Page 107 - War Conflict
Sri Lankan security forces clash with suspected militants in Eastern province
Sri Lankan security forces raided a hideout in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in the Eastern province on Friday evening, triggering a standoff with heavily-armed men believed to be linked to the deadly Easter attacks. Police spokesman said that at least one suicide bomber blew himself up during the shootout in the coastal town of Sammanthurai, 325 kilometers from Colombo. Police said they have seized a large haul of explosives, a drone and a banner with the Islamic State logo. "Garbs similar to that which were worn in the video displaying IS members in Sri Lanka, along with an identical IS backdrop in the video was discovered during the raid," a police official said. Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 253 people. The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group called National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) for the ...
SL PM apologizes over failure to protect victims on Easter
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday apologized to the nation for the failure to protect victims from Sunday's explosions which killed 253 people and injured over 500.
Terrorists fire at police post in Srinagar, cop injured
A security personnel was injured Friday in firing by terrorists on a police post in Chanapora area of the city, police said. "There was a stand off firing on Police Post Chanapora falling under the jurisdiction of Police station Saddar. One policeman sustained injuries," a police spokesman said. He said the injured cop has been shifted to a hospital for treatment while the area around the police post has been put under cordon, and search operation is going on.
Indian IT manager is 3rd Dubai expat to die in Lanka bombings
An Indian man who lived in the UAE has been killed in the massive Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, officials here said. At least 253 people were killed and over 500 others injured when suicide bombers blew up churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on April 21, the country's worst terror attack claimed by the ISIS terror group. Juno Srivastava, 42, the General IT Manager of Al Futtaim Group, was last seen having breakfast along with his colleagues before a blast ripped through the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on April 11, Khaleej Times reported. India's Consul General to Dubai Vipul said that officials from the Indian High Commission in Colombo have confirmed that Juno was killed in the blasts. He said that a total of two Dubai-based Indians -- Razeena Kukkady, 58, and Juno -- were killed in Sri Lanka. Another Dubai expat was killed in the bombings. Juno's brother Jugnu and wife Rachna, who visited Colombo after the blasts, recognised his mortal remains, the report said. His mortal ...
Sri Lankan Catholic leader 'betrayed' by intelligence failures
Sri Lanka's Catholic leader said Friday he felt "betrayed" by the government's failure to act on warnings that could have prevented the Easter bombings, adding that services would not resume until security could be guaranteed. The government has admitted major lapses over the foreign intelligence warning that radical Islamist group National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) was planning suicide bombings on churches. On April 11, Sri Lanka's police chief issued an alert based on the intelligence. Neither the prime minister nor other top ministers were among the recipients. At least 253 people died when attackers blew themselves up at three churches, including two Catholic ones, and three hotels in coordinated blasts. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, said the island's Catholic church had also not been informed about a possible attack. "I felt betrayed a little bit. I felt sad," he told reporters, when asked about the warnings. "It's a very serious lapse on the part of the ...
Lanka needs new laws to deal with ISIS threat: PM
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday said the country needs new laws to deal with threats posed by local terror outfits linked to ISIS, the group which has claimed responsibility for the Easter bombings that left 253 people dead and several hundreds injured. "The definition on aiding terrorism is very narrow. Therefore, the laws are not strong to deal with a situation like this," Wickremesinghe said in a televised address. "We have to widen the scope of these laws to counter global terrorism. Not only they (the terrorists) should be arrested, their assets also need to be confiscated," he added. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Easter terror attacks on three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels but the government has blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ), for the bombings. Earlier in an interview to Sky News, the prime minister said the government knew that Sri Lankan nationals who joined the Islamic ..
Resigned to "protect" political bosses, says ex-Lankan Defence Secretary
Sri Lanka's ousted defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando Friday claimed that he had to quit to "protect" his political bosses while asserting that he followed the standard procedures while dealing with advance intelligence inputs on the deadly Easter Sunday terror attacks. Amidst public outcry over the massive intelligence failure to avert the suicide attacks, President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday sought the resignation of Fernando as well as the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara. While Fernando quit on Thursday, Jayasundara tendered his resignation on Friday. Sirisena said the intelligence supplied by a friendly nation was not shared with him by senior officials. "All they have done was to exchange letters among themselves," he said. "I asked both police chief and defence secretary why the information was not shared with me, they remained silent," he said. But in a statement prior to tendering his resignation, Fernando said he had forwarded all intelligence ...
