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.

Islamic State battling against Al Shabaab in Somalia?

On December 16th there were reports coming out of Somalia that Islamic state fighters had clashed with Al Shabaab fighters. The Islamic state news agency, Amaq, released a video on December the 18th that claims to provide visual evidence of its fight with Al Shabaab on December 16th. This is the first time the Islamic state has […]

Mali: 40 Tuareg civilians killed by armed men on motorbikes

The Mali government reported that armed men on motorbikes killed more than 40 Tuareg civilians this week in northern Mali, where clashes over land and scarce water are common. The violence compounds an already terrible security situation in the desert region used by armed groups to launch attacks in Mali and neighboring countries in West […]

11 surface-to-air missiles discovered in Algeria

The Algerian Security forces have discovered a weapons cache containing 11 surface-to-air missiles near the country’s border with Mali, the defense ministry announced yesterday. “After a search operation in the country’s border town of Bordj Badji Mokhtar, the Algerian People’s National Armed Forces found an ammunition cache containing 11 anti-tank missiles the ministry said in […]

Ukraine, Donbass War update: Signs of escalation

Russia’s hybrid military forces mounted 24 attacks on Ukrainian Forces positions in the Donbas region in the last 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier killed in action and another three wounded in action. “One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded in the past day. According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed […]

Ex-Putin adviser warns of coming Russian attack!

A former senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken out that he believes Moscow is preparing to send its special forces to seize a vital canal that provided water to Crimea before Ukraine shut off supplies following the Kremlin’s invasion and illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014. On Dec. 5, Illarionov gave a […]

Somalia: Islamic State militants on the rise?

Al-Shabaab, Somalia largest terrorist organisation, is engaged in an economic war — and it is the country’s business sector that is getting hurt in the crossfire. Somali businessmen and local people on the ground are saying the rival Islamist groups are targeting companies, to an unprecedented degree, with demands or so-called taxes. Al-Shabaab has already […]

Cameroon: What the reintegration of Boko Haram fighters means

The National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration has been set up in Cameroon. A statement from the Cameroonian government said that the program aims to provide “a framework for the reception and social reintegration of ex Boko Haram militants and members of armed groups operating in the North and South West regions of the country.” […]

Ukraine vs Russia: What is really going on with the latest standoff?

Russia has seized three Ukrainian Navy ships off the coast of Russian Annexed Crimea after opening fire on Ukrainian servicemen, and wounding several. Martial law has been declared and the Ukrainian armed forces put on the highest alert. The risk of a full-scale war has never been higher. So, by now, you will have seen […]

Burkina Faso: Ansar ul Islam attack leaves a dozen militants dead

Burkina Faso, West Africa has some of the most dangerous borders in the world–with Mali and Niger as its neighbors it’s only a matter of time before the chaos spills over.  Burkina Faso has enjoyed peaceful times even at the heights of the War in Mali, but recently Islamic Terror Groups (ITGs) operating in Mali […]