Category Archives: US Military

Islamic State leader killed during raid by US special forces in Syria

Posted on by

Joe Biden says military has removed Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi from the battlefield

Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of Islamic State and one of the world’s most wanted men, has been killed during an overnight raid by US special forces in north-west Syria.

The pre-dawn attack on a house in the village of Atme, just south of the Turkish border, led to up to 13 casualties, among them women and children. It also resulted in the destruction of a US helicopter, which had been used to carry special forces troops from Erbil in Iraq.

Continue reading...

Ukraine crisis: Russia criticises US military moves as ‘destructive step’

Posted on by

Moscow says US deployments in eastern Europe increase tensions, as Nato says Russia has moved 30,000 troops to Belarus

The US decision to deploy more than 3,000 US troops in Germany, Poland and Romania is a “destructive step” that makes it harder to reach a compromise over Ukraine, Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said, as Moscow continues to build up its forces.

Alexander Grushko said the move by the US president, Joe Biden, would “increase military tension and reduce scope for political decision”, and would “delight” Ukrainian authorities, who would continue sabotaging the Minsk agreement “with impunity”. The Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015 were designed to reach a political settlement in the east of Ukraine, including greater autonomy.

Continue reading...

US army begins discharging soldiers who refuse Covid vaccine

Posted on by

Army secretary says move is essential for combat readiness after vaccination made mandatory for service members in August 2021

US soldiers who refuse to get a Covid-19 vaccine will be immediately discharged, the US army said on Wednesday, saying the move was critical to maintain combat readiness.

The army’s order applies to regular army soldiers, active-duty army reservists and cadets unless they have approved or pending exemptions, it said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Ukraine crisis: Biden to deploy more US troops to eastern Europe

Posted on by

More than 3,000 troops headed to Germany, Poland and Romania after talks between Washington and Moscow failed to ease tensions

Joe Biden will deploy more than 3,000 US troops in Germany, Poland, and Romania, as Russia continues to build up its forces around Ukraine, and after talks between Washington and Moscow failed to bring any breakthrough or easing of tensions.

Nearly 2,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne division will be going to Poland, a headquarters unit from the 18th Airborne Corps will move to Germany, and a 1,000-strong army armoured unit is being transferred from Germany to Romania.

Continue reading...

Ukraine: US puts 8,500 troops on alert to deploy to bolster Nato – video

Posted on by

The US military has put up to 8,500 troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe, potentially at very short notice, should the Nato alliance activate a rapid response force. It's the latest sign of US resolve in the face of a Russian military buildup near Ukraine. The Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that no decision had been made on whether to deploy the troops, and that any such deployment would separate from intra-European movements of US troops to Nato's eastern flank, to reassure nervous allies. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, told US citizens in Ukraine that ‘now is the time to leave’

Continue reading...

US releases video of Afghanistan drone strike that killed 10 civilians

Posted on by

Pentagon declassifies footage from Kabul strike it defended but later admitted was an ‘honest mistake’

The Pentagon has declassified and publicly released video footage of a US drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians in the final hours of the chaotic American withdrawal that ended its 20-year war in Afghanistan.

The New York Times obtained the footage through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against US Central Command, which then posted the imagery to its website. It marks the first public release of video footage of the 29 August strike, which the Pentagon initially defended but later called a tragic mistake.

Continue reading...

Japan attempts to stem surge in Covid cases linked to US military bases

Posted on by

Limits on restaurant opening times imposed in Okinawa and parts of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi

Japan is to introduce limits on bar and restaurant opening times in three areas in an attempt to stem a surge in coronavirus cases that has been linked to US military bases.

The measures – officially described as a quasi-state of emergency – will go into effect from Sunday until the end of the month in Okinawa, home to more than half of the US service personnel based in Japan, and parts of the western prefectures of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, which also host American troops.

Continue reading...

US troops in Okinawa ordered to wear masks as Covid cases rise

Posted on by

Military personnel must wear face coverings off base after virus surges among civilians in Japan

US troops in Okinawa prefecture have been ordered to wear masks off base amid criticism that military authorities failed to tackle a fresh Covid-19 outbreak among service personnel that has taken hold among the local civilian population in Japan.

Okinawa is at the centre of the country’s latest outbreak, with cases surging in recent days from 51 on Saturday to at least 980 on Thursday – a record daily caseload for the southern island.

Continue reading...

The US military trained him. Then he helped murder Berta Cáceres

Posted on by

The indigenous activist was opposing the construction of a dam being constructed by Roberto David Castillo’s company

When Roberto David Castillo graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, the Honduran cadet was confident he’d leave behind a legacy.

“He will be remembered by all as being a fearless leader committed to God, his family and serving others,” read the caption under his yearbook portrait.

Continue reading...

As China threat rises, can Aukus alliance recover from rancorous birth?

Posted on by

Questions mount about pact’s ultimate purpose and implications for other Asean countries

It was initially seen as an audacious enlistment by Joe Biden of Australia into the 21st-century struggle against China, elevating the country in the process to a significant regional military power and finally giving substance to Global Britain and its tilt to the Indo-Pacific.

But since then the “ruckus” about Aukus, as Boris Johnson described it, has not stopped. If this was the start of a new “anti-hegemonic coalition” to balance China’s rise, it has not quite blown up on the launchpad, but nor has it taken off as smoothly as intended.

