World Armed Forces Pictures & Videos

Soldiers take part in a ceremony marking their participation in an anti-terror drill in Jakarta December 19, 2008. Indonesian security forces launched a major anti-terror drill on Friday ahead of the Christmas holiday, a period when the Southeast Asian nation previously suffered bomb attacks. REUTERS/Dadang Tri (INDONESIA)

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Soldiers exit an army van in front of a camp in Dhaka December 19, 2008. Bangladesh troops on Thursday deployed across the country ahead of this month's election, tightening security amid threats by Islamist militants, officials said.

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A French soldier watches and waits as Brigadier Gen. Steven P. Huber, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VIII commander, Illinois Army National Guard, pins U.S. Army Achievement Medals on his comrades. This French contingency, based at Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan, supports the coalition by mentoring and training Afghan national army officers. They received the medals for their outstanding service to the coalition and the Operation Enduring Freedom mission.

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Soldiers of Indonesian Special Forces Commandos (KOPASSUS) take part in a show of force ahead of a major anti-terror in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008. Thousands of personnel will be involved in the drill which will be held on Sunday ahead of Christmas holiday in the wake of Mumbai attacks. (AP / Irwin Fedriansyah)

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Members of a police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team secure a commuter train coach after a mock bomb explosion during a terror attack and mass casualty incident simulation exercise Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008 in Manila's Quezon City. The drill was conducted to check the ability of all rail personnel and police agencies to react in case of a suicide bombing or a terrorist attack. (AP / Pat Roque)

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Iraqi army military officer Major Hussein Azab (2nd L) talks to U.S. soldiers before the start of a meeting with local Sheiks in Hurriya district in Baghdad December 3, 2008. Iraq faces a major test next year when its unseasoned forces cast off U.S. military primacy to defend a fragile peace in a country that only recently stood at the brink of sectarian civil war. The test for Iraqi forces, who now number around 610,000, occurs as U.S. troops curtail their combat activities under a bilateral security pact that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2009. Picture taken December 3, 2008.

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Members of a drug gang are escorted by soldiers after being shown to the media at the Attorney General's office in the suburb of Escobedo, on the outskirts of Monterrey December 20, 2008. The Mexican army arrested 13 men in a wealthy neighbourhood of this northern city early Saturday in possession of drugs, weapons and uniforms of the federal agency of investigations according to local media. The capture is part of the Nuevo Leon-Tamaulipas joint operation against drug trafficking.

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An Israeli army tank rolls near the southern Israeli border with the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Kissufim on December 21, 2008. Israel weighed launching an offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today as violence simmered in the impoverished enclave days after a truce between the Jewish state and the Islamists ended. Gaza militants have launched several dozen rockets, causing damage and slightly wounding a handful of civilians, and the Israeli army has carried out air strikes, killing one militant and wounding three other Palestinians.

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Israeli soldiers move a tank for repair near their southern border with the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Kissufim on December 21, 2008.

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Israeli soldiers repair their tank as they guard their southern border with the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Kissufim on December 21, 2008.

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Indonesian anti-terror army special forces personel arrest the leader of terror acts during an counter-terrorism drill at the Borobudur five-star hotel in Jakarta on December 21, 2008. Indonesia staged an counter-terrorism drill, mimicking last month's attacks that killed 163 people in Mumbai, as Indonesia has a history of violent bombings by Islamist extremists, but has not suffered a major attack since the 2005 suicide bombings on Bali that killed 20 people.

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Serbian riot policemen try to stop Serbian Army reservists during a protest in Kursumlija, southern Serbia, on December 21, 2008. Six officers and three of the demonstrators were injured during scuffles with about 300 police at Kursumlija, who were blocking the protesters' path towards the Merdare border post with Kosovo. Four demonstrators were arrested, police added. The reservists were rallying to seek extra payments relating to service during the 1998-99 war with Albanian separatist forces in the territory Serbia refuses to give up.

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A soldier stands at attention during ceremonies commemorating the victims of the 1989 bloody anti-communist Romanian revolution, in downtown Bucharest December 21, 2008. Romania's dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was arrested after the December 1989 popular uprising and executed on December 25, 1989.

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A Somali soldier sits near the Somali police academy south of the Mogadishu December 20, 2008. The academy on Saturday marked its 65th anniversary since it was established in 1943.