Sri Lanka fears up to $1.5 billion tourism losses
Sri Lanka fears its lucrative tourism industry could see arrivals drop up to 30 per cent, with losses of USD 1.5 billion this year, after deadly Easter attacks, the finance minister said Friday. "Tourism will be the worst affected," Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera told reporters. "We expect a 30 per cent drop in arrivals and that means a loss of about USD 1.5 billion in foreign exchange." Samaraweera said the country could take up to two years to fully recover from Sunday's attacks, which devastated three luxury hotels and three Christian churches and killed 253 people killed, among them many foreigners. The government has blamed local Islamist extremists for the coordinated suicide bombings that shocked a nation recovering from a 37-year ethnic war that ended a decade ago. The Islamic State group said it carried out the attack and the government says it believes local extremists were at least inspired by IS militants. "Typically, countries that suffer isolated IS-style attacks ..
Would like to see resolution of Indo-Pak issues through dialogue: Turkish President's senior advisor
Turkey would like to see the resolution of political and security issues between India and Pakistan through dialogue, said Ibrahim Kalin, Senior Advisor to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here Friday. Kalin also said that Turkey is looking at "ways and mechanisms" to continue its oil trade with Iran. Last Monday, the US announced it would end the sanctions relief next month for eight countries -- including India and Turkey -- which are importing Iranian crude oil, "We are talking with Americans on this issue. We are also talking with the Europeans. We are on the same page with the Europeans. We are trying to find ways and mechanisms so that we can continue to trade with Iran," he said. In November last year, the US granted a six-month waiver to India, China, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea to continue importing oil from Iran. The temporary waiver ends on May 2. India imports about 10 per cent of its total oil requirement from Iran. About issues between .
3-5 year imprisonment for spreading fake news about Sri Lankan blasts: report
The Sri Lankan government Friday warned that anyone found guilty of spreading fake news and false propaganda about the Easter Sunday bombings that claimed 253 lives may be imprisoned for 3 to 5 years, following a growing number of incidents of public disturbance. Sri Lanka was rocked by a series of bomb blasts on Sunday at three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels, the deadliest attacks since a devastating three-decade long civil war ended in 2009. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the terror attacks that killed 253 people, but the government has blamed the local Islamist extremist group National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) for the bombings. The national media centre, in a statement, said that action will be taken against those who spread fake news and false propaganda regarding the situation in the island, Daily News reported. It said a number of incidents of public disturbance were reported from several parts of the country due to the circulation of false ...
Lanka police chief quits as President blames security establishment's failure for Easter massacre
Sri Lanka's police chief Friday became the latest senior official to quit over failures to prevent the Easter massacre carried out by an Islamist extremist group, whose top leader died in one of the suicide blasts. President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the defence minister, said Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara resigned over failures which led to the worst terror attack in the country's history. "The IGP has sent his resignation to the acting defence secretary. I'll nominate a new IGP soon," he said. Jayasundara's resignation came a day after the country's defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando resigned on Thursday. Jayasundara on Friday appeared before a committee appointed by the President to probe the blasts. The committee has been asked to submit its report within two weeks. President Sirisena had asked both Fernando and Jayasundara to quit after their failure to prevent the blasts despite having prior intelligence. Thusitha P Wanigasinghe was appointed as the ...
53 people rescued from Taliban prison in Afghanistan
The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces freed at least 53 people from a Taliban prison in an operation in Daichopan here, the Afghan Ministry of Defence said on Friday.The ministry added that eight Taliban terrorists were killed during the operation, reports TOLOnews.Four Commando Forces personnel and four police force members are amongst the rescued individuals, as per the ministry.
Lanka police chief quits as President blames security establishment's failure for Easter bombings
Sri Lanka's police chief on Friday became the latest senior official to quit over failures to prevent the Easter massacre, as President Maithripala Sirisena said the top leader of the Islamist extremist group blamed for the deadly attacks died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel. Sirisena, who is also the defence minister, said Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara resigned over failures which led to the worst terror attack in the country's history. "The IGP has resigned. He has sent his resignation to the acting defence secretary. I'll nominate a new IGP soon," the president said. His resignation came a day after the country's defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando resigned on Thursday. President Sirisena had asked both Fernando and Jayasundara to quit after their failure to prevent the blasts despite having prior intelligence. Top officials have acknowledged that Sri Lanka received intelligence about possible terror strikes ahead of the attacks, but both Sirisena and Prime ...
Tripura State Rifles personnel leave for Bengal polling
Around 1,020 troopers of the counter-insurgency trained Tripura State Rifles (TSR) left for West Bengal on Friday to perform election related duties in the Trinamool Congress ruled state, official said here.
