DefenceTalkThe United States will send about 600 extra troops to Iraq to train local forces for an offensive on the Islamic State group stronghold of Mosul, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday. IS seized Mosul along with other areas in June 2014, but the country’s forces have since regained significant ground from the jihadists and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-send-600-more-troops-to-iraq-for-mosul-offensive-68245/

DefenceTalkSyria’s Aleppo faced worsening food and medical shortages and warplanes again pounded the city as Russia condemned what it called “unacceptable” Western rhetoric after allegations of war crimes. A fresh wave of intense air strikes battered Aleppo’s opposition-controlled east, said an AFP correspondent in the city facing its worst violence in years. During an emergency […]https://www.defencetalk.com/aleppo-battered-as-russia-slams-unacceptable-rhetoric-68222/

DefenceTalkWashington is considering arming Syrian Kurdish forces who will join the offensive to retake the Islamic State group’s stronghold of Raqa, the US military’s top officer said Thursday. Though the United States has already helped arm Kurdish fighters in Iraq, a similar move in Syria is more contentious as key ally Turkey regards the group […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-weighs-arming-syrian-kurds-ahead-of-raqa-fight-68207/

DefenceTalkSyria’s ceasefire was hanging by a thread on Sunday, after tensions escalated between Moscow and Washington over a US-led coalition air strike that killed dozens of Syrian soldiers battling jihadists. The truce saw violence drop across Syria for several days after it came into force Monday, but fighting has since erupted on several fronts and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syria-truce-teeters-on-brink-after-us-led-raid-kills-troops-68187/

DefenceTalkSyria’s military said Tuesday it shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone in response to an attack on Syrian army positions — a claim denied by Israel. “Our air defences blocked the attack and shot down the military aircraft in (the southern province of) Quneitra and a drone” in the province of Damascus, said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/syrian-army-says-it-shot-down-israeli-warplane-drone-68157/

DefenceTalkTwo huge US strategic bombers flew over South Korea on Tuesday in a show of force against North Korea following Pyongyang’s fifth and largest-ever nuclear test. The supersonic B-1B Lancers reached airspace over the US Osan Air Base at Pyeongtaek, 64 kilometres (40 miles) south of Seoul, at around 10:00 am (0100 GMT). Each aircraft, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-bombers-in-show-of-force-against-north-korea-68138/

DefenceTalkRussia on Monday launched large-scale military drills on Ukraine’s eastern border and around the Crimean peninsula, in the latest exercises set to rattle Kiev and the West. The defence ministry said 12,500 servicemen are taking part in the drills across its southern military region, which encompasses Russia’s volatile North Caucasus and the annexed Crimea region. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-launches-major-military-drills-set-to-rattle-kiev-68109/

DefenceTalkLithuania has supplied 150 tonnes of ammunition to Ukrainian troops fighting pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east, the Baltic NATO member said Saturday. Defence Minister Juozas Olekas said it was Lithuania’s duty to help a “devoted friend who was attacked by Russia”. “We responded to the Ukrainian request and hope it will make their life […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lithuania-sends-ammunition-to-ukraine-to-fight-rebels-68107/

DefenceTalkTurkish warplanes have destroyed 10 Kurdish rebel positions in the restive southeast as Ankara steps up its fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), state media reported on Sunday. Jets bombed four PKK targets in the Cukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari close to northern Iraq on Saturday evening, security sources told […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkish-jets-destroy-kurdish-rebel-targets-68090/

DefenceTalkAdviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday briefed the ambassadors of permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the European Union regarding the human right violations being committed by the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. “The adviser deplored the lethal use of force by the Indian occupation forces […]https://www.defencetalk.com/unsc-eu-ambassadors-briefed-on-human-right-violations-in-indian-occupied-kashmir-68064/