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A Somali government soldier stands guard near the police academy south of Mogadishu December 20, 2008.

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Bulgarian soldiers, who took part in military operations in Iraq, paid their respects to their dead comrades during an official welcoming ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in central Sofia. The last 155 Bulgarian soldiers arrived in Sofia last week after the country decided to withdraw its 334-strong light infantry battalion from Iraq earlier this year.
Photo: Stoyan Nenov/Reuters

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Cyprus Fire Service members wore protective suits inside the American Embassy in the Cypriot capital. A Fire Service spokeswoman said crews were called to the embassy to remove a suspicious package from embassy grounds. The package was taken for examination at a state laboratory. Embassy spokesman James Ellickson Brown said the package arrived by mail Monday morning. He gave no other details. He said the local authorities acted according to standard procedure.
Photo: Philippos Christou/Associated Press

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An Israeli army mortar crew was deployed in a field near an observation post on the Gaza border near Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel. A six-month cease-fire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas ended last week, leaving senior Israeli government officials to warn that a military offensive in Gaza will be "unavoidable" if rocket fire from the territory continues.
Photo: David Silverman/***** Images

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A policeman guarded two giant pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan at the Bifeng Gorge Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yaan city, in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Two giant pandas will make their long-anticipated and highly scrutinized trip from China to Taiwan this week, sealing a year of blossoming diplomatic ties between the two rivals.
Photo: Sam Yeh/Agence France-Presse — ***** Images

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Cardinals and bishops enter the Clementine Hall at the Vatican to exchange Christmas wishes with Pope Benedict XVI.
Photo: Max Rossi/Reuters

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Soldiers carry coffins during the funeral of six members of Mexico's Army in Chilpancingo, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 22, 2008. Authorities found 12 decapitated bodies Sunday in and around Chilpancingo, seven of them identified as soldiers, marking the most gruesome attack yet against the Mexican army in its half-century battle against drug gangs. One of the seven soldiers was buried privately. (AP Photo/Claudio Cruz)​

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Israeli tanks drive near the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Monday, Dec. 22, 2008. Israeli diplomats have been instructed to highlight the plight of Israelis living under increasing rocket fire from Gaza, officials said Monday, in a step aimed at preparing world opinion for a stepped-up response, or even a ground invasion, by Israel's military. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)​

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An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard near a barbed wire barricade set by security forces in Srinagar, India, Monday, Dec. 22, 2008. Pro-Indian parties intensified their campaigning for the last phase of polling scheduled to be held on Dec. 24. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)​

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A soldier clears a passage for Captain Moussa Dadis Camara on December 25, 2008 in Conakry, as he leaves to meet Guinean Premier Ahmed Tidiane Souare (not pictured), who arrived today at an army camp near Conakry along with members of his government after being ordered to do so by the military junta. The junta, led by self-declared president Moussa Dadis Camara, issued an order late yesterday for all government members and top military brass to convene at the Alpha Yaya Diallo camp within 24 hours.

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Soldiers paraded in the streets of Conakry, Guinea's capital, a day after the death of the longtime dictator Lansana Conte. Coup leaders tightened their grip, declaring a nationwide curfew and ruling out elections. They issued a statement declaring that Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, a mid-ranking officer who had previously been head of the military's fuel supplies unit, was their leader.
Photo: Seyllou/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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A soldier kept watch as voters stood in line to cast their ballot at a polling booth in Suchetgarh village, about 20 miles southwest of Jammu, in Indian-administered Kashmir. Nearly 1.7 million voters are eligible to cast their votes in the last phase. At least 393 candidates are running in elections for 87 assembly seats across the state.
Photo: Amit Gupta/Reuters

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Palestinian militants prepared to fire missiles into Israel, in eastern Gaza. The military wing of Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, said in a statement that the rocket fire was 'a response to Zionist aggression in Gaza and West Bank' and to the economic embargo Israel has imposed on Gaza. An Israeli force killed three Hamas gunmen on Tuesday in a clash close to the border fence in northern Gaza.
Photo: Mohammed Saber/European Pressphoto Agency

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Police officers walked along Athens' main shopping street during a rally in the Greek capital. Greek demonstrators are in the third week of anti-government protests since the police shot dead a teenager on Dec. 6.
Photo: Yiorgos Karahalis/Reuters

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An Israeli soldier walks near tanks in an army base near Kibbutz Kissufim, just outside the central Gaza Strip December 25, 2008. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday issued a "last-minute" appeal to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to reject their Hamas rulers and stop rocket fire at Israel, warning them he would not hesitate to use force.

