Security

An American contractor was killed and five U.S. service members and one additional U.S. contractor were wounded on Thursday after an unmanned aerial vehicle struck a maintenance facility on a Coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. The incident occurred at approximately 1:38 p.m. local time. The …

by Joseph Hammond KAYA, Burkina Faso— Kibsa Ouedraogo is proud of the wooden idols that declare his animist faith. The entrance to his home is guarded by large figures carved from dark wood. At their feet are a few empty bottles of tequila left as offerings. Inside Ouedraogo’s modest sitting …

Perfume, purloined jewelry and a millionaire’s son form the complex story of Herbert Repsold, a Navy deserter who also was known as the Perfumed Burglar. In the early 1900s, Repsold was a troublesome youth. Growing tired of his son’s antics, the elder Repsold cut off his son’s cash and forced …

by Heath Hansen Pop! Pop! Distant AK-47 fire pierces the night silence. I’ve been sitting in my spot on this mountain for a few hours when I hear the gunfire. Up until now, I had been plunged into the endless silence of a desert night in the Coronado National Forest. …

The U.S. European Command released footage on Thursday of a Russian Su-27 aircraft dumping fuel on a U.S. Air Force drone March 14 over the Black Sea. The incident occurred in international air space. The following is a summary of the video:  00:00: [Start of video] A Russian Su-27 approaches …

The United States blamed Russia for an “unsafe and unprofessional” intercept March 4 by its fighter jets causing a U.S. spy drone to crash into the Black Sea, while Moscow’s ambassador to the U.S. countered that the drone flight was a set-up to spark accusations against Russia. Washington summoned Russia’s …

by “Socalj” for Borderland Beat The five men handed over by the Grupo Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel reportedly have confessed to their responsibility for the deadly kidnapping of Americans on March 4 in Matamoros. Mexico’s attorney general, the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), reportedly has indicted the five men. The Americans …

A notorious bandit who plundered California for 20 years may owe his capture to a long forgotten military experiment and an Army camel driver. It had to do with a failed attempt by the U.S. government to settle the west with camels.  Bandit’s betrayer may have been Army camel driver …

by Boris Egorov At the end of 1980, on the outskirts of Moscow, a number of Soviet policemen picked an argument with a KGB major. They had no idea what dire consequences the encounter would have for them and the entire Soviet police force.  On the morning of December 27, …

By Heath Hansen Wedged between rocks, I scan with my binoculars and notice a bunker complex built into the top of theopposite hill. I keep observing and see three men, wearing green fatigues, walking between eachfighting position. All three are armed with AK-47’s. That isn’t Afghanistan. It’s Mexico. I had …