Ambush in Somalia, Kenya Defense Forces inflict losses on al-Shabaab extremists

Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) deployed as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) were caught up in a small arms engagement in the southern town of Tabda on New Year’s Day. KDF troops killed seven al-Shabaab militants and wounded an unknown number of fighters in the exchange. The KDF fared better this time […]

January 1, 1962, The US Navy SEAL Teams Are Born

On this day in 1962 is the official date of the beginning of the United States Navy’s Sea, Air and Land Teams (SEAL) as President John Kennedy established the Navy’s Unconventional Warfare unit. SEAL teams are designed to conduct direct action missions from any environment. Although the official date for the SEAL Teams is in […]

Egyptian Security Forces Kill 40 Islamist Militants After Bus Attack

Security forces for the Egyptian government have raided three Islamist militant hideouts and killed 40 of them in response to an attack on a tour bus near the tourist town of Giza where three Vietnamese tourists and their Egyptian guide were killed. The three raids killed “40 terrorists” in Giza and North Sinai, the statement […]

UK Security Minister warns of a ‘resurgent’ Al-Qaeda and the threat of new airline attacks

Almost two decades after the catastrophic 9/11 attacks, al-Qaeda seems capable of mounting similar terrorist strikes involving hijacked airplanes. Despite the relentless pounding that the terrorist organisation has received at the hands of the U.S. and its international allies, the recent focus on the Islamic State (ISIS) appears to have given the arch-terrorist group the […]

Turkey puts pressure on US to extend Iranian oil waiver as operations in Syria ramp up

With operations in Syria ramping up, Turkey’s Trade Minister, Ruhsar Pekcan, told reporters on Thursday that she expected the United States to extend the current waiver which allows the country to buy Iran’s crude oil. In November, the US placed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, but granted several exemptions to the Gulf state’s biggest customers, allowing […]

Perfecting an Exoskeleton for SOF Needs To Happen Now

Today’s military is much more technology-based than in previous eras but while the high-tech gadgets make the soldier’s job easier and much more lethal on today’s battlefield, it also weighs them down more than ever before. The price of having the technology at their fingertips is that, while all of that gear works and is […]

Report: Al-Qaeda still capable of major airline strikes

Almost two decades after the catastrophic 9/11 attacks, al-Qaeda seems capable of mounting similar terrorist strikes involving hijacked airplanes. Despite the relentless pounding that the terrorist organisation has received at the hands of the U.S. and its international allies, the recent focus on the Islamic State (ISIS) appears to have given the arch-terrorist group the […]

Mission Accomplished 2 for US SOF? No Easy Answers in Syria

President Trump ruffled quite a few feathers both here in the United States and abroad when he tweeted out a few days ago that our troops were being pulled out of Syria. The President said, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” which he said during […]

Trump: Mission accomplished — all US troops to immediately withdraw from Syria

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he said in a tweet. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that all American troops currently in Syria will be withdrawn. There are currently around 2,000 U.S. troops inside Syria fighting ISIS alongside the Kurds and Syrian rebels. “We’ve […]

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 […]

“30 seconds to live”: A glimpse inside the secretive world of the killer-drones

To many, modern warfare, and particularly drone warfare, can seem like a video game. Successive waves of war movies and video games have managed to replicate the images of the modern battlefield. Images, however, are just that: visual interpretations of events. They don’t show the impact, physical or mental, that the participants experience. Dr Peter […]