TOP STORIES

1. Kurds launch offensive to retake Islamic State-held Iraqi town Sinjar Associated Press, Nov. 12 | Bram Janssen and Susannah George Kurdish Iraqi fighters, backed by the U.S.-led air campaign, launched an assault Thursday aiming to retake the strategic town of Sinjar, which the Islamic State group overran last year in an onslaught that caused the flight of tens of thousands of Yazidis and first prompted the U.S. to launch airstrikes against the militants.

2. U.S. troops could not see Afghan hospital during attack
Associated Press, Nov. 12 | Ken Dilanian and Lynne O'Donnell
The U.S. special forces soldiers who called in a devastating air strike on a hospital in northern Afghanistan were half a mile away, could not see the target, and ordered the attack at the request of their Afghan partners, The Associated Press has learned.

3. President stresses importance of hiring returning troops
Washington Post, Nov. 12, Pg. A3 | Greg Jaffe President Obama focused his Veterans Day remarks on the growing ranks of former troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and are now searching for new ways to serve their country at home.

IRAQ/SYRIA

4. Life After ISIS and Assad: A Journey in a Free Syria
New York Times, Nov. 12, Pg. A1 | Ben Hubbard The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, saw this northeastern Syria crossroads as a prime place to expand its so-called caliphate. It was far from the major interests of the Syrian government in Damascus and along good river and road networks to allow the quick movement of fighters and contraband. But as Kurdish fighters pushed the Islamic State jihadists out, they sought to stamp their vision of a better life onto northern Syria: an autonomous enclave built on the principles -- part anarchist, part grass-roots socialist -- of a Kurdish militant leader whose face now adorns arm bands and murals across the territory.

5. Assad Regime, Russia Break Islamic State Siege on Base
Wall Street Journal, Nov. 12, Pg. A11 | Sam Dagher The Syrian regime and its allies boasted Wednesday about a Russia-backed operation that broke a long-running siege by Islamic State militants on an air base near the northern city of Aleppo.

6. For U.S., thorny decisions on Syria’s future lie just over horizon Washington Post, Nov. 12, Pg. A12 | Karen DeYoung
The Obama administration will be forced this weekend to grapple with major decisions on Syria that it has long resisted making but that may now be unavoidable if the president's diplomatic and military strategies there are to succeed.

7. With Ramadi encircled, Iraqi forces brace for urban warfare Reuters, Nov. 12 | Ahmed Rasheed and Stephen Kalin
Iraqi forces appear better positioned than ever to launch an offensive against Islamic State militants controlling Ramadi, now that months-long efforts to cut off supply lines to the city are having an effect, but plenty of risks remain.

MIDEAST

8. U.S. Baffled by Russian Jet ‘Bombing’ TheDailyBeast.com, Nov. 12 | Shane Harris In the absence of any definitive evidence that an explosive device brought down Russian Metrojet 9268 last month over Egypt’s Sinai, U.S. intelligence and security officials have been debating a number of competing theories about how the plane crashed, including that ISIS militants may have used a novel or previously-unseen device that has made it harder for investigators to find forensic evidence of a bomb.

9. UAE officer denies Yemen civilian deaths caused by air power Reuters, Nov. 11 | Tim Hepher The head of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) air force on Wednesday dismissed charges that Arab coalition air power caused regular civilian casualties in Yemen's war, saying warplanes used precision weapons and raids needed multiple approvals.

10. Leaked Emirati Emails Could Threaten Peace Talks in Libya New York Times Online, Nov. 12 | David D. Kirkpatrick
The United Arab Emirates was shipping weapons to favored belligerents in Libya over the summer in violation of an international arms embargo while simultaneously offering a highly paid job to the United Nations diplomat drafting a peace accord there, leaked Emirati emails show.

AFRICA

11. U.S. offers $27 million in rewards for information on al Shabaab commanders Reuters, Nov. 11 | Edmund Blair The United States has announced rewards worth a total of $27 million for information on six top commanders in the Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which has launched attacks across East Africa.

12. Kenya army involved in sugar smuggling racket – report
Agence France-Presse, Nov. 11 | Tristan McConnell and Peter Martell Kenya's army is involved in a $400-million sugar smuggling racket in Somalia that also funds the Al-Qaeda militants it is supposed to be fighting, a report alleged Thursday.

ASIA/PACIFIC

13. Indonesia asks China to clarify South China Sea claims
Reuters, Nov. 12 | Randy Fabi Indonesia has asked China to clarify its claims over the South China Sea but has yet to receive a response, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, a day after Indonesia's security chief said Jakarta could take Beijing to court over an island dispute.

14. Thailand, China to conduct first joint fighter jet drill
Agence France-Presse, Nov. 11 | Jerome Taylor Thailand and China's air forces will conduct their first ever joint exercise this month, the latest example of blossoming military ties between Beijing and the kingdom's junta. Thai air force officials said the 11-day live exercise will involve fighter jets from both nations and will kick off next Monday.

AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN

15. Afghans Demonstrate for More Security After Seven Hostages Are Beheaded New York Times, Nov. 12, Pg. A4 | Mujib Mashal Through a persistent rain in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, thousands of protesters carried the coffins of seven beheaded Hazara hostages to the presidential palace, demanding greater security and an end to a wave of targeted violence.

16. Russian border guards' return to Tajikistan 'not on agenda' – official Reuters, Nov. 12 | Raushan Nurshayeva Russia is worried by "terrorists" massing along the borders of the post-Soviet CIS group of states, but re-establishing Moscow's control over the border with Afghanistan "is not on the agenda", a senior official said on Thursday.

17. Pakistan Army Chief: Finish the Job Against the Taliban
DefenseNews.com, Nov. 11 | Usman Ansari Ahead of a trip to Washington, Pakistan's Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif has sounded the alarm over the lack of follow-up by the government to secure hard-won benefits from the military's operation against the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).

EUROPE

18. Kremlin admits TV stations showed 'secret' nuclear torpedo plan Agence France-Presse, Nov. 11 | Anna Malpas The Kremlin admitted Wednesday that Russian television had accidentally shown secret plans detailing a nuclear torpedo system in development.

19. A Bleak Future in Ukraine’s Frozen Zone New York Times, Nov. 12, Pg. A4 | Andrew E. Kramer Governed by Russian-backed separatists, the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk have no patron, neither the Western-leaning government in Kiev nor Moscow. Instead, they exist in a state of limbo that for Irina Filatova, her friends and many others, has proved both spiritually and economically debilitating.

POLITICS

20. McCain calls on Pentagon to clarify South China Sea patrol Reuters, Nov. 11 | David Brunnstrom The chairman of the influential U.S. Senate Armed Services committee has called on the Pentagon to clarify publicly the legal intent of a U.S. patrol last month within 12 nautical miles of an island China has built in the South China Sea.

21. McCain threatens court battle if Obama bypasses Congress on Guantanamo Politico.com, Nov. 11 | Austin Wright
Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain is threatening a court battle if President Barack Obama tries to go around Congress in a last-ditch attempt to achieve his campaign pledge of closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.