea trade route and prompted many shipping firms to take the far longer passage …

US Military Reports Destroying 5 Houthi Drones

US Military Reports Destroying 5 Houthi Drones

Published by skeptic

The U.S. military said U.S. and coalition forces shot down five Houthi drones late Tuesday in the Red Sea. U.S. Central Command said the drones were launched from areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and that the drones “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the U.S. Navy and coalition ships in the region.” The strikes were the latest in months of actions seeking to counter attacks by the Houthis against vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza. The attacks have prompted many shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea corridor, opting instead for the much longer and more expensive route around Africa. Maritime security firms reported the latest suspected Houthi attack late Tuesday about 110 kilometers west of Yemen’s port of Hodeida. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports of a rocket exploding several kilometers from a vessel, which was unharmed and proceeding to its next port of call. British security firm …

US Army Slashing Thousands of Posts in Major Revamp

US Army Slashing Thousands of Posts in Major Revamp

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WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Army is slashing the size of its force by about 24,000, or almost 5%, and restructuring to be better able to fight the next major war, as the service struggles with recruiting shortfalls that made it impossible to bring in enough soldiers to fill all the jobs. The cuts will mainly be in already-empty posts — not actual soldiers — including in jobs related to counterinsurgency that swelled during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but are not needed as much today. About 3,000 of the cuts would come from Army special operations forces. At the same time, however, the plan will add about 7,500 troops in other critical missions, including air-defense and counter-drone units and five new task forces around the world with enhanced cyber, intelligence and long-range strike capabilities. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said she and Gen. Randy George, the Army chief, worked to thin out the number of places where they had empty or excess slots. “We’re moving away from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. We want to be postured for …

Iraq resumes talks with US on future of anti-jihadist coalition

Iraq resumes talks with US on future of anti-jihadist coalition

Published by Sam

Iraq said Sunday it had resumed talks with the United States on the future of the anti-jihadist coalition, expressing hope that they would not be disrupted and lead to an outcome soon. Issued on: 12/02/2024 – 00:02 2 min A first round of talks opened on January 27 but was swiftly suspended after a drone attack killed three US military personnel at a base in Jordan the following day, leading to US reprisal strikes. “The supreme Iraqi military commission resumed on Sunday its meetings with international coalition forces in Baghdad,” General Yehia Rasool, military spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, said in a statement. “As long as nothing disrupts the serenity of these talks, the meetings will take place on a regular basis in order to achieve the commission’s works as soon as possible,” he added. Rasool said the meetings were aimed at setting up a “timeline” for a “progressive pullout” of coalition forces from Iraq, leading to the end of its mission. The US-led military coalition was formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State …

Flames engulf car in Baghdad after US drone strike – video | World news

Flames engulf car in Baghdad after US drone strike – video | World news

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Footage shows a burning car after the US carried out a drone strike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Wednesday. The US military’s Central Command posted a statement on X that American forces had ‘conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on US service members, killing a Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region’. Three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia were killed in the strike Source link

Crowds gather after US drone strike targets Iran-linked militia leader in Baghdad – video | World news

Crowds gather after US drone strike targets Iran-linked militia leader in Baghdad – video | World news

Published by skeptic

Crowds gathered around the wreckage left by a US drone strike on a car in Iraq. The strike, on a main thoroughfare in the Mashtal neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad, killed three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, including a high-ranking commander, officials have said. Days earlier, the US military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan in late January Three dead as US drone strike targets Iran-linked militia leader in Baghdad Source link