Page 12 - War Conflict
Overground workers of Hizbul Mujahideen arrested in J-K's Shopian
Security forces have arrested five overground workers of proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said Wednesday. "Based on specific input, police arrested five associates of terrorists from Shopian district," an official spokesman said. He said on IED, which the militants were planning to use against security forces, was recovered at the instance of arrested persons. The arrested individuals have been identified as Aqib Nazir Rathar, Amir Majeed Wani, Sameer Ahmed Bhat, Faisal Farooq Ahanger and Rayees Ahmed Ganai, the official said. "During questioning of the arrested persons, it was revealed that terrorists of proscribed outfit HM, along with above stated associates, were planning to target police and security forces by planting an IED in the area," he said.
Database says 91,600 killed in Yemen fighting since 2015
Yemen's civil war has killed at least 91,600 people so far, a database tracking violence said Wednesday, presenting a new estimate after completing reporting for the first months of fighting in 2015. The conflict began with the 2014 takeover over of northern and central Yemen by the Iranian-backed rebels, driving out the internationally recognized government from the capital, Sanaa. Months later, in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched its air campaign to prevent the rebels, known as Houthis, from overrunning the country's south. In the relentless campaign, Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties and killed thousands of Yemeni civilians. The Houthis have used drones and missiles to attack Saudi Arabia and have targeted vessels in the Red Sea. Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has created what the United Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED, said that
J-K: Police bust Hizbul Mujahideen module, arrest 5 terrorists
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday busted a module of Hizbul Mujahideen and arrested five terrorists during an operation.An improvised explosive device (IED) was found during the raid, the police said.The terrorists were planning to target police and security forces by planting explosives in the Shopian region, they said.
3 suspected IS supporters planned attacks on temples, churches: Police
Three suspected IS sympathisers, who were arrested recently, were planning to carry out terror attacks on temples and churches in and around the city, police said on Wednesday. According to the FIR registered against the trio -- Shahjahan, Mohammed Hussain and Sheikh Safiullah -- they had conspired to carry out suicide attacks at temples, churches and places where people gathered in large numbers. Based on inputs, the police kept the three under watch and claimed to have found them watching video clippings of the Islamic State (IS). They were arrested on Saturday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The arrests came days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided seven locations in the city and arrested Mohammed Azarudeen, the alleged mastermind of the IS Tamil Nadu module, who was a Facebook friend of Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the Easter Sunday suicide bombings in Sri Lanka.
ITBP personnel perform yoga with dogs in tow
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel from Animal Training School (ATS) located at Lohitpur performed Yoga with dogs, ahead of International Yoga Day on June 21.ITBP personnel performed asanas along with dogs on the river bank near ATS situated in beautiful Lohit valley of Arunachal Pradesh. Photographs of the event show the dogs, doing the yoga asanas along with their masters. One picture shows the soldiers standing in ankle-deep water twisting to complete a posture with the dogs cradled in their arms.Earlier this month, personnel from the central armed force performed yoga at an altitude of 18,000 feet in freezing Ladakh."Himveers of ITBP gearing up for 5th International Day of Yoga at 18,000 feet in Ladakh", ITBP tweeted along with a video clip.ITBP is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of India and is deployed along India's border of Tibet.International Yoga Day is celebrated throughout the world on 21 June every year. The concept of Yoga Day was formally promoted
Oppn seeks cyber probe in budget 'leak' on FM's Twitter a/c
Opposition legislators on Wednesday demanded a probe by the cyber cell into the alleged "leak" of Maharashtra budget provisions on Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar's Twitter handle before presentation in the Assembly. NCP leader Jayant Patil said in the state Assembly that thebudget provisions were known outside before the finance minister's presentation in the Lower House on Tuesday. He lamented that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mungantiwar justified the tweets. Fadnavis and Mungantiwar on Tuesday dismissed the budget "leak" charge, saying the provisions were put out on Twitter 15 minutes after the finance minister began his budget speech in the Assembly. "This is not justified," Patil said and demanded that the cyber crime investigation cell probe the alleged leak. To this, Speaker Haribhau Bagade said he would accept the demand for probe if sufficient proof was submitted. Earlier several lawmakers, including NCP's Ajit Pawar, Patil and Dhananjay Munde, held .
Odisha CM announces Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia for jawan's kin
Expressing grief over the death of Odia Army jawan Naik Ajit Kumar Sahoo in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the next of the kin of the deceased. While condemning the terrorist act, Patnaik said the assistance will be given from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. "Martyr Sahoo has made supreme sacrifice for the nation," the chief minister said. "Deeply saddened by the martyrdom of Odia jawan Ajit Kumar Sahoo in an encounter with militants in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Salute to the supreme sacrifice of the brave soldier, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family," the CM tweeted. Sahoo, who hailed from Badasuanla village under Kamakshya Nagar block of Dhenkanal district, was hit by an IED blast in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday. He had sustained injuries in the blast at Arihal and succumbed on Tuesday. Sahoo had joined the Indian Army in 2015. Nine Army personnel ...
