Page 160 - War Conflict
10 farmers killed in attack in northern Nigeria: police
Armed men suspected of belonging to gangs involved in cattle rustling and kidnapping in northern Nigeria, attacked a village in Zamfara state leaving 10 people dead, a police spokesman said on Monday. Gunmen on motorcycles invaded onion fields on Saturday outside the village of Kware in the Shinkafi district and shot dead farmers at work, Mohammed Shehu said. "We received a report of an attack in Kware by bandits in which 10 people were killed," Shehu said. "Security personnel were dispatched to the area to restore order," the spokesman said. He did not give details of the reason for the attack, but residents said it could be in reprisal for a recent military operation against the bandits in the area. Last week troops deployed in the state to fight the criminal gangs raided two of their training camps in north and northwest Nigeria. "We believe they attacked to avenge the killings of their comrades by soldiers who destroyed two camps belonging the bandits," said Kware resident Hashimu
Three Naxals held in Dantewada, explosives recovered
ThreeNaxals including a woman were arrested in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district while they were allegedly planning to plant bombs to target security personnel during the Lok Sabha polls, a police official said Sunday. Explosives, including a 'tiffin bomb' and three grenade-headed arrows were recovered from them, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava told PTI. Acting on specific information, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and District Force of the police arrested Bhima Potam (23), Aaytu Atra (25) and Lachhi Atra (33), a woman, from Raja Bangla area Saturday evening, he said. All three were members of the 'jan militia' of the Maoists in Bhairmgarh area of neighbouring Bijapur district for the past several years, he said. Two bags containing a tiffin bomb (explosives packed in a tiffin box), a locally-made hand grenade, three 'arrow bombs' (arrows with grenades attached to the tip), three gelatin rods and an electronic detonator .
Supporters of BJP candidate, sitting MP clash in Balaghat
Supporters of the BJP candidate from Balaghat Lok Sabha seat Dhal Singh Bisen and sitting MP Bodh Singh Bhagat clashed Sunday over the party's denial to renominate the latter. Police had to resort to a mild baton charge in which no one was injured, said Kotwali police station officer Mahendra Singh Thakur. He said Bhagat's supporters laid siege to the local BJP office between 11am to 3pm and locked it, after which they were baton charged. Two days ago, the BJP had dropped Bhagat and replaced him with Bisen. This had angered Bhagat's supporters who wanted the party to rethink its decision and give him another chance to contest, BJP functionaries said. The situation was defused by BJP MLA Gaurishankar Bisen who arrived there and got the office unlocked, they said. Balaghat BJP president Ramesh Singh said he would submit a report to the party's leadership on the incident. Meanwhile, some Bhagat supporters were heard saying they would quit the BJP if the situation was not ...
Those who robbed country will have to return every single penny: PM Modi
In a strong message to those who are absconding after looting the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that he would ensure that they return every penny to the country."Those who have robbed the country will have to return every single penny. Since 2014, I have been doing all things to ensure absconders face the law of the land," he said."They are being sent to jails. Some are out on bail and asking for some dates. They are absconding due to fear," said Prime Minister Modi while speaking at "Main Bhi Chowkidar" programme here."Because of our laws, they are returning the money. They did corruption of Rs 9,000 crore and now Rs 14,000 is in the government's custody. Their properties--wherever in the world--will be seized," he said.The Prime Minister said: "Some people say in foreign courts that the condition in India's prisons is not good. I cannot give a good prison to the prisoners better than where the Britishers had kept Gandhi ji." "Our principle has been to reward .
Nine injured in communal clash in Ahmedabad district
Nine persons were injured, two of them seriously, when members of two communities clashed near Viramgam town in Ahmedabad district Sunday, police said. The two groups attacked each other with sticks and pelted stones, a local police official said. A police team too came under attack when it went to arrest the culprits, he said. Some members of the Muslim community objected to women from another community drying clothes on an under-construction wall around a burial ground which led to the clash, Ahmedabad (Rural) Superintendent of Police R V Asari said. Two persons sustained fractures and seven others sustained minor injuries in the incident, said inspector U B Dhakhada of Viramgam Police Station. The police brought the situation under control by firing tear-gas shells and arrested some persons, he said. Security has been tightened in the area, the inspector added.
