Page 114 - War Conflict
Armed NZealand police to deploy for Anzac day, royal visit
Armed police will patrol Anzac Day services across New Zealand Thursday in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks, as thousands honour the country's war dead and Britain's Prince William arrives on a visit. Frontline officers have historically been unarmed in New Zealand, although this policy was changed following last month's shootings that left 50 worshippers dead until the terrorism threat level was lowered last week. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there are no specific security threats for Thursday's memorial services. Still, the number of Anzac services in Auckland has been reduced to avoid overstretching security forces. Britain's Prince William will arrive in New Zealand on Thursday, when local media say he is likely to make an appearance at an Anzac service in Auckland, which is expected to draw a crowd of around 20,000. He will also pay his respects to those affected by the mosque attacks during the visit. Anzac Day marks the April 25, 1915 landing of Australian and .
Sri Lanka attacks: One of the 9 suicide bombers a woman; 60 arrests made
One of the nine suicide bombers who carried out the blasts across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday was a woman, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said on Wednesday, adding that 60 arrests have been made in connection with the attacks."Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has confirmed that there were nine suicide bombers. Eight of them have been identified. One has been identified as a woman," said Gunasekara in a press conference in the country's capital Colombo."Sixty arrests have been made so far in connection with the terror attacks. 32 of the 60 are in CID custody. All the arrested have been identified as Sri Lankan citizens," he added.Speaking at the said press conference, Sri Lanka's deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene revealed that the suicide bombers were well-educated and belonged to upper-middle-class families."One of them did his graduation from the United Kingdoms and Post Graduation from Australia, before coming to Sri Lanka," Wijewardene added.The Deputy Defence ...
US denies providing intelligence on Easter attacks
The US has said that it did not provide Sri Lanka with advance intelligence prior to the Easter Sunday militant attacks that killed over 350 people. This comes amidst what the Sri Lankan government minister Harsha de Silva said Monday that advance intelligence had been provided by "both India and the United States." "We had no prior knowledge of these attacks," US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz was quoted as saying by the CNN. At least four Americans were killed in the attacks. She said, "the Sri Lankan government has admitted lapses in their intelligence gathering and information sharing." When asked her about de Silva's claim, Teplitz responded, "Well I can't speak for others. I don't know what other sources of information the government of Sri Lanka might have had. I can just tell you that we had no prior knowledge." Sri Lankan authorities have started an investigation into how warnings about possible attacks were not passed to top ministers. Nine suicide bombers, including
Sri Lanka fears dip in tourism post Easter bombings
The suicide bombings on churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka - in which nearly 360 people died - now threatens the economy of the island nation that is largely dependent on tourism.
Imran Khan speaks to Sri Lankan PM; strongly condemns Easter attacks
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan telephoned his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe and strongly condemned the terror attacks on the Easter Sunday that killed 359 people and wounded more than 500 others. Khan also offered Pakistan's assistance to Sri Lanka towards counter terrorism measures. He said the people of Pakistan are deeply grieved over the loss of precious lives and stand with their Sri Lankan brethren at this hour of grief, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported. "Being the worst sufferers of terrorism, we can feel the pain of our Sri Lankan brethren," Khan said. Khan said terrorism knows no boundaries, no religion and threatens the peace of entire region and the world. He said Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and will continue to provide every possible support for elimination of this menace. Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, were involved in the massive Easter Sunday bombings and 60 people have been arrested so far for their ..
Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy pay homage to JDS leaders killed in Sri Lanka blasts
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Wednesday paid homage to two JDS party workers who lost their lives in the serial blasts that hit Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.The deceased were identified as KG Hanumantharayappa and M Rangappa.On Monday, Kumaraswamy had expressed condolences on Twitter."I am shocked to hear that a seven-member team of JDS workers from Karnataka who were touring Colombo has gone missing aftermath the bomb blasts in #Colombo. Two of them are feared killed in the terror strike. I am in constant touch with the Indian High Commission on the whereabouts of the missing." He tweeted.The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka had also tweeted about the death of the two JDS workers and stated that Hanumantharayappa was confirmed dead in the blast along with M Rangappa."We sadly confirm the deaths of the following two individuals in the blasts yesterday:- K G Hanumantharayappa-M Rangappa."Eight explosions rattled various suburbs in
Lanka bombings: govt admits 'major' intel lapses, prez vows security forces' overhaul
The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday admitted that "major" intelligence lapses led to the massive Easter Sunday bombings that killed over 350 people and indicated that heads will roll for failing to act on tip-offs. Top officials have acknowledged that Sri Lanka received intelligence about possible terror strikes ahead of the attacks, but both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have said that they did not receive the information. State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, addressing a press conference here, accepted that there had been "major" lapses in the security arrangements. "We (the government) have to take the responsibility. The President (Maithripala Sirisena) is planning to make some changes in the security establishments," he said. "Some of them (the attackers), in earlier incidents, had been taken into custody (after) small skirmishes, but nothing of this magnitude," Wijewardene said. Sri Lankan and international media reported that .
