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A U.S. Army soldier has been detained by Russian authorities in the port city Vladivostok on charges of criminal misconduct, the State and Defense Departments said on Monday, adding what is likely to be another complication in the contentious relationship between Moscow and Washington. A military official identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. He was apprehended on May 2, and Russia notified the State Department of the soldier’s “criminal detention” in accordance with international agreements between the two nations. “The Army notified his family, and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Cynthia O. Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said in a statement. A State Department official reiterated the U.S. government’s warning for Americans not to travel to Russia.
Persons: Gordon Black, ” Cynthia O, Smith, Sergeant Black Organizations: U.S . Army, State and Defense, State Department of, Army, U.S . Department of State, State Department, NBC News Locations: Vladivostok, Moscow, Washington, Fort Cavazos, Texas, South Korea, Russia
is a national security correspondent for The Times, focusing on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism issues overseas, topics he has reported on for more than three decades.
Organizations: The Times
The United States collected intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow, according to officials. In addition to publicly warning on March 7 about a possible attack, U.S. officials said they had privately told Russian officials about the intelligence pointing to an impending attack. It is not clear how much information the United States gave Russian officials beyond what was in the public warning. Western intelligence agencies had collected intelligence about possible planning by ISIS-K to bomb the service. As in Russia, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for that attack.
Persons: , Vladimir V, Putin, Colin P, Clarke, Qassim Suleimani Organizations: Islamic State, United, ISIS, Soufan, Kremlin, United States Locations: Moscow, United States, State, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Russia, Europe, New York, Chechnya, Syria, Iran, U.S, United
The United States recently carried out a cyberattack against an Iranian military vessel that the Pentagon says was gathering intelligence on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and relaying that information to Houthi fighters, a U.S. military official said on Thursday. The Houthis, who control northern Yemen, have been firing missiles and drones at vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The cyberattack was intended to disrupt the Iranian ship’s ability to share that information with the Houthis, according to the U.S. military, who did not elaborate on the clandestine mission. The New York Times previously reported that the United States had conducted a cyberattack against Iranian targets as part of the response to avenge the deaths of the three soldiers in Jordan. That response also included retaliatory strikes against Iranian forces and the militias they support in seven sites in Syria and Iraq.
Persons: Sabrina Singh Organizations: United, Pentagon, Biden, ., New York Times, Iranian, NBC News Locations: United States, Iranian, Gulf of Aden, U.S, Iraq, Jordan, Djibouti, Yemen, Iran, Gaza, Syria
For years, the scrappy Iran-backed Yemeni rebels known as the Houthis did such a good job of bedeviling American partners in the Middle East that Pentagon war planners started copying some of their tactics. Noting that the Houthis had managed to weaponize commercial radar systems that are commonly available in boating stores and make them more portable, a senior U.S. commander challenged his Marines to figure out something similar. By September 2022, Marines in the Baltic Sea were adapting Houthi-inspired mobile radar systems. So senior Pentagon officials knew as soon as the Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea that they would be hard to tame. As the Biden administration approaches its third week of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, the Pentagon is trying to thread an impossibly tiny needle: making a dent in the Houthis’ ability to hit commercial and Navy vessels without dragging the United States into a prolonged war.
Persons: Biden Organizations: Marines, Pentagon Locations: Iran, East, U.S, Baltic, Yemen, United States
The United States struck two Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen, the military’s Central Command said on Tuesday, resuming what U.S. officials said were short-notice attacks against the Iran-backed militia’s imminent threats to merchant vessels, as well as Navy ships in the Red Sea and nearby waters. The U.S. strikes — the ninth in two weeks — came a day after the United States and Britain carried out much larger military salvos against nine sites in Yemen controlled by the Houthis. Those strikes against multiple targets at each location hit radars, as well as drone and missile sites, and underground weapons storage bunkers. President Biden has signaled his approval for a sustained, if limited, air campaign, blessing a Pentagon strategy to put armed Reaper drones and other surveillance platforms up in the skies over Yemen, so that U.S. warplanes and ships can hit Houthi mobile targets as they pop up. “Are they stopping the Houthis?
