Pentagon: US airstrike targets Taliban leader Mullah Mansour
By ALAN FRAM The U.S. conducted an airstrike Saturday against Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, the Pentagon said, and a U.S. official said Mansour was believed to have been killed. Pentagon…
Military and defense
US says Iraqi forces have retaken western town of Rutba
By ROBERT BURNS The retaking of the small western town of Rutba from two years of Islamic State occupation was an important morale booster for Iraqi security forces, the top…
Egyptian plane with 66 aboard crashes; terrorism suspected
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, ELENA BECATOROS and ANGELA CHARLTON An EgyptAir jetliner bound from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard crashed in the Mediterranean Sea early Thursday after a mysterious…
Trump unveils list of potential picks for Supreme Court seat
By JILL COLVIN and MARK SHERMAN Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday released a list of 11 potential picks to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court,…
Japanese welcome Obama visit to Hiroshima, apology or not
By MIKI TODA and MARI YAMAGUCHI After being taught that atomic bombs are inhumane and terrible, high school student Kaho Matsuki’s first reaction when she heard U.S. President Barack Obama…
US Navy commander says canceled HK visit a minor hurdle May. 6, 2016 9:26 AM EDT
The commander of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet on Friday dismissed the cancellation of a planned port visit to Hong Kong by an American aircraft carrier as a “minor hurdle”…
Q&A: When is a Boot on the Ground not a Boot on the Ground?
By LOLITA C. BALDOR No one disputes that U.S. military forces are fighting in combat in Iraq and Syria — except maybe President Barack Obama and some members of his…
China’s Xi Jinping moves to take more direct command over military
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Chinese President Xi Jinping has assumed a more direct role over the country’s powerful armed forces as head of its increasingly important joint operations, displaying both his…