Continue reading...

US confirms 2019 airstrike hit crowd of Syrian women and children

Posted on by

Baghuz bombing of people trying to escape fighting was covered up, says NY Times report

The US military has confirmed for the first time a 2019 air strike in Syria that killed up to 80 people, mostly women and children, but claimed the strike was justified as it killed Islamic State fighters who were attacking coalition forces.

The confirmation from US Central Command followed a report by the New York Times in which former and current Pentagon officials alleged there had been a cover-up of a likely war crime. Central Command argued that because some women and children had taken up arms for IS, whether by indoctrination or choice, they “could not strictly be classified as civilians”.

Continue reading...

Taiwan hits back after Paul Keating says its status ‘not a vital Australian interest’

Posted on by

China’s aggression destabilises the region and threatens democratic freedoms, Taipei says

Taiwan has hit back at the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating after he said Taiwan was “not a vital Australian interest” and labelled it a “civil matter” for China.

In an appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Keating dismissed global concerns about China’s aggression towards Taiwan and criticised Australia’s growing bipartisan pushback.

Continue reading...

Satellite images show China has built mock-ups of US warships

Posted on by

Sighting renews concerns over Beijing’s capability and intentions as tensions rise over South China Sea

Satellite images show China has built mock-ups of a US navy aircraft carrier and destroyer in its north-western desert, possibly for practice for a future clash.

China has massively upgraded its military in recent years, and its capability and intentions are increasingly concerning to the US as tensions rise over the South China Sea, Taiwan and military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific.

Continue reading...

Guantánamo prisoner details torture for first time: ‘I thought I was going to die’

Posted on by

Al-Qaida courier, who could be freed next year despite 26-year sentence, tells court of interrogators’ horrific treatment

For the first time, a Guantánamo Bay prisoner who went through the brutal US government interrogation program after the 9/11 attacks has described it openly in court, saying he was left terrified and hallucinating from techniques that the CIA long sought to keep secret.

Majid Khan, a former resident of the Baltimore suburbs who became an al-Qaida courier, told jurors considering his sentence for war crimes that he was subjected to days of painful abuse in the clandestine CIA facilities known as “black sites” as interrogators pressed him for information.

Continue reading...

China’s hypersonic glider weapons test threatens to drive new arms race

Posted on by

Analysis: China recently tested a nuclear-capable manoeuvrable missile and Russia and the US have their own programmes

A new focus on hypersonic glider weapons, after a reportedly successful Chinese test, is helping drive an arms race that is eclipsing hopes of a return to disarmament by the world’s major powers.

The Chinese test on 27 July, first reported by the Financial Times, involved putting into orbit a nuclear-capable glider, travelling at five times the speed of sound, which then re-entered the atmosphere and performed some turns on its way to a target.

Continue reading...

US navy engineer charged with trying so sell nuclear submarine secrets

Posted on by

Jonathan Toebbe and wife arrested in West Virginia after nuclear engineer makes ‘dead drop’ to undercover FBI agent

A US navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government – but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.

In a criminal complaint detailing espionage-related charges, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said Jonathan Toebbe sold information for nearly a year to a contact he believed represented a foreign power. That country was not named in the court documents.

Continue reading...

US nuclear-powered submarine hits submerged object in South China Sea

Posted on by

Attack class submarine USS Connecticut hit an unknown object on routine operations and is in a ‘safe and stable’ condition, US navy says

A nuclear powered US navy attack submarine has struck an object while submerged in international waters in the South China Sea, officials have said.

Eleven sailors were hurt – two suffered moderate injuries and the rest had minor scrapes and bruises, officials said. All were treated on the sub.

Continue reading...

Secret group of US military trainers has been in Taiwan for at least a year

Posted on by

Small contingent of US special forces and marines training local forces in latest sign of rising US-China tensions

The US has been secretly maintaining a small contingent of military trainers in Taiwan for at least a year, according to a new report, the latest sign of the rising stakes in US-China rivalry.

About two dozen US special forces soldiers and an unspecified number of marines are now training Taiwanese forces, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The trainers were first sent to Taiwan by the Trump administration but their presence had not been reported until now.

Continue reading...

Inside the CIA’s secret Kabul base, burned out and abandoned in haste

Posted on by

A Taliban commander invited the media to inspect the site where America plotted killing raids and tortured prisoners

The cars, minibuses and armoured vehicles that the CIA used to run its shadow war in Afghanistan had been lined up and incinerated beyond identification before the Americans left. Below their ashy grey remains, pools of molten metal had solidified into permanent shiny puddles as the blaze cooled.

The faux Afghan village where they trained paramilitary forces linked to some of the worst human rights abuses of the war had been brought down on itself. Only a high concrete wall still loomed over the crumpled piles of mud and beams, once used to practise for the widely hated night raids on civilian homes.

Continue reading...

RAF intelligence base linked to US drone strike on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

Posted on by

Research concludes it ‘was probable’ that Menwith Hill was used to assist in the controversial assassination

Campaigners have called on ministers to explain whether the secretive Menwith Hill intelligence base in Yorkshire is involved in recent drone strike assassinations, after the publication of a report that raises questions about UK involvement in US attacks.

The research concludes it “was probable” that Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was killed in January last year using information obtained from the British site, essentially an outpost of the US National Security Agency (NSA).

Continue reading...