Persons: , haven’t, Biden, Mr, Organizations: military’s, Command, U.S, Pentagon Locations: States, Yemen, Iran, U.S, United States, Britain, of Aden
The United States on Tuesday carried out military strikes against three facilities in western Iraq associated with Iran-linked militias that American officials say attacked a major base in Iraq on Saturday, according to the Pentagon’s Central Command, injuring at least four U.S. service members. “These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement. The attack against Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on Saturday was the latest and the most serious of about 151 such rocket and missile strikes directed at U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza started. Al Asad Air Base, in Iraq’s western desert, is now primarily used by Iraqi forces but still has a U.S. contingent. At least 83 U.S. personnel have suffered injuries in the attacks by militias in Syria and Iraq, including traumatic brain injuries.
Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Biden, Austin, Biden “ Organizations: Pentagon’s, Command, Central Command, U.S, , Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Pentagon, Houthi Locations: States, Iraq, Iran, Iraq’s, Syria, Iranian, Al Asad Air, Gaza, United States, Britain, Yemen, Al, U.S, Kurdish Syrian, Islamic State
The United States and Britain carried out large-scale military strikes on Monday against eight sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi militants, according to the two countries. The strikes signaled that the Biden administration intends to wage a sustained and, at least for now, open-ended campaign against the Iran-backed group that has disrupted traffic in vital international sea lanes. The strikes — the eighth in nearly two weeks — hit multiple targets at each site, and were bigger and broader than a recent series of more limited attacks against individual Houthi missiles that the Americans said popped up on short notice. Those missiles were hit before they could be fired at ships in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden. Those hit more than 60 targets in nearly 30 sites across Yemen in an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East that the Biden administration had sought to avoid.
Persons: Biden Organizations: Houthi Locations: States, Britain, Yemen, Iran, Aden, East
For the sixth time in 10 days, the United States on Friday said it had destroyed Houthi missiles in Yemen that were poised to attack merchant and military vessels in the Red Sea, a pattern of strikes that the White House says will continue for the foreseeable future to weaken the militia group. The U.S. military hit three Houthi missiles and launchers, John F. Kirby, a spokesman for National Security Council, told reporters on Friday. He did not say what weapons the United States had deployed in the attack, but previous strikes have used cruiser missiles and munitions dropped by fighter jets. President Biden said on Thursday that U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis will continue even though they have not halted the group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping. Yes.”Last Thursday, American and British attack planes and warships attacked more than 60 Houthi targets, including air defenses, command hubs and facilities to store and launch anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones.
Persons: White, John F, Kirby, Biden, Mr, , Organizations: National Security Council, Hamas Locations: United States, Yemen, Red, U.S, States, Gulf of Aden, Suez, Iran, Gaza, British
Mr. Austin was released on Monday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and has been working at home while he recuperates. Mr. Austin, a 70-year-old retired Army general, was in severe pain and rushed by ambulance to Walter Reed on Jan. 1. But several top Pentagon officials did not learn of the secretary’s hospitalization until the next day, Jan. 2. The White House was not notified until Jan. 4, a major breach of protocol at the highest national security levels. Further complicating matters, neither Pentagon nor White House officials learned until Jan. 9 that Mr. Austin had been diagnosed with cancer in early December.
Persons: Austin, Biden, Walter Reed Organizations: Walter Reed National Military Medical, Pentagon, Congress, Defense Department, Army, White Locations: Bethesda, Md, Ukraine, Israel
The United States carried out a new military strike against Houthi ballistic missiles in Yemen on Tuesday, the U.S. military said, but the latest salvo against the Iran-backed group left the White House grappling with how to stop a battle-hardened foe from disrupting shipping lanes critical for global trade. The Houthis damaged a U.S.-owned commercial ship on Monday after attempting to hit an American warship the day before. President Biden could order another blitz of strikes against Houthi air defenses, weapons depots, and facilities for launching and producing an array of missiles and drone, but analysts say that would risk widening the war even more. Or he could settle for more limited tit-for-tat exchanges, like Tuesday’s strike, but that would not necessarily resolve the threat to commercial ships, analysts say. Mr. Kirby defended the strikes last Thursday and Friday that American and British attack planes and warships carried out against more than 60 targets using some 150 precision-guided bombs and missiles.
