Italy: At least 40 migrants dead at sea, 320 others rescued
FRANCES D’EMILIO and MIKE CORDER At least 40 migrants died Saturday in the hold of an overcrowded smuggling boat in the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya, apparently killed by fuel…
Military leadership
Joint Chiefs nominee: Russia is top security threat to US
By DEB RIECHMANN President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that Russia poses the greatest threat to U.S. national security and it would be…
An IS secret to success: Shock troops who fight to the death
By HAMZA HENDAWI, QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and BASSEM MROUE They are the Islamic State group’s elite shock troops. Fanatical and disciplined, they infiltrate cities of Iraq and Syria, unleash mayhem and…
Iraq launches operation to retake Tikrit from Islamic State
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN Backed by allied Shiite, Sunni and Iranian fighters, Iraqi security forces launched a large-scale military operation Monday to recapture Saddam Hussein’s hometown from the Islamic State extremist…
Battle with IS kills senior Kurdish general, 8 of his troops
By IMAD MATTI and SAMEER N. YACOUB Clashes with Islamic State militants killed a senior Kurdish military commander and eight of his fighters just outside the disputed northern Iraqi city…
Iraqi leader asks US for more air power, weaponry
By ROBERT BURNS Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday that his army is taking the offensive against the Islamic State group but needs…
Obama taps Pentagon veteran Ashton Carter to lead DOD
By JULIE PACE Shaking up his Pentagon leadership, President Barack Obama tapped policy wonk Ashton Carter to oversee the sprawling Defense Department Friday, heralding his new nominee as one the…
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair reduced 2 grades in sex misconduct case
By LOLITA C. BALDOR FILE – This March 19, 2014 file photo shows Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Army is stripping a brigadier general at the…