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"As the Trump administration doubles down on the contention that Tehran is cooperating with Al Qaeda, another former Iranian commander has reportedly come forward with allegations about an Iran-Al Qaeda link."

"President Trump’s proposal to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization raises the difficult question of just whom he intends to target. The original Islamist organization, founded in Egypt in 1928, has spun off or inspired thousands of independent social or political groups around the world, and they are far from monolithic."

"Intelligence revealed Iran told some proxies and surrogates they could go after American military targets in the region, say 3 U.S. officials."

"This is the third in a VOA series looking at the threat of IS foreign fighters. Next up, a look at the foreign fighters who stayed in Syria and Iraq."

"As the Taliban opened a new front this week in the Afghan war by attacking American-backed aid organizations in Kabul, negotiators for the group and the United States were meeting in the latest round of talks on ending the war."

"Daniel Hale, 31, of Nashville was arrested in Tennessee Thursday and is set to appear in Alexandria court next week. He worked for both the National Security Agency and as a contractor for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and had a top secret security clearance. He is charged with five crimes related to the disclosure and could face a maximum of 50 years in prison."

"Army Brig. Gen. Scott Jackson, 1st SFAB commander, spoke today at the Pentagon as part of an Army Current Operations Engagement Tour. He said the Army’s concept for the new unit — one earmarked exclusively for advise and assist missions — was spot on."

"U.S. troops and Iran-backed fighters had an alliance of sorts in the anti-ISIS campaign. With Washington and Tehran at odds, could they turn on each other?"

"President Trump will nominate Patrick Shanahan as his second defense secretary on Thursday, trying to cement the acting Pentagon chief against an expected uphill battle with lawmakers and Defense Department officials skeptical of him, White House officials said."

"The United States has seized a North Korean shipping vessel that was violating American law and international sanctions, the Justice Department announced Thursday, a move certain to escalate tensions already on the rise between the two nations because of recent North Korean weapons tests."

"It was March 2018, approximately five months after U.S.-backed forces had declared victory in the battle for the Islamic State terror group's Syrian capital of Raqqa. And Afghan officials had reason to worry. Intelligence suggested the fallout from that victory had been making its way, slowly but surely, to their country."

"The Islamic State, researchers say, employed children as scouts, spies, cooks and bomb-planters, and sometimes as fighters and suicide bombers. Propaganda videos showed young children beheading and shooting prisoners."

"U.S.-backed Syrian forces have handed over more than 100 women and children of Islamic State (IS) fighters to their home countries, local officials told VOA."

"The White House expanded its pressure campaign against Iran by imposing sanctions for the first time against its industrial-metals sector, hitting one of the largest nonpetroleum segments of Iran’s economy just hours after Tehran warned it may restart parts of its nuclear program."

"Though the first and second deployments of the Army’s security force assistance brigades might be nearly identical, the next deployments could have a radically different makeup of personnel and type of mission."

"A failed Venezuela coup, Iranian missiles and Russian hybrid warfare make for interesting side stories, but the center of military policy is increasingly gravitating toward U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, according to U.S. government officials."

"President Trump is questioning his administration’s aggressive strategy in Venezuela following the failure of a U.S.-backed effort to oust President Nicolás Maduro,"

"The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday stated its intent to sole source A-29 Super Tucanos from Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer. But a similar solicitation for Textron’s AT-6 Wolverine will be forthcoming, an Air Force spokeswoman confirmed."

"War in Afghanistan can be sustained, but the narrative of a war-weary American public is hurting that effort, former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said Wednesday."

"Iran's president said the Islamic republic will resume high-level enrichment of uranium if world powers do not protect its interests against U.S. sanctions. Hassan Rohani's address to the nation was aired by state television on May 8, the anniversary of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from a landmark nuclear agreement."

"When the United States said this week that American forces in Iraq faced threats from Iranian “proxies,” it was referring to the armed groups that helped fight the Islamic State and have bedeviled Iraq ever since. The Iraqi armed groups, some with ties to Iran, have a footprint in every Iraqi province. Whether they function as Iranian proxies, however, is far from settled."

"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a sudden, unscheduled trip to Baghdad on Tuesday as U.S. officials warned that Iran was positioning missiles that could be used against American forces in the region."

"Marines are headed to the state of Indiana in August as part of a restart of the Corps’ long-running interest in urban warfare."

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"I still believe that urban combat poses some of the most difficult challenges a military can face. Nevertheless, as this current urban combat juggernaut picks up momentum, it is time to ask several fundamental questions: Why would you fight in cities? Who will you fight in cities? Which cities are possible combat sites in the future?"