US military spokesman says siege of Raqqa coming

A U.S. military spokesman says the U.S.-led coalition and its allies are paving the way to storm the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group.

Col. John L. Dorrian, told reporters in Baghdad Tuesday that "ultimately we're isolating Raqqa and we are going to, at a time that our partners choose, move in and liberate that city from" ISIS.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces has been on the offensive since November capturing territory with the aim of laying siege to Raqqa. The city now is surrounded from three sides.

Dorrian said the operation to liberate Raqqa is the equivalent in Syria of what's being "done to eliminate the enemy" in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

More In Flashpoints

Finland to seek NATO entry in ‘new era’ amid Russia’s war

Finland’s president and government have announced that the Nordic country intends to apply for membership in NATO.

Okinawa marks 50 years of end to US rule amid protests

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki has urged Japan’s central government to do more to reduce the U.S. military presence in the southern island group.

Troops sent to bolster NATO begin turnover as US mulls larger footprint in Europe

“The deployments are one-for-one unit replacements, which will leave our overall force posture in the region — approximately 100,000 — unchanged,” the Pentagon's spokesman said.

Pentagon chief talks to Russian counterpart for first time since Ukraine war began

This is the first conversation between the two defense chiefs since Feb. 18, a week before the war started.

Russia takes losses in failed river crossing, officials say

Russia lost significant numbers of troops and important equipment when Ukrainian forces thwarted their attempt to cross a river in the east, British officials said.

In Other News

This week in Congress: UFO debate flies into Capitol Hill

Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of May 16, 2022.

4 Air Force cadets may not graduate due to vaccine refusal

They may be required to pay back thousands of dollars in tuition costs, according to Air Force officials.

Airmen take KC-46 tanker on record-setting ride in the name of sleep and fatigue science

The mission aimed to see how airmen and the jet would fare over a full day in flight.

Navy effort to cancel LCS mission package triggers new cost breach

A decision to cancel the technically challenged ASW mission package raised the per-unit cost overall for the mission modules program, resulting in a Nunn-McCurdy breach the Navy reported to Congress May 13.

The Navy doesn’t want nukes on ships, despite interest from some combatant commanders

The Navy says forcing surface ships or attack submarines to haul around nuclear-tipped missiles would be feasible, but would be a burden in a time with many more pressing missions and no extra money to spare on lesser priorities.

Load More