WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US troops and their allies will shoot Islamic State jihadists in the face, beat them to death with shovels or drop bombs on them if they don’t surrender, the US military’s most senior enlisted member has said. In an eyebrow-raising set of postings on social media Tuesday, Command Sergeant Major John Troxell warned that IS members who refuse to quit will be dispatched with “extreme prejudice,” including via a small […]
Tag: military
SpaceX says rocket worked fine as spy satellite reported lost
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — A SpaceX rocket worked fine in its weekend launch of a secretive government satellite, named Zuma, the company said Tuesday after reports the payload did not make it into orbit. “For clarity: after reviewing of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night,” said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of California-based SpaceX. “If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will […]
10 dead in gunfight between BIFF, military in Maguindanao
(Eagle News)– Nine Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and a member of the Philippine military died on Saturday night in a gunfight in Maguindanao, the Philippine Army reported on Sunday. Capt. Arvin Encinas, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the gunfight ensued in Barangay Maitumaig, Datu Unsay, at 7:23 p.m. on Saturday. The military also launched airstrikes to deter the around 50 BIFF under the leadership of Imam Karialan who initiated the gunfight. Pursuit operations are […]
‘Don’t fear death’: China’s Xi urges blunt call to PLA
BEIJING, China (AFP) — President Xi Jinping has issued a blunt call for China’s military to be ready for war and unafraid to die defending the country, as geopolitical tensions mount in Asia. Xi’s exhortation to the world’s largest fighting force, parts of which were revealed only late Thursday, came during what state media characterized as a rare address by the Chinese leader to the country’s entire military. Xi cemented his status as China’s most […]
North Korean soldier defects to South via DMZ: Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A North Korean soldier defected to the South on Thursday across the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, Seoul’s defense ministry said. The “low-ranking” soldier made his way across the central part of the land border, a ministry spokesman said. It came a month after a rare and dramatic defection by a soldier at Panmunjom, the truce village where opposing forces confront each other across a concrete dividing line. On […]
Canada to buy 18 used Australian jets
by Michel Comte © Agence France-Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada announced Tuesday it would buy 18 used Australian jets instead of new Boeing Super Hornets, signaling limits in its unwavering friendship with its US neighbor. A little more than a year after saying it would buy 18 Super Hornets for more than $5 billion, and amid trade tensions, Ottawa formally rejected the deal in favor of used planes from Australia. Senior government and military officials said […]
North Korea holds mass celebrations for latest missile test
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea held mass celebrations for its latest successful long-range missile test, Pyongyang’s state media said Saturday, with a propaganda-filled display of fireworks and dancing in public squares. The ruling Workers Party official daily Rodong Sinmun covered its front page with colour photographs showing thousands of tightly packed soldiers and people applauding in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-Sung square, which was decorated with large portraits of the North’s late leaders. “We heartily […]
China voices ‘grave concern’ over N. Korea missile test, urges talks
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Wednesday voiced “grave concern” over North Korea’s test of a missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States and called for talks to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing’s proposal for North Korea to freeze weapons tests in return for the US to suspend military drills in the region was the best approach to ease tensions. Washington has rejected that approach. China hopes all […]
N. Korea fires ballistic missile
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile Wednesday, South Korean military officials said, the first such launch in two months and just a week after the US slapped fresh sanctions on the hermit state and declared it a state sponsor of terrorism. The North has stoked international alarm over its banned nuclear missile program but before Tuesday it had not staged a missile test since September 15, raising hopes that ramped-up sanctions were having an […]
Chinese general hangs himself after facing graft probe
by Yanan Wang Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Chinese general has hanged himself in his Beijing home after becoming the latest top official ensnared in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, state media said Tuesday. Zhang Yang, the director of the state’s Central Military Commission’s political department, was being investigated over connections to two corruption-tainted former senior military officers when he committed suicide on November 23, according to the official Xinhua news agency. […]
Odds stack up against Argentine submarine survival
by Liliana Samuel, Carlos Reyes and Eitan Abramovich Agence France-Presse MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (AFP) — The clock ticked down Wednesday on hopes of finding alive the 44 crew members of an Argentine submarine missing for a week despite a massive search of surface and seabed, amid fears their oxygen had run out. The ARA San Juan would have had enough oxygen for its crew to survive underwater in the South Atlantic for seven days since its last […]
Mugabe refuses to stand down in talks with military
by Susan Njanji Agence France Presse HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state, refused to resign during a crunch meeting Thursday with military generals who have seized control of the country. The talks in Harare came after tumultuous days in which soldiers blockaded key roads, took over state TV and put the veteran leader under house arrest. “They met today. He is refusing to step down. I think […]





