Donald Trump’s habit of appointing military men — James Mattis, HR McMaster, and John Kelly are in situ; Mike Flynn has left — may dilute civilian oversight, says Peter Apps. 

The top US military officer has told a Senate committee he believes Russia bombed the humanitarian aid convoy in Syria on Monday, calling it an "unacceptable atrocity".

Turkish special forces captured a group of rebel commandos who tried to seize or kill President Tayyip Erdogan during a failed coup, and a government minister said plotters would “never see God’s sun as long as they breathe”.

The Pentagon is moving to increase the number of American troops in Iraq in the wake of new strikes that killed the Islamic State's finance minister and other top leaders of the terror group.

President Barack Obama has announced plans to keep nearly 10,000 US troops in Afghanistan through most of next year and 5,500 when he leaves office in 2017, casting aside his promise to end the war on his watch and instead ensuring he hands off the conflict to a successor.

Nearly five years after his capture by insurgents, Sgt Bowe Bergdahl’s "safety and health were both in jeopardy" and officials had to act quickly to obtain his release, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said yesterday.

The US Senate has approved President Barack Obama’s choice to lead US and coalition forces in Afghanistan.