Anna Varfolomeeva
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Europe
NATO official says alliance faces ‘hybrid challenges’ after reports of Russian smartphone attack
NATO troops in the Baltic states and Poland face hybrid challenges and sophisticated attacks to undermine them, a NATO official told The Defense Post
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War
Mattis details new ‘R4+S’ strategy for Afghanistan
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis provided some details on Tuesday on the new American strategy in Afghanistan, unveiling the Pentagon's newest acronym, "R4+S."
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Middle East
Pentagon confirms US MQ-9 drone shot down in western Yemen
A US MQ-9 Reaper, an armed, medium-altitude surveillance drone, was shot down in Yemen on Sunday, Pentagon spokesman Major Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway told The Defense Post. “We assess that an MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was shot down in western Yemen on Oct. 1, 2017. This incident is under investigation,” Rankine-Galloway said on Monday. Saba News Agency, which is controlled by the Houthi rebels, said the drone was taken down by the militants in Sanaa. “A military source announced that [Houthi] air defences shot down an American MQ-9 surveillance drone in Jader area in the Sanaa province,” the agency said. Footage just recorded after #Yemen-i air defense shot down #US MQ-9 Drone in North of #Sanaapic.twitter.com/wcZy8bc3WV — hONoUR (@Jakoben1789) October 1, 2017
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War
US missile malfunctions, causing casualties after insurgents attack Kabul airport
A US missile caused casualties after insurgents detonated suicide vests and fired several rockets near the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on Wednesday.
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War
US detects no change in posture of N. Korean military, top US general says
The U.S. military has not detected any change in posture of North Korean forces despite the politically charged rhetoric coming from Pyongyang, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said on Tuesday. “We haven’t seen a change in the posture of North Korean forces. We watch that very carefully,” Mr. Dunford said in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. On Monday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said the U.S. had declared war on his country. The remarks came after U.S. President Donald J. Trump tweeted that North Korea “won’t be around much longer,” if Mr. Ri echoed the views of the country’s leader Kim Jong–un. The White House later dismissed the notion that Washington was at war with Pyongyang. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier on Monday that the U.S. is going to continue to pursue diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korean crisis. “Hope that’s the way we’ll solve this,” he said.
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Exercises
Iran launches war games, blocks flights to Kurdistan ahead of referendum
Iran military started war games near the border with Kurdistan, one day before the region is scheduled to hold a referendum on independence from Iraq.
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US strikes against ISIS camp in Libya kill 17 fighters
The U.S. military carried out six strikes against an Islamic State camp in Libya killing 17 fighters, U.S. Africa Command said in a release on Sunday. The strikes, conducted on Friday in coordination with Libya’s Government of National Accord, also destroyed three Islamic State vehicles. “The camp was located approximately 150 miles southeast of Sirte,” AFRICOM said, adding that the location was used by the terror group to move fighters in and out of Libya, stockpile weapons and equipment, and to plot and conduct attacks. According to U.S. authorities, Islamic State and al-Qaeda have been using ungoverned spaces in Libya to establish sanctuaries and conduct terrorist activities. “The United States will track and hunt these terrorists, degrade their capabilities and disrupt their planning and operations by all appropriate, lawful, and proportional means, including precision strikes against their forces, terror training camps and lines of communication, as well as partnering with Libyan forces to deny safe havens for terrorists in Libya,” the release said.
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Air
Battle for Raqqa is down to 3 neighborhoods, US Coalition envoy says
The battle to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State is nearing its conclusion, US-led Coalition Envoy Brett McGurk said on Friday.
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