Failed female suicide bomber in Indonesia sentenced to 7 and a half years in prison

A woman in Indonesia who plead guilty to planning a suicide bombing has been sentenced to over seven years in prison, the first such prosecution in the country’s history. Dian Yulia Novi had plotted with her husband to detonate a suicide vest outside the presidential palace in Jarkata. According to Reuters, the 10-year sentence demanded […]

Watch: Female snipers with the YPG conduct combat operations against ISIS

As the debate rages on within the United States about female service members joining the fight in direct combat roles, in nations like Syria, women are embroiled not only in a fight against perception, but against an ideology that would see them enslaved. The People’s Protection Units, commonly referred to as YPG, are primarily Kurdish […]

Iraqi Army Calls Fighting for Tal Afar Worse than Mosul, ‘Gates of Hell’

Iraq’s military forces are engaged in a fierce fight in the small town of al-’Ayadiya just outside of Tal Afar. Islamic State fighters have dug in to hold the small town where reports of the fighting being ‘multiple times worse’ that the battle for Mosul. One Iraqi officer, Colonel Kareem al-Lami, described the fighting at […]

Hezbollah: Iran’s Middle East agent, emissary and hammer

For three decades, Hezbollah maintained a singular focus as a Lebanese military group fighting Israel. It built a network of bunkers and tunnels near Lebanon’s southern border, trained thousands of committed fighters to battle Israel’s army and built up an arsenal of rockets capable of striking far across the Jewish state. But as the Middle […]

Iraqi forces retake most of Tal Afar from Islamic State: military

Iraqi forces have retaken almost all of Tal Afar, Islamic State’s stronghold in the country’s northwest, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. After just eight days of fighting, all 29 neighborhoods in Tal Afar city had been taken back from the militant group, the military said in a statement on Sunday. However, fighting was ongoing […]

Lebanon army declares pause in offensive against IS on Syria border

The Lebanese Army has announced a pause in fighting with Islamic State militants to help facilitate hostage negotiations for security personnel IS took prisoner in 2014. The armed forces launched their campaign against IS militants entrenched in the mountainous Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas on Lebanon’s eastern border in mid-August. “The army command […]

‘Dogs of War’ Getting Increasingly Harder to Come By

The U.S. military has sent countless dogs to serve alongside soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere since Sept. 11. They have become a valuable member of the troops working in some of the toughest battlefields in the world. With increases in technology, including constructing mannequin dogs, the Pentagon is ensuring many more of them will […]

Forbidden pleasures: Inside the Mosul shop selling everything IS banned

In a small shop in a corner of west Mosul, 16-year-old Abdel Halek dusts his shelves and admires the trove of goods he can now sell without fear of punishment by Islamic State. Mobile phone accessories, playing cards, dominoes, prayer beads – all were banned by Islamic State, and all now sit proudly on Abdel’s […]

Competition for the new light attack aircraft is heating up

The United States Air Force is searching for a new light attack aircraft that will serve as the next generation of ground support aircraft for the nations’ troops. The Textron Scorpion, Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine, Sierra Nevada A-29, and Air Tractor AT-802U are all being tested at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to see which one would be most suitable […]

Iraqi Forces Driving on Islamic State Held Town of Tal Afar

Iraq’s armed forces announced that they’ve captured two areas on the edge of the town of Tal Afar. Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Rasheed Yar Allah, the commander of the Iraqi troops, said that Iraqi Special Forces drove the Islamic State militants from one area on the southwestern edge of town and police and paramilitary units from […]

Competition for the New Light Attack Aircraft is Heating Up

The United States Air Force is searching for a new light attack aircraft that will serve as the next generation of ground support aircraft for the nations’ troops. The Textron Scorpion, Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine, Sierra Nevada A-29, and Air Tractor AT-802U are all being tested at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to see which one would be most suitable […]