15 killed in blast in northwest Syria: monitor
Fifteen people, all but two civilians, were killed in an explosion in the jihadist-held region of Idlib in northwest Syria on Wednesday, a war monitor said. The cause of the blast in the town of Jisr al-Shughur was not immediately clear, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The explosion hit next to the market," killing 13 civilians, including the daughter of a foreign fighter, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. "It is not known until now whether it was a car bomb, or the explosion of a car carrying explosives," he added. The Idlib region is under administrative control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. But the Turkestan Islamic Party, a group of foreign jihadists from the ethnic Uighur Muslim minority, also has a large presence in Jisr al-Shughur. The Islamic State jihadist group has sleeper cells in the wider Idlib region. Idlib has since September been protected from a massive regime offensive by a fragile ceasefire deal ...
Lanka bombings: Mortal remains of 9 Indians repatriated
The mortal remains of nine out of 10 Indians killed in the massive Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka have been sent to India, officials announced on Wednesday. According to the authorities, 10 Indians have lost their lives in Sri Lanka's worst terror attack that killed at least 359 people. India's High Commission here released the details of the repatriation of mortal remains of Indian victims in a series of tweets. The victims include S R Nagaraj, H Shivakumar, K G Hanumantraiyappa, K M Lakshminarayana, M Rangappa, V Tulasi Ram, A Maregowda, H Puttaraju and R Lakshman Gowda, according to the Indian mission. Four separate planes carrying the mortal remains of the nine Indians landed in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. So far 60 people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, police spokesman Ruwan Guansekera said, adding that more than 500 people have been injured in the bombings. Police said that as many as 34 foreign nationals who lost their lives have been identified. Of them, .
2 suicide bombers sons of Sri Lankan spice mogul
Two sons of millionaire businessman and spice trader Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim were among the suicide bombers who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka which killed at least 359 and injured hundreds, media reports said.
More civilians now killed by US, Afghan forces than by insurgents: UN
Afghan civilians are for the first time being killed in greater numbers by US and pro-government forces than by the Taliban and other insurgent groups, a UN report released Wednesday revealed. The bloody milestone comes as the US steps up its air campaign in Afghanistan while pushing for a peace deal with the Taliban, who now control or influence more parts of the country than at any time since they were ousted in 2001. During the first three months of 2019, international and pro-government forces were responsible for the deaths of 305 civilians, whereas insurgent groups killed 227 people, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a quarterly report. The majority of the deaths resulted from US air strikes or from search operations on the ground, primarily conducted by US-backed Afghan forces, some of which UNAMA said "appear to act with impunity". "UNAMA urges both the Afghan national security forces and international military forces to conduct ...
Zahran Hashim: radical Islamist linked to Sri Lanka blasts
For years, Sri Lanka's Muslim community warned authorities about a firebrand cleric. Now it seems Zahran Hashim may have played a key role in one of the worst attacks in the country's history. A video released Tuesday by the Islamic State group, which earlier claimed responsibility for the Easter attacks that killed over 350 people, appears to prominently feature Hashim. He appears to be the round-faced cleric in the footage -- the only one of the eight figures depicted whose face is uncovered. Dressed in a black tunic headscarf and carrying a rifle, Hashim is seen leading seven purported attackers in a pledge of allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. The other seven people in the video all wear the same black tunics but with their faces obscured by black-and-white checkered scarves. Sri Lanka's government had already pointed the finger at Hashim indirectly, calling the little-known Islamist group he was believed to lead -- the National Thowheeth Jama'ath -- its prime ...
