Department of Defense

A US-led coalition air strike earlier this month killed the leader of an Al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria that American officials accuse of plotting attacks against the United States and its allies, the Pentagon said.

The Pentagon's current regulations banning transgender individuals from serving in the military are outdated, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on July 13, ordering a six-month study aimed at formally ending one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service.

The U.S. has ruled out support for a buffer zone in northern Syria amid renewed fighting just across Turkey's southern border, according to a U.S. State Department official.   

Syrian rebels receiving US military training to battle the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants are being paid $250 to $400 per month, depending on their skills, performance and leadership position, the Pentagon said on June 22. 

The US effort to build a moderate Syrian opposition force that can stand up to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) rebels is moving more slowly than expected due to complications vetting volunteers and bringing them out of Syria for training, the Pentagon said on June 18.

The Pentagon is "poised" to station heavy weapons for up to 5,000 American troops in several Eastern European and Baltic countries to deter Russian aggression, The New York Times reported June 13.

Suspected Chinese hackers who infiltrated the US government's human resources records have sensitive information on all federal employees, an American union said June 11.

Live anthrax samples were shipped to three laboratories in Canada by a U.S. military lab, USA Today reported on June 1, following disclosures last week that samples of the bacteria were mistakenly sent to 11 U.S. states and two other countries.

The latest U.S.-led plan to train and arm a Syrian opposition force will start in Turkey on May 9, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu told a Turkish newspaper.
   

The Islamic State published a list containing the names, photos an addresses of 100 American military members on a website, urging its members and supporters in the US to kill them, according to International media reports.