Persons: Biden, , John F, Kirby Organizations: Houthi, U.S, White, Pentagon’s, Command, American, Kirby, National Security Council Locations: States, Yemen, Iran, U.S, American, Gaza, British
Two members of the Navy SEALs remained missing on Saturday after a mishap two days ago while they were attempting to board a ship off the coast of Somalia, two current and two former Pentagon officials said. As part of those missions, the U.S. Navy and allies have been responding to distress calls. Over the past two days, the U.S. and allies have struck Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, trying to damage the militia’s offensive capabilities. In the latest incident, the members of the SEAL team were dispatched on Thursday to approach a suspicious vessel off the Somali coast, the officials said. It was unclear on Saturday what prompted the commandos to single out the vessel for a closer investigation.
Organizations: Navy, Pentagon, U.S . Navy Locations: Somalia, United States, Yemen, Red, U.S, Somali
Neither Washington nor Tehran wants the conflict in the Gaza Strip to trigger a wider war in the region, officials in both capitals say. But in the seven weeks since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Iranian-backed militias have launched more than 70 rocket and drone attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon, for its part, has responded with four rounds of airstrikes, killing as many as 15 people, U.S. officials say. So far, none of the U.S. reprisal attacks have provoked an escalation, even the one last week in Iraq that killed several militants with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group. The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the attacks had subsided at least temporarily — the most recent being on Nov. 23, the day before an operational pause in the Gaza war began.
Organizations: U.S, Pentagon, Hezbollah Locations: Washington, Tehran, Gaza, Israel, Iranian, Iraq, Syria, United States, East, South Asia
That strategy has unfolded over the past three weeks as more than 40,000 Israeli soldiers encircled Gaza City, where Israeli officials say Hamas commanders were concentrated. The soldiers then attacked fighters and bunkers, all while targeting a vast tunnel network that Israeli officials say enables Hamas forces to hide and carry out operations. Israeli officials also assessed that striking so deeply in the heart of Gaza City would pressure Hamas to reach a deal on hostage releases. Al-Shifa became Exhibit A in this narrative, as the Israeli military claimed Hamas used a vast maze of tunnels underneath the hospital as a base. So far it is not clear that the Israeli strategy is working.
Persons: Shifa, Daniel Hagari, Yoav Gallant, Israel Organizations: Shifa, Israel, Hamas Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Al, Israel
The strikes came just four days after American warplanes hit a munitions warehouse in eastern Syria. Pentagon and other Biden administration officials rejected that criticism on Sunday, saying that the American airstrikes have been in self-defense, and in proportion to the attacks by Iran-backed militias. Unlike the two previous sets of strikes, the Pentagon did not make senior officials available after Sunday’s military response to discuss details. Pentagon officials said they were still analyzing the strikes and did not know if anyone on the ground was hurt or killed. The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, mostly to help local forces fight remnants of the Islamic State.
Persons: Abu Kamal, Biden, Lloyd J, Austin III, ” Dana Stroul Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Pentagon, American, Syria . Air Force, U.S, , United Locations: States, Syria, Iraq, Abu, Mayadin, Iran, United States, Asia, U.S, Germany, Islamic State, Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Persian
Five U.S. Army Special Operations forces have died in a helicopter crash in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, American officials said on Sunday. The troops were crew members of an MH-60 helicopter that was on a refueling training mission early Saturday when the aircraft crashed off the coast of Cyprus, three U.S. officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. The crash is under investigation, they said. The Pentagon has quietly dispatched to Cyprus commando teams from the Joint Special Operations Command, including the Army’s Delta Force and the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, to stand by in case they are needed to help evacuate American citizens from the region. The commandos are also trained in hostage rescue operations.
Persons: Biden, Israel Organizations: U.S, Army Special Operations, Pentagon, Operations Command, Army’s Delta Force, Navy’s Locations: Cyprus, Israel, Gaza
The Israeli military has limited time to carry out its operations in Gaza before anger among Arabs in the region and frustration in the United States and other countries over the spiraling civilian death toll constrain Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas, U.S. officials said this week. As senior Biden administration officials push Israel to do more to minimize civilian casualties, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday that he was worried each civilian killed in Gaza could generate future members of Hamas. More than 1,400 people were slain and more than 240 were taken hostage and ferried to Gaza. But the longer the Israeli military campaign continues, the greater the chance that the conflict will spark a wider war, several officials in the Biden administration said.
