Trump’s Syria pull out fuels confusion

The Department of Defense is canceling a controversial $10 billion cloud computing contract that had been awarded to Microsoft (MSFT) over Amazon (AMZN) under the Trump administration. The department announced Tuesday that it is canceling the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract that was previously awarded to Microsoft. It will instead seek new solicitations for an updated Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract from Amazon and Microsoft.

The head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency has warned that the Islamic State is just as strong as it ever was — even without its caliphate. Terrorism experts agree that it has morphed into a powerful network.

After the so-called "Islamic State" saw its influence wane in the Middle East, the group and its affiliates targeted poorly governed areas in Africa. But just how big is the threat across the continent?

More than 10 people are reported to have died and at least 50 injured. State media blamed the attack on the 'Islamic State' (IS) militant group, which has revived its campaign of violence in Iraq.

Around 16,000 people were evacuated over the past 24 hours from Afghanistan through the Kabul airport, US Army Major General William Taylor tells reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon as international airlift operations sped up ahead of an August 31 deadline.

Islamic State suicide bombers attacked crowds of people gathered Thursday outside Kabul airport hoping to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, killing dozens including 13 US troops, as President Joe Biden vowed to hunt down those responsible.

The bombings at Kabul airport show central Asia's Islamic State affiliate, IS-K, is a major security threat in Afghanistan and globally. The group has a record of lethal attacks and finds the Taliban too moderate.

Alexanda Kotey, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the "Beatles," pleaded guilty Thursday in a US court to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages. "Contrary to the propaganda perpetrated by ISIS, we have given Alexanda Kotey the opportunity to face justice," acting US Attorney Raj Parekh tells reporters outside the court, alongside some of the victims' parents.

"We apologize and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says of a drone strike in the Afghan capital Kabul that mistakenly killed 10 civilians, including children, during the chaotic US pullout last month. Kirby was delivering the message on behalf of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a press briefing at the Pentagon.

US cyber defense capabilities are at "kindergarten level" in some government departments, the Pentagon's former chief software officer told a British newspaper.

The Taliban promised to bring peace – but now that they are the government of Afghanistan, the war against the 'Islamic State' group is just beginning. There has been a series of attacks by 'IS' and bloody reprisals by the Taliban.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the addition to Moscow's nuclear arsenal will make foes "think twice." The US said it was properly notified of the test and did not consider it a threat.