A U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed the leader of the Islamic State group in Iraq on Jan. 27, a blow to the group’s effort to grow and continue operating. The coalition aircraft were supporting an Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service raid near Kirkuk, which killed the leader ...
As the coalition's footprint in Iraq and Syria “diminishes,” international support for institutional changes, such as building a local judiciary and a military that can sustain itself, is necessary to ensure the Islamic State group does not return, the No. 2 commander of Combined Joint ...
The Pentagon on Nov. 17 formally announced the plan to withdraw thousands of forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, just two months before President Donald J. Trump is expected to leave office. The drawdown is set to be complete by Jan. 15, 2021, but some leaders ...
F-15Es and Airmen from RAF Lakenheath, U.K., returned home after a six-month deployment to the Middle East where the “Bolars” flew more than 8,500 hours supporting combat operations in the region. The 492nd Fighter Squadron, supported by the 492nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit and the 48th ...
The U.S. military plans to withdraw more than 2,000 troops from Iraq this month, leaving about 3,200 troops in the country to continue advising Iraqi forces and targeting the remnants of the Islamic State group. U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., speaking ...
U.S. forces in the Middle East are not prepared enough to defend against swarms of small drones, and the Pentagon needs to work harder to get ahead of the enduring threat, the head of U.S. Central Command warned. Small unmanned aerial systems, which can be ...
Despite a framework for peace in one theater and declarations of upcoming troop withdrawals in another, the head of U.S. Central Command said June 10 that there’s no finish line or concrete withdrawal in sight in either Afghanistan or Syria. CENTCOM boss Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, ...
U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan continued at a steady rate in February, despite progress toward a peace deal with the Taliban, as counter-terror operations targeted the Islamic State group’s Khorasan offshoot and al-Qaeda. In February, U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft dropped 360 weapons—the lowest monthly total ...
Airmen and F-35s deployed to the Middle East from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, increased the jet’s mission-capable rate during combat operations while helping guide the future of the jet’s complex maintenance logistics system. F-35s from Hill’s 4th Fighter Squadron deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, ...
US intelligence showed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani was just “days” away from an attack targeting Americans when he was killed in a targeted drone strike on Jan. 3, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said. The international community and some members of Congress have been skeptical ...
There are no plans to remove forces from Iraq following the Iraqi Parliament’s non-binding resolution calling on the government to kick coalition forces from the country, despite a mistakenly released letter detailing plans to withdraw, top Pentagon officials said Jan. 6. Chairman of the Joint ...
The Islamic State group has not completely been pushed out of Syria and without a sustained US presence, including air surveillance and strike operations, it will re-emerge within a matter of months, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said at a ...