Page 121 - War Conflict
Trump calls Sri Lankan PM to express condolences
US President Donald Trump Monday telephoned Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and pledged support in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the country's worst terror attacks that killed 290 people. Expressing his condolences over a series of devastating blasts at churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday which also wounded 500 people, Trump and Wickremesinghe discussed the ways to combat the issue of global terrorism. Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group carried out a string of blasts that rocked churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 290 people in the country's worst terror attack. Trump called Wickremesinghe "this morning" to express condolences to the people of Sri Lanka for the Easter day terrorist attacks that killed nearly 300 and wounded hundreds of others, White House said Monday. "The near simultaneous attacks on Sri Lankan churches and hotels constitute one of the deadliest terrorist events since .
Lanka blasts victims' kins endure pain, incomprehension
The relatives of the Sri Lanka blasts victims continued to pour into Colombo on Monday to identify their loved ones, killed in a series of coordinated attacks on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday. More than 290 people were killed and over 500 others injured in the attacks.
Saudi arrests 13 suspects day after IS-claimed attack
Saudi authorities arrested 13 "terrorist" suspects Monday a day after an attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a security services base north of the capital, state media said. Saudi Press Agency, quoting a state security spokesman, said the arrests were part of an investigation by authorities into "terrorist" activities. Authorities, it said, arrested 13 "terrorist" suspects who were "preparing to carry out criminal activities against the security of the country", the agency said. But it did not say if the arrests were linked to Sunday's attack or where they took place. SPA said four men who attacked Sunday a security services base in the province of Zulfi, northwest of the capital Riyadh, were all Saudi citizens. The men were killed by security forces as they stormed the building, and three Saudi policemen were wounded in the attack. IS claimed responsibility for Sunday's assault. The kingdom has seen numerous attacks in recent years by jihadists, including Al-Qaeda and IS, ..
Pompeo vows fight 'Islamic radical terrorism' after Sri Lanka blasts
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday vowed that the US will continue fighting "radical Islamic terror" and the "evil human beings" perpetrating it as he condemned Sri Lanka's worst terror attacks that claimed 290 lives. The Easter Sunday bombings were the deadliest violence Sri Lanka has witnessed since the end of the country's civil war in 2009. Pompeo has said America will continue fighting "radical Islamic terror", which he said remained a threat following the attacks in Sri Lanka. "Sadly, this evil exists in the world," he told reporters on Monday. "This is America's fight, too." Pompeo said that he had spoken to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over the telephone. He earlier tweeted to condemn the "brutal" attacks, adding that the US offered its "deepest condolences". "Radical Islamic terror remains a threat. We are continuing to do real work against these evil human beings," Pompeo told reporters. Asked if the threat showed the continued risks from the Islamic .
FIRs lodged after clash between Kanhaiya supporters, villagers
Cross FIRs were lodged on Monday in connection with an incident of clash between supporters of CPI candidate from Bihar's Begusarai seat Kanhaiya Kumar and a group of locals, police said. Two complaints have been lodged by both sides at Gadhpura police station about Sunday's clash, which erupted after the former JNU students' union president was shown black flags at Koray village here during a roadshow. Youths in the group had also raised slogans against Kumar, police said. Kumar is locked in a triangular fight with BJP candidate and Union minister Giriraj Singh, and RJD's Tanveer Hasan, in the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat, which would vote in fourth phase on April 29.
Security tightened in southern states after terror attack in Sri Lanka
Security in southern states, particularly in churches and other religious places, has been strengthened following the terrorists attack in Sri Lanka which has left 290 people dead, including eight Indians, and over 500 injured, officials said Monday. Security has also been stepped up in sensitive locations in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, and Goa, which is a major tourist destination, as a precautionary measure. Additional security arrangements in churches and other major religious sites in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been made in the wake of the multiple blasts in Sri Lanka on Sunday, a security official said. Indian agencies were also believed to have been helping the Sri Lankan investigators in cracking the case, another official said. Officials were, however, tight-lipped about reports which suggested that an Indian intelligence agency gave Sri Lankan authorities advance intimation about the possible terror ...