9 suicide bombers, including woman took part in Easter Sunday bombings in Lanka: police
Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, were involved in the massive Easter Sunday bombings and 60 people have been arrested so far for their suspected links to Sri Lanka's worst terror attack that killed at least 359 people, a top police officer said Wednesday. Suicide bombers, believed to be members of local Islamist extremist group, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday. The state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardena said the multiple bomb attacks were carried out not by the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) but by its splinter group. Sri Lanka's government had earlier blamed the blasts on the NTJ. Wijewardena told reporters that the members of the group had differences and the final attack was carried out by a group that left the main NTJ. The Islamic State terror group has claimed the attack, although it did not provide direct evidence of its involvement. Wijewardena said there was no evidence at present ...
SL Police carry out controlled explosion in Colombo
The Sri Lankan police on Wednesday carried out a controlled explosion in the capital after a suspicious motorcycle was found parked on the main road.
SL blasts: 359 dead, FBI joins probe, 58 arrested (3rd Lead)
The US Embassy in Sri Lanka has said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was on the ground in the island nation to assist with its probe into the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that has left 359 people dead besides several hundreds injured.
SL blasts: 359 dead, FBI joins probe, 58 arrested 90 (2nd Lead)
The US Embassy in Sri Lanka has said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was on the ground in the island nation to assist with its probe into the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that has left 359 people dead besides several hundreds injured.
US denies possessing advance intel on Sri Lanka attacks
The US ambassador to Sri Lanka has denied the United States had prior knowledge of the Easter militant attacks that it passed to the Colombo government, CNN television reported Wednesday. "We had no prior knowledge of these attacks," US ambassador Alaina Teplitz told the US channel in an interview on the suicide attacks on Sunday that killed 359 people, including at least four Americans. A Sri Lankan minister had said earlier this week that India and the United States had provided information before the bombings on three churches and three hotels which authorities have blamed on a local Islamist group. "Well I can't speak for others. I don't know what other sources of information the government of Sri Lanka might have had. I can just tell you that we had no prior knowledge," the ambassador told CNN. "The Sri Lankan government has admitted lapses in their intelligence gathering and information sharing," Teplitz added. Sri Lankan authorities have started an investigation into how ...
Sri Lanka attacks: Death toll mounts to 359
The death toll in the multiple bomb blasts that rocked Sri Lanka during Easter celebrations has risen to 359, country's Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene told reporters here on Wednesday."The death toll has risen to 359, out of which 39 are foreign nations. 17 bodies of foreign nations have been identified and released to their families. The investigation is still being conducted by forces and intelligence agencies," said Wijewardene.Clearing on the suspected explosion near Savoy cinema in Colombo on Wednesday, the deputy defence minister said that it was a controlled blast carried out by Sri Lankan police."It was not a bomb. The Special Task Force had detected a suspicious motorbike and went up to it. They tried to open the seat but it got stuck, so they decided to have a controlled blast," said Wijewardene.On being asked about whether the Islamic state was behind the attack, the deputy defence minister said, "We are still conducting those investigations to see whether there .
Sri Lanka police carry out controlled explosion on motorcycle near cinema hall
Sri Lanka remained on high alert as police on Wednesday carried out a controlled explosion of a suspicious motorcycle parked near a cinema hall here. The police said that the area near the Savoy Cinema at Wellawatta, South Colombo was cleared and the controlled explosion was carried out by the bomb disposal squad to check the motorcycle which had no owner. No explosives were found in the vehicle. Sri Lankan police have asked all motorists and motor cyclists to leave their contact numbers in their vehicles when they leave them parked in the city. Security forces have launched nationwide search operations to nab the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks that claimed more than 350 lives. Several people have been arrested in connection with the attacks. The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the devastating blasts when seven suicide bombers carried out the series of blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, in the ..
17 coordinators appointed in Tripoli to help Indians leave Libya, says Sushma Swaraj
As the situation continues to deteriorate in Libya, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said that India has appointed 17 coordinators in the capital Tripoli to help Indians leave the country.Swaraj wrote on her official Twitter handle, "Tripoli - We have appointed 17 Coordinators to help Indians leaving Libya. Indian Embassy is helping them with Exit Visa even in cases where their visa has expired. Presently, the airport is operational. Please avail of this opportunity."Efforts to evacuate all Indians have been underway ever since tensions rose in Tripoli on April 4, when Khalifa Haftar announced an attack on the Libyan capital to capture the region from the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).Swaraj had earlier appealed to around 500 Indians living in Tripoli to leave the war-ravaged country immediately.India already removed its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising of 15 CRPF personnel on April 6 from Tripoli, a move which was followed by ...