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An Australian soldier Mark Larter with the International Security Assistant Force walks during a patrolling on Christmas day in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008.

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A coffin was carried out of St. George's Church in Telford, England, after the funeral service for Royal Marine Damian Davies. Davies, a 27-year-old from Telford, died alongside two of his fellow marines, Sgt. John Manuel and Cpl. Marc Birch, on Dec. 12. The men were killed by an explosion south of Sangin, Afghanistan, after they were reportedly approached by a 13-year-old boy pushing a wheelbarrow in which a bomb was hidden.
Photo: Rui Vieira/Associated Press

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Members of Bangladesh's army stand guard on a street in Dhaka December 24, 2008. Bangladesh deployed some 6,000 elite soldiers who fanned out across the country on Wednesday as intelligence reports warned that the main contenders in a Dec. 29 election may be targeted by Islamic militants.

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Pakistani police members and rescue workers search for victims under the rubbles of a collapsed building in Sukkur city, southern Pakistan, on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008. Six people are dead and 16 are injured following an apartment building collapse in southern Pakistan. Police official Sharjil Kharal says the building in Sukkur city was constructed just six months ago and collapsed Thursday because it was made with poor quality materials.

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An armed Indonesian police officer stands guard inside a church during a security inspection prior to Christmas Eve services in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Indonesia has been hit by a string of terror attacks since Sept. 11, 2001, but experts say the risk of more large-scale attacks has diminished with the arrest of hundreds of suspects.

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Turkish honour guard and family members walk with a gun-carriage with the flag-draped coffin of Turkish army soldier Turan Damgaci during a funeral ceremony in Istanbul December 26, 2008. Three Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack by Kurdish separatist guerrillas in a town near the Iraqi border on Wednesday.

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In this image taken from television, a vehicle carrying the casket of Guinea's longtime dictator Lansana Conte, flanked by army personnel holding a large picture of Conte, makes its way to Guinea's parliament, in Conakry, Guinea where a memorial service was held for the former ruler of the West African nation on Friday Dec. 26, 2008. Conte died Monday after ruling the West African nation with a stern hand for nearly a quarter-century. Hours after the announcement of his death, a military-led group declared a coup. Capt. Moussa Camara has declared himself Guinea's interim leader, promising not to run in an election he says will be held in December 2010.

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Israeli army officers prevent Palestinian bride Yasem Zawahreh from crossing a checkpoint during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Maasarah, near Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008. Zawahreh, who is expected to be married in the near future, wore her wedding dress to protest the construction of the barrier which Palestinians say hinders movement. Israel says the barrier is necessary for security.

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Lebanese army personnel inspect one of eight rockets found in a field in Naqoura village, near the port-city of Tyre, December 25, 2008. Lebanese troops on Thursday found and dismantled eight rockets set up for launch at northern Israel, Lebanese security sources said. The Grad and Katyusha rockets were found near a village just north of the border with Israel, Lebanese security sources said. It was not immediately clear who set up the projectiles in the area controlled by a U.N. peacekeeping force and the Lebanese army.

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An Israeli soldier directs a tank near the border between Israel and Gaza, Friday Dec. 26, 2008. Israel reopened its border with Gaza on Friday to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid, despite continued rocket and mortar fire from the coastal strip and growing expectations of a large-scale Israeli military campaign against Gaza militants.

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: An Israeli soldier jumps down from a tank near the border between Israel and Gaza, Friday Dec. 26, 2008.

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An Afghan policeman stands next to a destroyed vehicle after a suicide car attack in Herat province December 26, 2008. A suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of foreign troops on Friday in Afghanistan's western Herat province, wounding one U.S. soldier and two Afghan civilians, a provincial official said.

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Sri Lankan army soldiers march during a funeral procession of Major General Lassantha Mhaesh Kumara Narangoda during a funeral procession at Ragama suburb of capital Colombo December 27, 2008. Narangoda was killed by Tamil rebels on December 20 during a battle at separatist Tamil Tigers' self-proclaimed capital in Kilinochchi.

