Overnight Defense: Military sexual assault reports level off; Strike kills ISIS plotters

THE TOPLINE: Sexual assault reports in the military in 2015 were about even with the previous year, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday.

Pentagon officials say the high number of reports staying level shows there’s more work to be done and that reporting is important to helping the victims.

{mosads}Our efforts are having an impact, but there are still many hurdles to overcome,” Army Maj. Gen. Camille Nichols, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said in a written statement. “Reporting the crime is essential for our ability to bring care and advocacy to survivors, and hold offenders appropriately accountable.”

The report also lowers the estimated percent of victims who have faced retaliation for reporting sexual assault. The Pentagon now estimates 38 percent have faced retaliation, down from 57 percent.

Critics of the Pentagon’s handling of sexual assault cases slammed that assessment.

The Hill’s Rebecca Kheel has more here.

US KILLS ISIS MEMBERS PLOTTING ATTACKS:  The Pentagon announced on Thursday that it killed two Islamic State in Iraq and Syria members in an airstrike in Syria last month who were planning attacks against the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. 

A U.S. military airstrike on April 22 killed Sudanese citizen Abu Sa’ad al-Sudani and his Australian wife Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said at a Thursday briefing.  

“Al-Sudani was involved in planning attacks against the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Both al-Sudani and his wife were active in recruiting foreign fighters in efforts to inspire attacks against Western interests,” Cook said. 

Cook said the couple had previously plotted and had been involved with “external plots against the United States and other countries,” but declined to say whether those plots included attacks within the U.S. — which would have been an alarming revelation. 

The Hill’s Kristina Wong has more. 

LAWMAKERS OPPOSE SHOULDER-FIRED MISSILES FOR SYRIAN REBELS: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on President Obama not to supply shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

“We urge you to maintain your stance in opposition to sending MANPADS into Syria and also request that you strongly discourage all nations from doing so,” the 27 House lawmakers wrote in a letter to Obama this week.

Obama has long opposed sending the missiles — Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems, or MANPADS — to Syrian rebels. The fear is that the weapons could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and be used against civilian aircraft.

But a Wall Street Journal article in April said the CIA was being urged by partners such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia to provide the weapons, with modifications.

Kheel has the story here. 

STATE CAN’T VERIFY CLINTON HACKER CLAIMS: The State Department on Thursday said it could not verify claims by a Romanian hacker who said he broke into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private server.

“We don’t have any reason to believe that it might be true,” spokesman Mark Toner told reporters, declining to comment further on the hacker’s claims.

“I’m going to refrain from comment specifically on an issue that is being looked at and investigated by other entities.”

The Hill’s Julian Hattem has more. 

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW: 

The American Enterprise Institute hosts an event called “Building an Agile Army” with the U.S. Army War College. Participants will discuss making the Army command structure more efficient without sacrificing its function from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. #ArmyReform You can also catch a live stream here: http://bit.ly/1UCXhdk

The Wilson Center is hosting an event titled “Russia and the Middle East: What does Putin want?” from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

ICYMI: 

— The Hill: Ayotte alarmed by sped-up Gitmo reviews

— The Hill: Poll: Most Americans skeptical of US involvement overseas

— The Hill: Poll: More think ISIS fight going well

— Washington Post: Despite billions in U.S. funding, Afghan forces have a problem with boots

— CNN: Ash Carter: We want to accelerate campaign against ISIS

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