Flashpoints
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Florida National Guard troops ordered out of Ukraine by SECDEF
FLASHPOINTS The 160 soldiers of the Florida National Guard deployed to Ukraine since November have been ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to leave Ukraine amid increasing concern of a Russian attack, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
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US troops sheltered, fired Patriot missiles during Yemen Houthi attack on UAE
FLASHPOINTS U.S. troops took shelter and launched interceptor missiles during an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that targeted the United Arab Emirates during a visit by Israel’s president, the second-such time American troops have opened fire, officials said.
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No injuries as rockets hit near Baghdad airport, damage two planes
FLASHPOINTS At least six Katyusha rockets struck near the civilian side of Baghdad’s international airport and an adjacent military base that hosts a small number of U.S. and other coalition advisors on Friday, damaging two planes on the runway. There were no casualties, Iraqi officials said.
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Russia not yet ready for full-scale attack says Ukraine
FLASHPOINTS Though Russia continues to build up its forces around Ukraine —even as negotiations to tamp down tensions continue — it is not enough yet to carry out a full-scale invasion, according to the latest Ukrainian military assessment shared exclusively with Military Times.
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US draws down Ukraine embassy presence as war fears mount
FLASHPOINTS The State Department on Sunday ordered the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to leave the country amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion. The department told the dependents of staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv that they must leave the country.
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Russian attack could happen ‘any minute’ Ukraine official says
FLASHPOINTS Even as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to meet with his Russian counterpart Friday, Russia is increasing the number of troops, weapons, intelligence-gathering and electronic warfare capabilities along the border with Ukraine, and now has the ability to strike Kyiv with medium-range ballistic missiles.
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All-out war or ‘creeping occupation’ among Putin options, says Ukraine MoD
FLASHPOINTS There are two potential courses of action Putin could take — either all-out war or a “creeping occupation” of Ukraine, that nation’s Ministry of Defense tells Military Times.
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Russians have 120,000 troops on its border, increased intel gathering, Ukraine ministry says
FLASHPOINTS There are about 98,000 Russian ground troops and about 22,000 air and naval forces arrayed around the former Soviet satellite, according to a Ukrainian military assessment obtained by Military Times.
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Civilians may have been killed in latest US drone strike on al-Qaida in Syria
FLASHPOINTS CENTCOM officials did not name the individual targeted or say how many civilian casualties may have resulted from the strike.
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Russia preparing to attack Ukraine by late January: Ukraine defense intelligence agency chief
FLASHPOINTS Russia has more than 92,000 troops amassed around Ukraine’s borders and is preparing for an attack by the end of January or beginning of February, the head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency told Military Times.
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Russian troop movements show wider conflict is possible, top Ukraine official says
FLASHPOINTS “All available information indicates that the armed forces of Russia permanently sustain a powerful offensive grouping around Ukraine,” Roman Mashovets, deputy head of Ukraine’s Office of the President for national security and defense, told Military Times Wednesday.
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Senior al-Qaida leader killed in northwest Syria drone strike: CENTCOM
FLASHPOINTS For the second time in about a month, CENTCOM said a senior al-Qaida leader was killed in a drone strike in northwest Syria.
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WhatsApp outage ‘a nightmare’ for group working to rescue Afghans, American citizens
FLASHPOINTS While Twitter is full of jokes about the outage that plagued Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp Monday, it’s no laughing matter for those trying to escape Afghanistan.
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CENTCOM IDs ‘senior al-Qaida leader’ killed in airstrike in Syria
FLASHPOINTS CENTCOM says a senior al-Qaida leader was the target of a counterterror strike in Syria.
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US strike kills al-Qaida leader in Syria, ‘no indications’ of civilian casualties: CENTCOM
FLASHPOINTS CENTCOM says a senior al-Qaida leader was the target of a counterterror strike in Syria.
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ISIS-K ‘planner’ killed in drone strike, CENTCOM says
FLASHPOINTS Biden hits back at ISIS-K. A day after 13 U.S. service members were killed in the bloodiest single day for Americans since 2011, the U.S. carried out a drone strike.
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Another drone attack on an Iraqi base housing US troops, no injuries or damage
FLASHPOINTS An Iraqi base housing U.S. troops came under drone attack early Friday morning, a U.S. military official told Military Times.
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Two minor injuries in latest rocket attack on Iraqi al-Asad airbase housing US personnel
FLASHPOINTS A rocket attack on an Iraqi base housing U.S. troops resulted in two minor injuries, a U.S. military spokesman announced on Twitter Wednesday morning. The Ain Al-Asad Air Base was hit by 14 rockets at about 12:30 p.m. local time
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US jets strike Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq and Syria in response to ongoing drone, rocket attacks
FLASHPOINTS After three months of drone and rocket attacks on facilities in Iraq housing U.S. and coalition personnel, President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes Sunday on three Iran-backed militia facilities in Iraq and Syria.
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Drone attack suspected on Baghdad facility housing US troops, some personnel suffer smoke inhalation: officials
FLASHPOINTS Multiple rockets targeted two Iraqi facilities, including one hosting U.S. and coalition troops, Iraqi security officials and the U.S. military said.
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US Air Force F-15Es and F-16s take part in operation to take out ISIS in Iraq
FLASHPOINTS U.S. Air Force fighter jets supported a recent attack against ISIS targets in the Makmour mountains of Iraq, a U.S. military spokesman told Military Times Wednesday morning.
