The Pentagon sharply raised its estimate of the number of US troops currently in Afghanistan Wednesday, ahead of a decision on adding thousands more under President Donald Trump's new strategy for the war-ridden country.
Pentagon Joint Staff Director Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie said a comprehensive review showed there were approximately 11,000 uniformed US servicemen and women in Afghanistan, compared toRead more
The US and Qatari navies on Friday ended a three-day joint exercise involving nine vessels that took place at a time of high diplomatic tension between Doha and Gulf neighbours.
Among the tests carried out were air defence and surface missile simulation drills, according to a senior Qatari naval officer.
The ships which took part in the exercise off Qatar'sRead more
Tokyo's benchmark index on Friday fell to its lowest close this year as geopolitical fears spiked after the US dropped a massive bomb in Afghanistan.
The Japanese market led Asian bourses lower with investors jittery after the Pentagon announced it dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat, targeting an Islamic State complex.
US President Donald Trump called theRead more
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is heading to the Middle East and Africa next week for a series of meetings with regional allies, the Pentagon said Friday.
The trip will be Mattis's fourth overseas since he became President Donald Trump's defense secretary. It comes amid heightened tensions with Russia following the US military strike on a Syrian air baseRead more
A sci-fi staple for decades, laser weapons are finally becoming reality in the US military, albeit with capabilities a little less dramatic than at the movies.
Lightsabers -- the favored weapon of the Jedi in "Star Wars" films -- will remain in the fictional realm for now, but after decades of development, laser weapons are now here and are beingRead more
The US Navy launched about 60 Tomahawk missiles at military targets in Syria on Friday, relying on a mainstay weapon that can fulfill the Pentagon desire to attack from a safe distance.
The missiles were launched by Rota, the Spain-based US guided missile destroyers USS Ross and USS Porter from the Mediterranean Sea. According to Pentagon, they were programmed toRead more
The missile strike against a Syrian air base marks the first time the United States has directly attacked the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Here is what we know so far about the target and the outcome of the strike.
- The target -
At around 8:40 pm Eastern Time (0040 GMT) on Thursday, the US military fired 59 TomahawkRead more
A US counterterrorism airstrike earlier this month in Afghanistan killed an al-Qaeda leader responsible for a deadly hotel attack in Islamabad in 2008 and the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team, the Pentagon said Saturday.
In confirming the death of Qari Yasin, US officials said Yasin was a senior terrorist figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, hadRead more
Up to 1,000 additional US troops could deploy to northern Syria under provisional plans drawn up by the Pentagon, a US defense official said on Wednesday.
The plans, which still need to be approved by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, would mark a significant uptick in US boots on the ground in Syria as part of theRead more