Tom Bowman

The Obama administration's strategy for combating the Islamic State relies on ground forces provided by Iraq and Syria because the White House says it will not send U.S. combat troops...

The Islamist extremist group Islamic State has released a new video that purports to show the beheading of an American journalist named Steven Sotloff, whom the group threatened to kill two weeks ago.

U.S. surveillance drones have begun to maintain a presence over Syria, preparing for possible airstrikes against the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State. A mission to ...

The U.S. continues to mount airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, but some analysts say the campaign is not broad enough.

The Obama administration's admission comes on the heels of the release of a video by the militant group known as the Islamic State, which depicts the killing of American journalist James Foley.

The U.S. has begun sending humanitarian aid and conducting limited airstrikes in the attempt to protect Iraq's refugee populations. Going forward, the U.S. is facing several possible approaches there.

U.S. jet fighters have commenced airstrikes against the Islamist militant group known as the Islamic State. Meanwhile, American cargo planes have also begun humanitarian airdrops to s...

U.S. military aircraft dropped humanitarian supplies to thousands of Iraqis trapped on a mountain by militants from the Islamic State. President Obama authorized airstrikes if they become necessary.

The White House is considering several military options to address an emergency humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq. The administration may approve either air strikes or airdrops of ...

A machine gun attack by a man wearing an Afghan military uniform killed a U.S. 2-star U.S. Army general on Tuesday. Major General Harold Greene was killed at a coalition training facility in Kabul.

NPR has confirmed that U.S. Army Major Gen. Harold Greene was killed in Tuesday's "green-on-blue" attack in Afghanistan. It was his first deployment to the country.

The ex-military photographer known only as Caesar took some of the images, which show thousands of dead regime opponents. Syria says they're fake; U.S. officials say they may be proof of war crimes.

The U.S. Army War College has determined in a preliminary review that Sen. John Walsh of Montana appeared to have plagiarized his final paper to earn a master's degree. An investigative panel is reviewing the evidence.

Senior U.S. intelligence officials say they have proof that a surface-to-air missile was launched when the airliner went down and have ID'd people in a recorded conversation implicating the culprits.

President Obama presents the Medal of Honor to former Sergeant Ryan Pitts. It's the nation's highest medal for valor. Pitts single-handedly fought off a Taliban assault in Afghanistan back in 2008.

A recent American assessment of Iraq's military has come to some bleak conclusions. What more can U.S. advisers offer an Iraqi security force they have already spent years training?

The Marines will be required to open ground combat jobs to women in 2016. Now more than 160 female Marines have volunteered for a grueling training course that will determine their readiness.

In its first match of the knockout round, the U.S. soccer team plays Belgium on Tuesday. NPR's Tom Goldman previews the game, explaining what to expect from the matchup.

U.S. military advisers sent to Iraq to assess the state of the country's military will find an army in far worse shape than the one they left behind in 2011. It lacks troops, training and leadership.

Remember last week when President Obama said he planned to send up to 300 military advisers to Iraq?

Well, the U.S. couldn't do it until the Iraqi government gave U.S. soldiers immunity from prosecution, through what's called a "diplomatic note." If those U.S. soldiers committed any crimes or had ...