NC president Farooq Abdullah condemns Sri Lanka blasts
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Monday condemned the suicide blasts in Sri Lanka that left 290 people dead. He said the attack was a dreaded reminder that terror has no religion. "I take this opportunity to extend my condolences to all those Sri Lankans who are aggrieved at the loss of their loved ones," Abdullah said. "My thoughts are with the injured, I pray for their fast recovery. I pray that the world does not have to see such outrageous attacks in the future that claim many precious lives," the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said. He called for exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of these attacks.
Deve Gowda urges world community to come together to eliminate terrorism
Condemning yesterday's blasts in Sri Lanka, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Monday urged the world community to come together to eliminate terrorism."It is high time now the world community should come together to destroy this basic issue of eliminating terrorist activities," Gowda told ANI here.He condemned the attacks and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.At least 290 people were killed and over 500 injured after bombs went off at churches and hotels Negombo and Colombo on Sunday.Karnataka Chief Minister and his son H D Kumaraswamy has claimed that four Janata Dal (Secular) workers from Karnataka, who were on a visit to the island country, have lost their lives in the blasts.He, however, said that he did not discriminate between the Kannadigas and his party workers.A total of seven Indians have died in the blasts.The JD (S) leader also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was a mature, responsible and upcoming leader.
Pompeo vows fight on 'Islamic radical terrorism' after Sri Lanka attacks
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed Monday that the United States will keep fighting "radical Islamic terror" after devastating attacks in Sri Lanka that targeted churches on Easter and hotels. "Radical Islamic terror remains a threat. We are continuing to do real work against these evil human beings," Pompeo told reporters. "This is America's fight, too," added Pompeo, who said he had spoken by telephone with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Asked if the threat showed the continued risks from the Islamic State group, Pompeo said the United States had succeeded in destroying the movement's self-styled caliphate in Syria but needed to "remain active and vigilant" around the world. "Sadly, this evil exists in the world," he said.
2 more Indians among those killed in Sri Lanka blasts
Two more Indians, identified as Vemurai Tulsiram and S R Nagaraj, have lost their lives in the multiple blasts in Sri Lanka during Easter celebrations, the Indian High Commission confirmed.The death toll of Indians deceased in the incident now stands at seven.The Sri Lankan cities of Colombo, Negombo, Kochchikade and Batticaloa fell prey to a set of eight coordinated explosions as the Christian community celebrated Easter Sunday on April 21.A national emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka in the wake of the deadly blasts, which took the lives of 290 people and wounded 500 more. Out of these, at least 17 people have been recognised as foreign nationals.Apart from Tulsiram and Nagaraj, the other deceased Indians are K G Hanumantharayappa, M Rangappa, Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh, according to the Indian High Commission in Colombo.A "controlled explosion" was recorded near the St. Anthony's church in Kochchikade here on Monday, according to reports in Sri Lankan media. ..
Tough call for security forces in Anantnag in phase 3
The Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir goes to the polls in the third phase on Tuesday even as the security forces face a serious challenge to ensure that the democratic process passes off peacefully.
3 Lankan policemen killed in Easter blasts posthumously promoted
Three policemen, who were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up causing the concrete floor of a two-storey building to crash on them in the Sri Lankan capital, have been posthumously promoted. One Sub Inspector and two constables were killed during a raid at a house in Colombo north suburb of Orugodawatta at Dematagoda on Sunday. When they entered the house, a suicide bomber blew himself, killing all of them. "They have been posthumously promoted," Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said. The Sub-Police Inspector was posthumously promoted as an Inspector while the two constables have been promoted to the ranks of Sergeants, he said. Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group - the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) - carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others in the country's worst terror attack. No group has claimed ...
UN leaders strongly condemn Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka
The UN leadership strongly condemned the string of attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday that killed 290 people and injured more than 500 others, with the chief of the world body Antonio Guterres saying he was "outraged" by the devastating blasts. Eight blasts, including suicide attacks, targeted St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 am (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress. Explosions were reported from three five-star hotels - the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury in Colombo. Six Indians were among 290 people killed in the attack which shattering a decade of peace in the island nation since the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE. In a statement issued by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Guterres said he was "outraged by the terrorist attacks" on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on ...