Iraqi official: Rocket hits oil site, wounds 3 Iraqi workers
Iraqi officials say a rocket hit an oil-drilling site in southern Basra province, striking a camp housing energy giant Exxon Mobil and wounding three local workers, one seriously. Security official Mahdi Raykan says a Katyusha rocket landed early Wednesday in the Zubair and Rumeila oil fields camp, operated by the Iraqi Drilling company, where Exxon Mobil has tents. Exxon Mobil, based in Irving, Texas, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In May, it evacuated staff from the West Qurna 1 oil field in Basra province. As tensions escalate between Iran and the US, there're concerns Iraq could once again get caught in the middle. The country hosts more than 5,000 US troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those US forces to leave.
Cong slams govt over terror attacks in J&K, demands answer for 'intel failure'
The Congress hit out at the Centre on Wednesday over the deaths of soldiers in recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the Modi government will have to answer for the "intelligence failure". Four soldiers have been killed in the last 24 hours in Jammu and Kashmir -- Major Ketan Sharma, Rifleman Anil Kumar Jaswal, Havildar Amarjeet Kumar and Naik Ajit Kumar -- Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. In all, 10 soldiers were killed over the last week, he added. "I salute their sacrifice for the motherland," Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi. Two soldiers were killed and several injured in a terror attack on an Army vehicle in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, he said. "This is completely a big intelligence failure of the government," the Congress leader said in another tweet. He pointed out that five jawans were killed in an attack on CRPF personnel in Anantnag last week, and asked whether any lesson was learnt. Seven civilians were seriously injured in a terror ...
38 killed in attacks on Mali villages
Thirty-eight people were killed and many others wounded in attacks on two ethnic Dogon villages in central Mali, the government said Tuesday, in the latest in a cycle of violence in the volatile Sahel country. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks but Mali has seen a spate of massacres this year between ethnic Dogon and Fulani communities. "The terrorist attacks on Monday evening targeted the villages of Gangafani and Yoro... not far from the border with Burkina Faso. The official provisional toll is 38 dead and numerous people wounded," the Malian government said in a statement. "Defence and security forces have been dispatched to the location to protect the population and their property and to track down the assailants of these attacks," the statement added, revising upwards an earlier toll of 14 dead.. Goundjou Poudiougou, a local community official, said around a dozen bodies had been counted in both villages. "They are terrorists because they killed and
Govt restores provision of 'ration in kind', Rajnath says will leave no stone unturned in lifting morale of forces
In a move welcomed by the defence forces, Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh on Tuesday announced the restoration of the 'Ration in Kind' for military officers posted in peace areas.Asserting that he feels honoured, Singh said: "I will leave no stone unturned to lift the morale of armed forces and support their families. By restoring Ration in Kind for officers of the three services I feel honoured that I got an opportunity to do something for the Armed Forces."On 1 July 2017 ration entitlement to officers of Indian armed forces deployed at Peace stations was revoked as part of recommendations given by the 7th pay commission.After nearly 2 years, the government has agreed to take back its decision and restore the ration entitlement.The said decision has been taken up by the government in view of the operational concerns being flagged by the armed forces on the issue.The matter was pending with the Finance Ministry after the Army had sent a proposal through Defence Ministry last .
People are laughing at Kishan Reddy for calling Hyderabad a terrorist hub: KCR
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday hit out at MoS Home G Kishan Reddy for calling Hyderabad a hub of ISIS and said that the latter has become a 'laughing stock' by making such comments."People are laughing at MoS G Kishan Reddy for his statement that Hyderabad is an ISIS hub. He has become a laughing stock. Hyderabad is a peaceful city," Chief Minister Rao told ANI.Rao further claimed that communal tensions have decreased in the region in the last five years. "If we see the history of Andhra Pradesh every year many cases of communal tension were reported. But, in the last five years of our governance, there was no single communal tension in the state. The crime rate has drastically come down. It is madness to say that this place is adda (hub) for terrorists. No single terrorist act was reported here in last five years," he said.The Chief Minister made the statement after Reddy claimed that Hyderabad had become a safe haven for terrorists. Reddy also linked ...
