China is Moving into Another U.S. ‘Sphere of Influence’

(Photo Credit: MC1 Chad McNeeley/U.S. Defense Department)

 

Sources say a full battalion will be sent in as part of counterterrorism efforts.

As part of its own fight against Islamic terrorism, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will soon deploy hundreds of troops to an area that was previously considered a “sphere of influence” dominated by the U.S.

ISIS’ new top military commander was trained in U.S. by Blackwater & State Department

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Washington considers Khalimov a particular threat due to his counter-terrorism training

Mosul, Iraq – Former Tajikistan Special Forces colonel Gulmurod Khalimov, defected to the ranks of ISIS last year and publicly declared jihad against the West.  After being trained in the United States by private military contractor Blackwater, Khalimov has reportedly been promoted from within the Islamic State organization and has been named the new chief military commander for the global terror group.

“There’s information in the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) that Tajik Gulmurod Khalimov was named the new chief military commander of ISIS, after the murder of the previous leader Abu Omar al-Shishani,” a source in Nineveh province, where ISIS stronghold of Mosul is located, told Iraqi Al Sumaria.

95,000 Russian troops in massive military drill

Russia on Monday launched its largest military exercises of the year, Centre-2015, involving some 95,000 soldiers including ground troops, navy and airforce units.

The long-announced war games are “the most large-scale drill of 2015,” the defence ministry said.

Russia has recently intensified snap checks of its military might, testing its capabilities from the Arctic to the Far East as relations with the West have plunged to a post-Cold War low over the Ukraine crisis.

Iran Accession to Boost SCO’s Global Influence – Secretary General

Iran’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will boost the organization’s influence in the world, SCO Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev told Sputnik Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Rossiya Segodnya news agency’s general director, Dmitry Kiselev, in an exclusive interview that Iran had good prospects to join SCO if Tehran followed through the new framework agreement on its nuclear energy program.