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Palestinian women run away during clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians, following a demonstration against the Israeli missiles strike on Gaza, at the Kalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes attacked dozens of security compounds across Hamas-ruled Gaza on Saturday in unprecedented waves of air strikes. Gaza medics said at least 145 people were killed and more than 310 wounded in the single deadliest day in Gaza fighting in recent memory.

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Israeli soldiers run away to avoid a stun grenade thrown by another soldier by mistake during clashes with Palestinians, following a demonstration against the Israeli missiles strike on Gaza, at the Kalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008.

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Slovenian soldiers stand at ease during the visit of Slovenia's Prime Minister Borut Pahor to the western Kosovo town of Pec, December 26, 2008. Slovenia has around 400 soldiers serving under the NATO peacekeeping mission in the newly independent Kosovo.

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Paramedics transport a soldier, who was injured after a bomb attack by suspected Muslim militants on a roadside, at a hospital in southern Thailand's Yala province, south of Bangkok on December 26, 2008. A 5 kg (11 lbs) bomb was detonated on Friday, injuring two soldiers who were patrolling in Yala province and damaging a motorbike, police said. No deaths were reported.

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Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack by suspected Muslim militants on a roadside in southern Thailand's Yala province, south of Bangkok on December 26, 2008. A 5 kg (11 lbs) bomb was detonated on Friday, injuring two soldiers who were patrolling in Yala province and damaging a motorbike, police said. No deaths were reported

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A Hamas policeman shouts as he stands at the rubble of a destroyed Hamas police compounds following an Israeli air strike in Gaza December 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes and combat helicopters pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 155 people in the bloodiest day for Palestinians in more than 20 years. Palestinian militants responded with rocket salvoes that killed an Israeli man and wounded several others, medics said.

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An Israeli F16 fighter jet lands at air base near the border after a bombing raid in Gaza December 27, 2008. I

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A police officer displays his gun with its muzzle covered with tape during a ceremony at a police headquarters in Manila December 27, 2008. Police have been taping the muzzle of their guns to monitor who discharges their firearms during revelry as New Year's Day celebrations approach and stray bullets often are the cause of a number of deaths.

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An officer signs police firearms, with taped muzzles, during a ceremony at a police headquarters in Manila December 27, 2008.

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GAZA BORDER, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 28: Israeli army special forces are deployed on December 28, 2008 at the Gaza Israel border. Israel launched a massive wave of air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza yesterday, killing at least 155 Palestinians and wounding hundreds more.

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The Israeli military takes position near the northern Israeli-Gaza Strip border on December 28, 2008. Israel warned today it could send ground troops into Gaza as its warplanes continued pounding Hamas targets inside the enclave where more than 280 Palestinians have been killed in just 24 hours.

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KIBBUTZ MEFALSSIM, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 28: An Israeli army tank driver lifts up his personal assault rifle to climb out of the driver's seat after his unit was deployed to a staging area on the border with the Gaza Strip as Israel prepares for a possible ground assault against Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory on December 28, 2008 near Kibbutz Mefalssim in southern Israel.

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An Israeli army soldier prays next to a tank near the northern Israeli-Gaza Strip border on December 28, 2008.

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GAZA BORDER, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 28: Soldier place camouflage colors on their faces as Israeli army special forces are deployed on December 28, 2008 at the Gaza Israel border.

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EDINBURGH, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 31: Police constable Lee Dingsdale receives a kiss from Aiden Cooper as revellers take to Princes Street to celebrate New Year on December 31, 2008 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Around 100,000 people are expected to brave freezing temperatures to see in the bells in the Scottish capital.

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A hardline Iranian student shouts slogans against Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak as anti-riot police stand guard in front of the Interests Section of the Arab Republic of Egypt in northern Tehran, during a protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza December 31, 2008.

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Egyptian activists are confronted by police during a protest in Cairo Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008, against the Israeli attacks in Gaza, where over 350 people have been killed. Arabic slogan read as " we demand to close the Israeli embassy in Cairo".

