Centcom | Pakistan

Two US Navy warships transited the Strait of Hormuz at the start of an operation to clear the strategic waterway of mines laid by Iran, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday. The announcement — which marks the first such transit since the US-Israeli war on Iran began — came shortly after President Donald Trump said Washington had started “clearing out” the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper. The USS Frank E Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation, but Centcom said that “additional US forces including underwater drones” could join the effort in coming days. Earlier, US media outlet Axios reported that the operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran. “We’re now starting the process of clearing out the...

Kuwait’s air defences mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighter jets during active combat on Monday, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Monday, describing it as an apparent friendly-fire incident during the conflict with Iran. All six crew members ejected from the aircraft safely were recovered and are in stable condition, Centcom said. “During active combat - that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences,” Centcom said. It said that Kuwait had acknowledged the incident and that an investigation was underway. Video images showed a US warplane falling out of the sky over Kuwait early on Monday, while a person could be seen parachuting. The location was verified by Reuters as filmed in the Al Jahra area of Kuwait. In a separate incident, smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the US Embassy compound in Kuwait City, and fire trucks and ambulances were in the area, a witness told Reuters. There w...

United States Central Command (Centcom) commander Army General Michael Kurilla on Wednesday praised Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner in the world of counter-terrorism”, citing the nation’s struggle against terrorism in Balochistan and against terrorist groups like the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K). Pakistan and the US reaffirmed the continuation of counter-terrorism cooperation during a dialogue in Washington on May 10. The dialogue underscored the cooperation between the two countries in addressing the most pressing challenges to regional and global security, including the threats posed by terrorist outfits such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and IS-K. The two nations are slated to have another counter-terrorism dialogue this month. During a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday, the general was asked about the situation on the Afghan border with Pakistan, where he outlined that Pakistan has apprehended several “high-value” IS-K operatives. View this post on Instagram Hail...