Jamie Read

About the author

I am a former UK infantry reconnaissance specialist serving worldwide, military advisor to Ukrainian special operations, a former volunteer with the YPG in Syria. Worked many years as a private security contractor in the Middle East and Africa and currently working as an executive protection officer on the UK circuit. Also, I am the owner of the Mercs Corner podcast.

European Union Training Mission in Mali attacked by unknown gunmen and suicide vehicles

The European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Mali has come under assault, attacked by gunmen and rocked by a pair of suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs). The unknown attackers struck the Koulikoro Training Centre (KTC) on February 24 at about three o’clock in the morning. The assault involved two vehicles, packed with explosives, and […]

French soldiers kill al-Qaeda’s second ranked terrorist leader Yahya Abu al-Hammam: Exclusive analysis

Algerian Yahya Abu al-Hammam, a senior commander in Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) was killed in a special operation led by French forces. Yahya Abu al-Hammam ranked number two in the organization behind the Malian Tuareg Iyad Ag Ghaly. The assassination was conducted by French soldiers from the task force Operation Barkhane, an anti-insurgent operation in Africa’s […]

Terrorist groups engage in kidnapping in Mali to bankroll their operations

Over the course of the past several years, numerous high-ranking individuals have been taken captive by terror groups in Mali. Recently, two of them—the Guiré brigade commander, Mamadou Diawara, and the president of the Niono District Court, Soungalo Koné—both kidnapped by the terrorist group The Macina Liberation Front, have reportedly died due to illness while […]

Airstrikes in Libya: US Africa Command cover-up or another nation’s unclaimed attack?

Last week the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) denied carrying out an airstrike targeting al-Qaeda in southwest Libya despite the internationally recognized regime in Tripoli insisting they had involved their American colleagues in a joint attack. The spokesperson for the chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya said on Wednesday that a site with a […]

Donbass War in Ukraine update: Multiple attacks, 1 dead, many wounded

Within the past few days, Russian-backed separatist forces have mounted 10 attacks on Ukrainian Army (UA) positions in the Donbass region of Ukraine. On February 18, 2019, Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation released a press statement on their Facebook page announcing that one Ukrainian service member had been wounded in the recent fighting. They also announced that […]

Libyan National Army accused of war crimes in Derna (warning: graphic content)

The Libyan National Army (LNA) under Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar has set about clearing the city of Derna, a port city in eastern Libya, of Islamist terrorists as part of national campaign to restore peace and order to the country and rid Libya of the terrorist groups hiding within its borders. Although Haftar’s forces have so far been […]