Persons: Charles Q, Brown Jr, General Brown, , Biden, António Guterres, Israel Organizations: Biden, Joint Chiefs of Staff, United Nations, Hamas, Islamic Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, Tokyo
Iran-backed militias have packed even larger loads of explosives — more than 80 pounds — onto drones launched at American bases, U.S. officials said. “The president has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”“The United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities,” he added. The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, mostly to help local forces fight remnants of the Islamic State. The Biden administration also uses a “deconfliction” line with Russia to try to manage escalation in Iraq and Syria, two officials said. Russia has troops in Syria, and American officials say they expect that telling Russia before a strike in Syria is the same as telling Iran, as Russian officials often inform Tehran of what is coming.
Persons: ratcheting, Biden, Lloyd J, Austin III, , Antony J, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr, Khamenei, ” Christine S Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, American, Air Force, Pentagon, U.S, Quds Force, , Palestinian, Biden, Sunday, United, Military, Pentagon’s Central Command, National Counterterrorism Center Locations: United States, Syria, Iraq, U.S, Iran, I.R.G.C, Yemen, Israel, Islamic State, Russia, Tehran, Lebanon, Persian, Gaza, Tehran , U.S
American military officials say that the smaller bombs are much better suited to the dense urban environments of Gaza. The United States is now trying to send more of the smaller bombs to Israel, said the senior military official. If the United States can get those smaller munitions to Israel, American officials hope Israel will use them to mitigate the risk to civilians. The United States is also using aircraft on the two carriers in the Mediterranean to help collect additional intelligence, including electronic intercepts. While the United States has increased the amount of intelligence that it is sharing with Israel, U.S. officials stressed they are not helping Israel pick targets for strikes.
Persons: Biden, Blinken, Netanyahu, Nir, ” Israel, , Iddo Ben, Anat, , Seth Moulton, ” Mr, Moulton, Mr Organizations: Israeli Defense Forces, The New York Times, United, Democratic, Hamas, Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, U.S, Jabaliya, Gaza City, Lebanon, The United States, Amman, Jordan, Massachusetts, Iraq, Tel Aviv
The U.S. military is flying surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip, according to two Defense Department officials and an analysis by The New York Times. The officials said the drones were being used to aid in hostage recovery efforts, indicating that the U.S. is more involved than previously known. While Israel frequently conducts reconnaissance flights over Gaza, U.S. defense officials said it was believed to be the first time that U.S. drones have flown missions over Gaza. The unarmed surveillance flights are not supporting Israeli military operations on the ground, according to the Defense Department officials. But the surveillance flights suggest that the Pentagon is taking a more active role in a key I.D.F.
Persons: Amelia Smith, Smith loitered Organizations: U.S, Defense Department, The New York Times, U.S . Special Operations, Pentagon, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, American, The Times, U.S . Air Force’s Locations: Gaza, U.S, Israel, Gaza , U.S, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria
The targets represent a significant escalation in striking facilities used by Iran’s own forces in the region, not just the militias in Iraq and Syria that it helps arm and train. “These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Mr. Austin said. Since Oct. 17, Iran-backed militia have carried out at least 12 rocket or one-way attack drone strikes against U.S. troops in Iraq and at least four attacks in Syria, Brig. There are 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, mainly helping local allies conduct counterterrorism missions against the Islamic State. “I believe there is concern that our bases in Syria and Iraq, especially Syria, could be attacked by a wave of drones and it could overwhelm the defenses currently there,” Mick Mulroy, a former defense official and retired C.I.A.
