The following is a video published on Nov. 20, 2015 by the Russian Ministry of Defense showing Buyan-M corvettes firing several Kalibr NK sub-sonic cruise missiles (also known as SS-N-30As or 3M-14T) from the Caspian Sea. In early October, Russian ships used the strike missiles to strike targets in Iraq and Syria. Read More
The aftermath of an alleged strike from a Wednesday Russian land attack cruise missile. Russian Ministry of Defense Image
Russia is pushing back against reports that several of its SS-N-30A land attack cruise missiles (LACM) failed over Iran during a 26 missile launch from the Caspian Sea to targets in Western Syria, according to Kremlin controlled media. Read More
Undated photo of Russian Navy guided missile frigate Dagestan firing UKSK Shot.
Russian officials claim that a flotilla of four ships in the Caspian Sea sent a barrage of 26 guided cruise missiles across Iran and Iraq to strike Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets in Syria — more than 900 miles away.
Those claims were bolstered on Wednesday when Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting ISIS released a video on Twitter showing a guided cruise missile streak by their encampment. Read More
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia (left) are greeted by Falah Mustafa Bakir (center), Minister of Foreign Relations for the Kurdistan Regional Government in a recent trip to the Middle East. Photo courtesy Rep. Gabbard’s office.
“The devil is in the details” in deciding whether the current deal with Iran to bar it from building or acquiring nuclear weapons is acceptable, a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees said Wednesday. Read More
Undated photo of a Peshmerga fighter.
Many are asking why the Turks are not doing more to enable the Kurds and their feared Peshmerga forces to more effectively attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) military forces. Surely the Turks see this through the ancient ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend” lens? Read More
Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect walk toward the Syrian border on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain on Aug. 11. Reuters Photo
The Pentagon on Thursday vehemently defended its initial assessment of the humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq, despite new reports the amount of Iraqi civilians trapped on the Sinjar mountain range was closer to 4,000 — not 40,000. Read More
