Author: Bernd Debusmann Jr

Seven American troops injured during battle in Anbar desert, says central command The US military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting suspected Islamic State group militants in the Iraqi western desert that killed at least 15 people while seven American troops were hurt, officials said on Saturday. The US military’s central command said the militants were armed with weapons, grenades and explosive belts during the battle on Thursday, which Iraqi forces said happened in the Anbar desert. “This operation targeted ISIS leaders to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as US…

Reporting from the NATO summitWe’re now hearing from US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who began by talking about NATO’s history and how the principle of collective security was formed in the wake of the Second World War. He noted that the “first and only time” NATO’s Article 5 was invoked was after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US. Article 5 sets out that an attack on one member of the NATO military alliance is an attack on all. “NATO stood by us,” he says. “We’re going to stand by NATO”. Looking forward, Austin said the US will “not…