Goa governor condoles Sri Lanka attacks
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha Monday condoled the bombings in Sri Lanka stating that violence committed in the name of religion is a "sin on humanity". In her message addressing Archbishop of Goa Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao, the governor also said that war against terror should be the top priority of the world. The governor has expressed shock over the "heinous and despicable act of terror that took place in Sri Lanka on Easter day, which included suicide attacks in churches and luxury hotels that killed over 210 people and injured nearly 500". "While all of us were celebrating Easter in a great zeal, Sri Lanka was struck by this cruel violence. It is heart-rending to know that around 215 people, including three Indians, were killed and around 500 were left injured. "In the otherwise peaceful island of Sri Lanka, this is the deadliest attack on mankind in the last decade," reads her message. The governor further said that such act of violence, bigotry and pogrom has no place in ..
Sri Lanka shows religious extremism's ugly face: CPI-M
The horrific killings in Sri Lanka show "how terror motivated by religious extremism is increasingly targeting minorities in the respective countries of South
India intensifies coastal security after Sri Lanka blasts
Patrolling along India's eastern Coast has been intensified by the coastal security agencies in a coordinated manner to foil any infiltration in wake of the serial suicide bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, a senior police officer said on Monday.
Lankan Buddhist monks visit bombed church; say 'we don't have any anger' against other religions
A small group of monks in saffron robes visited the bombed St Anthony's Church here on Monday and said they dont have any anger or ill will towards anyone of any other religion in the Buddhist-majority nation. The Buddhist monks visited the historic Catholic church located at Kochchikade, a day after a suicide bomber reportedly triggered a huge blast, killing many worshippers who had gathered for the Easter Sunday morning mass. Venerable Prof Pitigala Vijitha Thero was outside St Anthony's Shrine said he was "extremely saddened and grieved" by the incidnet. "Since the (civil) war, people belonging to all religions and faiths had been co-existing and living together in unity and harmony. This is not something that anyone could have anticipated," he told the BBC. He said he condemned the attacks, but "we don't have any anger or ill will towards anyone of any other religion". "I pray that peace prevails - not only in this country, but in the whole world," he said. Sri Lanka is a country .
3 kids of Danish billionaire killed in Sri Lanka
Three of the four children of Danish billionaire fashion tycoon behind the online clothing retailer Asos have died in the Sri Lanka suicide bombings, a spokesman for the fashion firm said on Monday.
'Controlled explosion' reported near Colombo church
A "controlled explosion" was recorded near the St. Anthony's church in Kochchikade here on Monday, according to reports in Sri Lankan media.The fresh explosion took place when Sri Lanka's Special Task Force's (STF) bomb disposal units were diffusing an explosive device found inside a van stationed near the church, Sri Lankan news portal Ada Derana reported.The damage caused by the latest explosion is yet to be revealed.This comes as 87 low explosive detonators were found at a private bus stand in Bastian Mawatha, in Pettah, as per the Police Media Spokesperson.The toll in the eight coordinated bomb blasts that rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday rose to 290, police said on Monday.Meanwhile, 24 people were arrested in connection with the gruesome attacks which left around 500 people injured.A national emergency has been declared across Sri Lanka in the wake of the blasts, the worst violence in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war 10 years ago.Police also said that an improvised pipe .
Sri Lanka announces compensation for bomb blast victims
The Sri Lankan government on Monday announced that it will compensate the victims of the ghastly bomb blasts that hit churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing over 290 people and injuring over 500 others during Easter celebrations, according to a media report. Eight coordinated explosions targeted Easter worshippers and high end hotels popular with international guests. The blasts targeted St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 am (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress. Three explosions were reported from the five-star hotels - the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury. Foreigners and locals who were injured in hotel blasts were admitted to the Colombo General Hospital. Government spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said that the each victim in the attacks will be paid 1 million Sri Lankan rupees (USD 5,722), while about 100,000 Sri ...