Turkey’s incursion into northeastern Syria appears to be giving Islamic State new life, but U.S. counterterrorism officials caution the terror group’s next moves are far from certain. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, warn Islamic State is well-versed in using regional conflicts to its advantage, having done so in Iraq in 2005-2006, and […]
Steve Herman at the White House, Carla Babb at the Pentagon and Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report. Turkish military officials say their troops are ready to launch a long-planned incursion into Syria to take out Kurdish forces branded by Ankara as terrorists, but viewed by much of the West as […]
Carol Castiel contributed to this story from Washington. WASHINGTON — A new class of foreign fighter is on the move, flocking by the thousands to a war zone, either looking for adventure or hoping to strike a blow for their cause, in ways that are increasingly getting the attention of Western intelligence officials. These fighters, […]
This image grab taken from a video provided by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard official website via SEPAH News, July 20, 2019, allegedly shows Revolutionary Guard Corps boarding the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz. WASHINGTON — The United States and Iran pushed full steam ahead, each country launching a new round of […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S.-led NATO mission in Afghanistan is no longer collecting data showing the Afghan government steadily losing ground to the Taliban, telling a U.S. government watchdog the information was “of limited decision-making value.” The so-called district-level stability assessments, which measure the number of the country’s districts under government or insurgent control or influence, […]
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference is providing current and former U.S. intelligence officials with a sense of vindication, affirming many of the conclusions they drew following the 2016 election. At the same time, however, some suggest the report released on Thursday by the Justice Department should serve as a warning that Moscow’s efforts […]
[dropcap]U[/dropcap].S. counterterrorism officials are sticking by their assessment that terror groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida are not actively trying to sneak operatives into the country from Mexico, despite claims by the White House and Homeland Security officials that “the threat is real.” “We do not see any evidence that ISIS or other Sunni terrorist […]
[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ven as regional forces race to position themselves for the imminent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, U.S. military officials caution nothing on the ground has changed yet. The U.S. on Friday dismissed claims Syrian forces were taking control of the northeastern city of Manbij, a key flashpoint between U.S.-backed Kurdish militias and Turkey, […]
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ithout offering specifics on what led to a declaration of victory against the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Syria, the White House defended both the declaration and the decision to start bringing U.S. troops in the war-torn country back home. The announcement, which seemed to catch some U.S. defense and diplomatic officials, as well […]