A young Iraqi girl, recently arrived from areas liberated by the Iraqi army from Islamic State militants, cries as she waits with relatives to receive food from aid agencies in Dibaga Camp near Makhmur, Iraq. Matt Cetti-Roberts photo Escapees recall militants’ brutal crackdown on basic freedoms by MATT CETTI-ROBERTS Ahmed... Read more
Russian Su-25 attack planes take off from Hmeymim air base in Syria. Russian Ministry of Defense photo The Kremlin either has poor military intelligence or different — and far more disturbing — priorities in mind by TOM COOPER Russia has indiscriminately targeted civilians since it intervened in Syria more than a year ago. It’s all part... Read more
Mexican soldiers during an anniversary ceremony in February 2016. Office of the president of Mexico photo A mysterious attack which killed five soldiers signals turmoil by TRISTAN CLAVEL This article originally appeared at InSight Crime. Recent reports point to disorder within the leadership of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, as pressure from security forces and... Read more
RC-135 Rivet Joints spot terrorist radios, phones and scoop up chatter by JOSEPH TREVITHICK New photographs confirm the U.S. Air Force’s biggest spy planes are helping hunt Islamic State fighters. The missions come as Iraqi and Kurdish troops work to evict the terrorists from the city of Mosul. On Oct. 21,... Read more
An Iraqi police officer with a KPV heavy machine gun. U.S. Army photo KPVs pose a threat to Iraqi troops and vehicles by ROBERT BECKHUSEN One of the more brutal weapons to see use on both sides of the war in Iraq is the KPV, a belt-fed heavy machine gun designed... Read more
Matt Cetti-Roberts photo Elite Iraqi troops retake town of Bartella by MATT CETTI-ROBERTS A soldier from the Iraqi Army’s Golden Brigade ushers a party of journalists down a dusty side street in the town of Bartella and points to a flattened pile of concrete. The rubble is all that’s left... Read more
A B-52 bomber refuels during a mission over Mosul in October 2016. U.S. Air Force photo But getting at underground networks from the air is difficult by JOSEPH TREVITHICK On Oct. 17, 2016, Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters — backed by American and other foreign forces — began to liberate Mosul and its... Read more
Matt Cetti-Roberts photo Peshmerga targets the town of Bashiqa by MATT CETTI-ROBERTS A loud crump sound shakes the group of journalists and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. Some duck for cover, others just pause in place as a dust cloud rolls over them. This time the cause of the explosion is friendly — one of... Read more
The Spanish navy training ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano.’ Gunnar Ries zwo photo via Flickr Sailors somehow stashed 31 kilos within ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ by TRISTAN CLAVEL This article originally appeared at InSight Crime. A military judge has indicted six Spanish military sailors and a civilian for allegedly trafficking cocaine hidden aboard... Read more
In the trenches. All photos by Norma Costello Separatist fighters are disillusioned, but far from giving up by NORMA COSTELLO In the trenches of Zaytsevo in eastern Ukraine, shell casings from Kalashnikovs lie scattered on the muddy banks. “We fight when we want to,” explains Zhenya, a 31-year-old separatist fighter from Lugansk.... Read more