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British police and Palestinian supporters scuffle briefly near the Israel Embassy in Kensington, London, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected international calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in more humanitarian aid. He said conditions were not right for a ceasefire, but did not rule one out if rocket fire on Israel from Gaza halted. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to stop peace talks with the Israelis if the strikes continued. Israeli air strikes on Gaza have continued for a fifth day, while more Hamas rockets have landed in Israel.

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Zimbabwean police stand guard outside the High court in Harare, December 31, 2008. The court on Wednesday ruled that a leading human rights campaigner and 15 other activists should remain in custody pending a remand hearing in a case that has deepened doubts over a power-sharing deal. Jestina Mukoko, head of a local rights group, and the other activists have been charged with recruiting or trying to recruit people to undergo military training to topple President Robert Mugabe's government.

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A Basque police helicopter flies past the scene of a car bomb that exploded outside the offices of the EITB station in the Basque town of Bilbao, northern Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. A car bomb exploded Wednesday outside a regional television station in northern Spain following a warning call from the armed separatist group ETA, police said. The blast caused significant damage but no injuries.

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Israeli police officers detain Palestinian demonstrators during a protest near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City December 31, 2008. According to an Israeli police spokesperson several people were arrested in Jerusalem for taking part in an illegal gathering against Israel's offensive in Gaza on Wednesday.

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An Israeli police officer and reporters take cover during a rocket attack in the southern town of Sderot on December 30, 2008. Israel on Tuesday rejected any truce with Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip before cross-border rocket fire ceased and said its air strikes, the fiercest in decades, heralded "long weeks of military action".

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Residents (L) from Taean scuffle with riot police during a rally against Samsung Group in front of Samsung Group's headquarters in Seoul December 30, 2008. Thousands of protesters denounced Samsung on Tuesday for avoiding responsibility for an oil spill in Taean. The Hebei Spirit spilled 10,500 tonnes of crude oil after a crane mounted on a Samsung-owned barge punched holes in its hull on December 7, 2007 off Taean.

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Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack by suspected Muslim militants in southern Thailand's Yala province December 30, 2008. A 20 kg (44 lbs) bomb was detonated in a roadside on Tuesday, injuring five soldiers who were patrolling the area, police said. No deaths were reported.

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A Pakistani army tank travels towards the base camp in Jamrud in the Khyber tribal area on the outskirts of Peshawar January 2, 2009. Trucks rumbled through Pakistan's Khyber Pass on Friday, resuming the transport of supplies to Western forces in Afghanistan three days after authorities suspended shipments to clear out militants. RUTERS/Ali Imam.

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Sri Lankan army soldiers walk through a lagoon in recently recaptured Tamil Tiger rebel territory in Paranthan December 23, 2008. Sri Lankan troops captured the Tamil Tigers' headquarters town of Kilinochchi on January 2, 2009 in one of the biggest setbacks for the rebels in years, but in an apparent riposte a suspected suicide bomber killed three airmen in the capital Colombo. Picture has taken December 23, 2008.

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A Sri Lankan army soldier fires his weapon from a position on recently recaptured Tamil Tiger rebel territory in Paranthan December 23, 2008.

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Sri Lankan army soldiers take a positions in Paranthan December 23, 2008. Sri Lanka's president said its troops captured the separatist Tamil Tigers' headquarters town of Kilinochchi on January 2, 2009, but within an hour of the announcement a suspected suicide bomber killed at least two people in the capital. Troops fought their way into the Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi deep in the north, in one of the biggest blows for the rebels in years. Details of casualties from the fighting were not immediately available. Picture taken December 23, 2008.

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Sri Lankan soldiers secure the site of an explosion outside an Air Force camp in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide attacker on a motorcycle detonated a bomb near the air force headquarters in the heart of Colombo during Friday's afternoon rush hour, killing two airmen, police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said.

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Stranded Palestinians on their way back to Gaza passes through a gate as riot police look on, at the Egyptian border crossing terminal of Rafah, Egypt Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. Tens of stranded Palestinians stuck in Egypt during the ongoing Israeli army operation in Gaza, crossed back home from Egypt after being granted permission by the Egyptian authorities.

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Israeli army armored vehicles are seen at a staging area outside the Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009. Israel showed no sign of slowing a blistering seven-day offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, destroying homes of more than a dozen of the group's operatives Friday and bombing one of its mosques a day after a deadly strike killed a prominent Hamas figure and most of his family.

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