Watching the Shadows

Drone memos may stay secret: US appeals court

A federal appeals court ruled that the US government may keep secret memoranda related to the legal justification for the use of drones for targeted killings.

Africa

US troops mobilized to Cameroon

The Pentagon has dispatched the first contingent of a 300-strong force to northern Cameroon, where they are to provide intelligence for the regional military alliance against Boko Haram.

Greater Middle East

Drone strike survivors file suit against US

The families of two Yemeni men who were killed by drone strikes filed a lawsuit against the US, claiming the men were "innocent bystanders" who were wrongfully killed.

Africa

China sends combat troops to South Sudan

A 700-strong Chinese battalion is headed for South Sudan as part of a UN "peacekeeping" mission—but the deployment follows China's massive investment in the country's oil sector.

Afghanistan

US ‘ends war’ in Afghanistan —not!

The NATO "withdrawal" from Afghanistan was quietly marked by a Kabul ceremony—as air-strikes, suicide attacks and gun-battles with Taliban insurgents continued without pause.

Afghanistan

Afghan tribes rise against Taliban in east

Pakistani Taliban fighters who have established control over parts of eastern Afghanistan are under pressure from air-strikes and an uprising by local tribesmen.

Iraq

ISIS: will US intervention fuel sectarian war?

If Washington is perceived as leading an alliance that includes Iran and Hezbollah, this will augment the propaganda assistance loaned to ISIS with every US missile that falls.

Iran

Iran sends troops and drones to fight ISIS

Despite Tehran's denials, reports mount from northern Iraq that Revolutionary Guards have been sent into battle against ISIS, and an Iranian drone crashed in a Kurdish village.

Iraq

US air-strikes target ISIS advance on Erbil

US jets and drones carried out air-strikes outside Erbil in an effort to drive back the ISIS advance on the Kurdish regional capital, while Iraqi warplanes struck near Mosul.