Persons: Biden, Lloyd J, Austin III, Mr, Austin, ” Mr, , Patrick S, Ryder, ” Mick Mulroy, General Ryder, Al Asad, we’ve, Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, American, U.S, , Hamas, U.S ., Pentagon, Iran, The Defense Department, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Islamic Locations: States, Syria, Iraq, Iran, East, U.S, Iranian, United States, Israel, Lebanon, Persian, Erbil, Al Asad Air, Brig, Islamic State
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu said the Israeli military was still preparing for a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. American officials say it will take them a few more days to get many of those new antimissile batteries in place. The Financial Times reported earlier on the request to delay the ground invasion to give time to get the air defense assets in place. The American officials have urged Mr. Netanyahu’s war cabinet to give Washington more time to place antimissile batteries to protect both Israel and American troops in the region, according to several American officials. But the United States also believes that Israel may not have the capability to respond to a two-front war.
Persons: Biden, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, , , ” Biden, Mick Mulroy, Antony J, Blinken, , ” Israel, Julian E, Barnes, Aaron Boxerman Organizations: U.S, Financial Times, U.S . Navy, Pentagon, Lebanese, Hezbollah, American, , United Nations, Health Ministry Locations: Gaza, United States, U.S, Israel, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Tehran, Washington
Biden administration officials insisted that the United States had not told Israel what to do and still supported the ground invasion. General Glynn, the official said, would not be on the ground in Israel if an incursion into Gaza begins. But on Sunday, a diplomat from the Israeli Embassy denied that the U.S. government was advising the Israelis to delay the ground invasion. In conversations with Israeli officials since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, American officials said they have not yet seen an achievable plan of action. Like U.S. officials, Mr. Reed said he also still supports the ground invasion to destroy Hamas.
Persons: Biden, Yoav Gallant, Lloyd J, Austin III, James Glynn, General Glynn, Axios, Gallant, Austin, , Mr, ” Mr, Patrick S, Ryder, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, we’ve, Michael Knights, Knights, Jack Reed, Reed, , Michael Crowley Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, Biden, Pentagon, Israel, Embassy, Islamic, United States Central Command, ABC, American Marines, Associated Press, Islamic State, State, The Washington Institute, Hamas, Rhode Island Democrat, Armed Services Committee Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Washington, U.S, Mosul, Iraqi, Tel Aviv, Kurdish, Mosul —, British, Falluja, Iraq, Raqqa, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, , State
The Biden administration has advised Israel to delay a ground invasion of Gaza, hoping to buy time for hostage negotiations and to allow more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the sealed-off enclave, according to several U.S. officials. American officials also want more time to prepare for attacks on U.S. interests in the region from Iran-backed groups, which officials said are likely to intensify once Israel moves its forces fully into Gaza. Mr. Biden also spoke to the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain. When Mr. Biden met with the Israeli war cabinet during his trip to Tel Aviv last week, he avoided making requests of Mr. Netanyahu, officials said. Instead, the president offered a series of questions that should be answered before a ground invasion starts.
Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Lloyd J, Austin III, Austin, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, , Antony J, Blinken, , Mr, Netanyahu Organizations: Sunday, U.S, Defense, Pentagon, Embassy, Hamas, CBS, Biden, Press, State Department, Consulate Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iran, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, U.S, Washington, Qatar, United States, Baghdad, Erbil, Iraq, , Tel Aviv
With his prime-time vow to send more weapons to both Ukraine and Israel, President Biden sought to make clear on Thursday that the United States was not prioritizing one war over the other. But hours earlier, a Defense Department official said that tens of thousands of 155-millimeter artillery shells promised to Ukraine would be diverted to Israel. Here are three key weapons systems that Israel and Ukraine may need from the United States. Artillery ammunitionPerhaps more than any other weapons, the NATO-standard 155-millimeter shells will be in high demand, as both Israel and Ukraine use them against targets within a few dozen miles. In January, the Pentagon said it would tap into an American stockpile in Israel and ship hundreds of thousands of 155-millimeter shells to Ukraine.
Persons: Biden, “ You’re, ” Sabrina Singh, , ” Michael J, Morell, Mark F, Rob Bauer, Charlie Dietz, Organizations: Defense Department, Pentagon, U.S, Central Intelligence Agency, White, Center for Strategic, International Studies, United States, Artillery, NATO, United, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Locations: Ukraine, Israel, United States, Gaza, Russia, Washington, United, Europe, North, Netherlands
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