Suspected jihadists kill 15 soldiers at Nigerian army base
Suspected jihadists killed 15 soldiers at an army base in restive northeast Nigeria, stealing weapons before looting shops in a nearby town, military sources said Tuesday. The raids late Monday came a day after 30 people were killed in a triple suicide bombing that also bore the hallmarks of the Boko Haram group. "Fifteen bodies of soldiers have so far been recovered in a search and rescue operation," a military officer, who asked not to be named, told AFP after the latest attack. "This figure could change as the operation is still ongoing and many troops remain unaccounted" for. Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed some 27,000 people and displaced about two million in Nigeria. The latest assault targeted a base outside the town of Gajiram, 80 kilometres (50 miles), north of the Borno state capital Maiduguri. The assailants were suspected to be from an IS-affiliated Boko Haram faction known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). They arrived on nine ...
Islamists kill 15 soldiers at Nigerian army base: military source
Suspected Boko Haram islamists killed fifteen soldiers in an attack on an army base in northeast Nigeria, military sources said Tuesday. "Fifteen bodies of soldiers have so far been recovered in a search and rescue operation," a military officer, who asked not to be named, told AFP. "This figure could change as the operation is still ongoing and many troops remain unaccounted" for after the attack late Monday.
Almost 700 dead, over 4,000 wounded in Tripoli clashes
Tripoli, June 19 (IANS/AKI) Scores of civilians are among at least 691 people killed and 4,012 injured in the battle for control of Tripoli since eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar began an assault on the Libyan capital in early April, according to the United Nations.
Hong Kong: Carrie Lam publicly apologises for extradition bill
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader, Carrie Lam, on Tuesday publicly apologised for having proposed controversial legislation that would allow criminal suspects to mainland China for persecution."I offer my most sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong," The New York Times quoted Lam as saying during a press conference at the government headquarters here.She added, "I've still got much to learn and do in better balancing diverse interests, in listening more to all walks of life and in taking our society forward."However, the leader, who had already announced the extradition bill's indefinite suspension, did not concede to protesters' demands that it be withdrawn entirely. Instead, she said that as long as there were public disputes over its contents, legislative work on it would not be resumed.Without further giving in to the demands of protestors who sought for her resignation, Lam noted that she would not resign as Hong Kong's chief executive, but acknowledged that "as for my ...
Sri Lankan Armed Forces delegation visits Gaya
The four-day visit of Sri Lankan Armed Forces delegation to the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Gaya ended on Tuesday."A delegation of Sri Lankan Armed Forces comprising of 160 members, led by Colonel WDM Kumarasinghe, OTA, Gaya from June 15 to June 18. Sri Lanka is India's oldest and closest maritime neighbor with deep historical and cultural ties," a press release by the OTA read.The press release added that the Lankan candidates got training at the facility as they have since the establishment and added the delegation also visited places of religious interest in and around Gaya."Sri Lankan cadets are undergoing training at OTA since it's establishment at Gaya. During the four days long visit to Gaya, the delegation visited various places of religious interest at Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, and Nalanda. The delegation also interacted with Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, VSM, Commandant OTA and discussed various issues regarding the training of gentleman Cadets with faculty and staff," the press .
Maharashtra's please-all budget with deficit of Rs 20,293 cr
With an eye on the upcoming assembly elections, Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Tuesday presented an additional please-all state budget with a revenue deficit of Rs 20,293 crore, which is considerably higher than last' year's shortfall of Rs 14,960 crore.
Congratulation to Armed Forces for neutralising mastermind of Pulwama attack: Ravinder Raina
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina on Tuesday congratulated the armed forces for killing Pulwama terror accused Sajjad Ahmad Bhat and one other terrorist in a joint operation."A joint operation by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and paramilitary forces has led to the neutralization of terrorist Sajjad Ahmad Bhat. Bhat was the mastermind in the suicide bombing on the CRPF convoy in the Pulwama district which took lives of 44 CRPF men, I congratulate the forces for that," Raina told ANI here.He added that not only Bhat was the mastermind behind the suicide bombing attack but his car had also been used to carry out the attack."The plot was finalised at Bhat's residence and the suicide bomber got training at Bhat's house. His car was also used in the attack, the real culprit of the Pulwama attack is killed and the credit goes to our forces, with the kind of action being taken by the forces recently the valley will soon be terror free again," Raina said.Earlier today, two
Def Min Rajnath, Army chief pay homage to Major killed in Kashmir encounter
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat Tuesday paid homage to Major Ketan Sharma who died fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The 29-year-old officer was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir district Monday. A militant was also killed in the gun fight which broke out after the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area. Singh and Rawat laid wreath on the body of Sharma at the Palam Technical Area here. "Paid tributes to Major Ketan Sharma who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting against the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Major Sharma fought valiantly like a true soldier. My heart goes out to his bereaved family," Singh tweeted. The body was later taken to Meerut, Uttar Pradesh from where the officer hails.