Dutch to fly tourists home from Sri Lanka within days
Hundreds of Dutch tourists will be flown home in the coming days from Sri Lanka in the wake of the Easter bombings, according to the guarantee scheme governing Dutch tour operators. Following the attacks, which killed 253 people, around 500 Dutch visitors who remain in Sri Lanka will be flown home "within days," the director of the Calamiteitenfonds group said Friday. "We are currently in consultations with affiliated organisations," said Erik Jan Reuvere, whose fund acts as insurer and coordinator for tour operators in times of crisis. "We estimate between 400 and 500 people are travelling in Sri Lanka under our guarantee," Reuvere told AFP. He said they would be flown home either on scheduled flights or a "probable" charter operated by the TUI group on Monday. The repatriation comes after the Dutch foreign ministry late Thursday recommended only essential trips be made to the island, citing the potential danger of further attacks by fugitive terrorists. The ministry warned the ...
Sri Lanka's Muslims hold subdued prayers amid tight security
Armed police and sniffer dogs guarded mosques in Sri Lanka as Muslims trickled to Friday prayers, with many staying away over fears of revenge attacks after the island's Easter suicide blasts. Some mosques cancelled prayers, and Sri Lanka's Muslim affairs minister called on Muslims to pray at home instead, in solidarity with churches that have closed over security fears. Other Muslims have expressed fears that they could be targeted by Islamist hardliners, after the community's religious leadership said the attackers would not be buried at mosques in the country. Among mosques that did hold prayers on Friday in the capital Colombo, attendance was thin, with some of the few worshippers who did show up saying they wanted to stand up to extremists. "We are sending a message to extremists that we will not be scared or deterred," said Reyyaz Salley, chairman of the Dawatagaha Jumma mosque in the capital Colombo. "But the main reason we are here is because we want to say a special prayer ...
US woman wrongly identified as Sri Lanka attack suspect
The Sri Lankan police which wrongly identified an American Muslim woman as a suspect in the deadly bombings on Easter Sunday has apologised for the goof-up, according to media reports on Friday. The police on Thursday issued a flyer with the names and photos of six persons -- three men and three women -- wanted in connection with the attacks that killed 253 people. On the flyer, a photograph of Amara Majeed was put wrongly by Sri Lankan authorities, identifying her as a suspect linked to the bloodshed. The name attached to the picture was Abdul Cader Fathima Khadiya - but the picture was of Baltimore-born Majeed, whose parents are from Sri Lanka. "I have this morning been FALSELY identified by the Sri Lankan government as one of the ISIS Easter attackers in Sri Lanka," she tweeted. "What a thing to wake up to!" Around 253 people died and hundreds were injured in the Sri Lanka attacks, where suicide bombers struck three hotels and three churches. "This is obviously completely false and
Afghans killed more by pro-government forces than Taliban
Pro-government forces in Afghanistan have killed more civilians in the first three months of 2019 than the Taliban and other insurgent groups, the UN said in a report.
Firearms stolen from New Zealand police amid buyback scheme
New Zealand police were left red-faced Friday after admitting 11 firearms have been stolen from a police station while in the midst of a nationwide buy-back scheme following the Christchurch massacre. The firearms -- some earmarked for destruction -- were stolen from the Palmerston North police station in the central North Island. "I am very concerned about what has occurred. It is absolutely unacceptable," acting regional police commander Sarah Stewart said. Radio New Zealand reported at least one stolen weapon was a banned semi-automatic, but Stewart refused to confirm this nor would she say if any ammunition was taken. "Eleven firearms which were in an exhibit storage area are currently unaccounted for. I should be clear that these were not police firearms, but were a range of weapons being held as exhibits or handed in for destruction," she said. Police commissioner Mike Bush has ordered an immediate investigation into the theft and an audit on security around firearms at all ...
Sri Lankan attacks example of ISIS spreading from Iraq, Syria into Afghanistan: Iran FM Zarif
The Islamic State (ISIS) has been "airlifted" from Iraq and Syria into Afghanistan and one example of it is the barbaric attack in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said here. Speaking at the Asia Society here on Wednesday, he said that the attacks in Sri Lanka has vindicated what they have been saying. Unfortunately, we have been saying that and people believe that we were just trying to make propaganda and a conspiracy theory approach. ISIS has been airlifted from Iraq and Syria into Afghanistan," he said. "You see one example of it unfortunately in the barbaric attack on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, Zarif said responding to a question on the status of ISIS and the connection with the terror attacks in the island nation. The Sri Lankan authorities say that National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) was behind the attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels. But ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attacks and named the suicide bombers ...