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Tensions mount after 3 rockets hit US base in Iraq — 1 contractor dead, 1 US troop, 8 contractors injured
FLASHPOINTS A little-known Shiite militant group calling itself Saraya Awliya al-Dam, Arabic for Guardians of Blood Brigade, claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.
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Islamic State senior leader in Iraq killed in U.S.-led coalition airstrike
FLASHPOINTS A U.S.-led coalition air strike killed the top remaining Islamic State leader in Iraq, said Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.
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US Africa Command says one of its drones, an apparently armed Gray Eagle, malfunctioned in Niger
FLASHPOINTS An MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone, operated by U.S. Africa Command made an emergency landing near Agadez, Niger, on Saturday, a U.S. Africa Command spokesman told Military Times.
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US conducts strike on Taliban amid drawdown, negotiations
FLASHPOINTS Even as American military leaders are drawing down the number of troops in Afghanistan, U.S. forces conducted a strike against the Taliban on Thursday, the command overseeing operations in the region announced.
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Army identifies 5 soldiers killed in Sinai UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash
FLASHPOINTS The Army Saturday morning identified the five soldiers killed Thursday in a helicopter crash while on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai.
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SEAL Team 6 rescues American hostage in Nigeria
FLASHPOINTS American troops on Saturday morning rescued an American citizen taken hostage last week in Niger, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
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US forces kill 5 Taliban attacking Afghan security troops says USFOR-A
FLASHPOINTS A targeted strike by U.S. forces in Afghanistan Sunday night killed five Taliban fighters attacking Afghan security forces, a spokesman for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan announced via a tweet early Monday morning.
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Iran claims its drones shadowed Nimitz strike group in Strait of Hormuz
FLASHPOINTS Though the Iranians on Wednesday posted drone images of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Navy officials say there have been no unsafe interactions with their forces in that strategic waterway since April.
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Coalition helicopter makes emergency landing in Syria. Officials say no injuries, no hostile fire
FLASHPOINTS No personnel were injured when a helicopter with the U.S. led coalition fighting the Islamic State made an emergency landing in northern Syria, according to a U.S. official.
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1 US service member in stable condition after being wounded by al-Shabab attack in Somalia
FLASHPOINTS A U.S. service member was injured in Somalia this morning in an attack by the jihadi group Al-Shabab using a vehicle born explosive and mortars, according to U.S. Africa Command.
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Two US drones collide and crash over Idlib, Syria, defense official says
FLASHPOINTS The U.S. lost two drones over Syria Tuesday after a midair collision, a defense official tells Military Times.
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No coalition casualties as US troops, SDF, return fire on pro-Syrian regime forces in Syria, officials say
FLASHPOINTS Syrian state media and an opposition war monitoring group reported that a U.S. helicopter gunship attacked a Syrian army checkpoint. U.S. defense officials say that didn’t happen.
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U.S. Forces-Afghanistan conducts airstrikes against Taliban attacking ANDSF checkpoint, first since Eid ceasefire
FLASHPOINTS They were the first airstrikes since the start of the Eid ceasefire, tweeted Army Col. Sonny Leggett, a USFOR-A spokesman.
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Guard troops in DC say they want to ‘give people the opportunity to express their First Amendment rights’
FLASHPOINTS “The mission is to separate the good protesters and then the rioters and looters. You kind of have to draw the line between which is which,” said one private first-class.
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5,000 National Guard troops in 15 states and DC activated to help quell growing civil unrest
FLASHPOINTS As cities across the nation are burning after several days of rage over what prosecutors say was the murder of a handcuffed black man by Minneapolis police, about 5,000 National Guard troops in 15 states and the District of Columbia have been activated to help quell the unrest.
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Family of ex-Green Beret captured in Venezuela says men likely believed they were trying to liberate the oppressed
FLASHPOINTS Given his latest venture — as a deep sea underwater welder working on offshore oil rigs — it wasn’t unusual for Army Special Forces veteran Luke Denman to go off the grid for days or weeks at a time, his family and friends say.
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Service member dies in non-combat incident in Erbil, Iraq
FLASHPOINTS A service member with Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve died in a non-combat related incident in Erbil, Iraq, May 4.
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750 soldiers with 82nd Airborne headed for CENTCOM, additional 4000 troops expected to deploy as Iran tensions mount
FLASHPOINTS Roughly 750 soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are slated to be wheels up soon headed for Kuwait with an additional 4,000 American troops expected to deploy later this week, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Military Times.
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American commando raid to kill al-Baghdadi was launched from al-Asad Air Base, rehearsals conducted in Erbil
FLASHPOINTS The American commando raid that bagged Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was launched from the sprawling al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province, Iraq, according to a source on the ground with direct knowledge of the operation.
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Trump says al-Baghdadi ‘died like a dog’ in US commando raid in Syria
FLASHPOINTS President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Islamic State, was killed in a U.S. special operations raid launched in Syria. Trump said during a Sunday morning White House press conference that al-Baghdadi “died like a dog”.
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US military struggles to find a strategy amid sudden policy changes in CENTCOM region
FLASHPOINTS The rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria, which included U.S. forces bombing their own equipment at the bases they hastily left behind, is a vivid example of how the U.S. military is being forced to cope with national security and foreign policy decisions announced at the speed of a tweet.