6 booked for not depositing weapons in J-K's Kishtwar
Six persons were booked on Sunday for not depositing their licensed weapons in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. In run up to the Lok Sabha elections, the district magistrate of Kishtwar had issued an order on February 28, directing all licensed weapon owners to deposit their weapons at concerned police stations. "Since the last date for depositing such weapons has expired, consequently police lodged FIRs in different police stations against the persons who failed to deposit their weapons thus violating the order," a police spokesman said. He said police is also identifying more persons who have not yet deposited their licensed weapons so that action can be taken.
London police appeal for info after series of stabbings
London police are searching for a man who is believed to have stabbed four people in a series of unprovoked attacks. The Metropolitan Police Service says two of the victims are in critical condition. Officers are warning there will be increased police activity in the Edmonton area of north London after the four attacks, which occurred over 15 hours Saturday night and Sunday morning. Police say the attacks are not terror-related. Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Smillie says the victims "appear to have been selected at random" because they were alone and vulnerable. The attacks come amid an escalation of knife-related crime in Britain. Authorities have announced that some police forces have been given greater powers to stop and search suspects without reasonable suspicion in an effort to stop future attacks.
Back home, Afghan veterans of Syria war seen as Iran's pawns
An impoverished teenager, Mehdi, joined the wave of Afghans who left their homeland, dreaming of reaching Europe to find work. Where he ended up was entirely different: On the battlefields of Syria's civil war, in a militia created by Iran. Mehdi was one of tens of thousands of Afghans recruited and trained by Iran to fight in support of Tehran's ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. In Syria, he was thrown into one of the war's bloodiest battles, surrounded by the bodies of his comrades, under fire from Islamic militants so close he could hear their shouts of "Allahu akbar" before each mortar blast. Iran created a network of militias made up of Shiites from across the region and used it to save Assad from the uprising against his rule not only Afghans but also Pakistanis, Iraqis and Lebanese. Now with the 8-year war in Syria winding down, the question is what will Tehran do with those well-trained, well-armed forces. Mehdi and other soldiers-for-hire from Afghanistan's impoverished ..
SP-rank officer to lead CRPF convoys in Kashmir; maximum 40 vehicles at one time
CRPF convoys moving to and from the Kashmir Valley will now be commandeered by a higher SP-rank officer and a single motorcade will not have more than 40 vehicles at any point of time, the paramilitary force has ordered in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 troops during a similar movement. PTI has accessed a set of new standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the force headquarters in Delhi for vehicle-mounted movement of troops in Jammu and Kashmir, and it has also been ordered that the 'passenger manifest discipline' for each vehicle in the convoy be strictly adhered to. Amongst the first set of changed SOPs is the move to depute a second-in-command rank officer (equivalent to Superintendent of Police rank) of the force to lead the convoy instead of the current practice of a junior Assistant Commandant-rank (Assistant SP) officer heading the entourage. This is to ensure that the convoy is led by an experienced and senior officer who will have a better ...
Sri Lanka's Karunaratne arrested for drunk driving
Sri Lanka's Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne was on Sunday arrested for drunk driving after he was involved in an accident that put the driver of a three-wheeler in hospital.
Philippine police kill 14 men rights groups say were farmers
Philippine police said Sunday 14 suspected communist rebels were killed after they opened fire during raids in a central province but rights groups countered the men were farmers and the latest victims of extrajudicial killings. Dozens of police, backed by army troops, were to conduct court-authorised home searches Saturday in a city and two towns in Negros Oriental province when the 14 men violently fought back. A police officer was shot in the leg and wounded in the anti-insurgency and criminality sweep that also led to the arrests of 15 other suspects, police officials said. Regional police chief Debold Sinas said six suspected insurgents and rebel supporters escaped. Law enforcers seized three shotguns, 25 pistols, a homemade rifle, three grenades, ammunition and rebel documents in the simultaneous raids in Canlaon city, where eight suspects were gunned down, and the towns of Manjuyod and Santa Catalina, where the rest were killed in the reported gunbattles. "There were 14 ...
Defence Cyber Agency to empower Indian armed forces
As cyber threats from nation-state bad actors grow exponentially, India urgently requires to enhance the cyber capabilities of its armed forces, including the operationalisation of a Defence Cyber Agency, a new report has emphasised.
Afghan Vice President narrowly escapes Taliban's ambush
Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum on Saturday (local time) escaped unhurt from a Taliban attack in Balkh province.However, Dostum's bodyguard was killed in the attack."Attackers ambushed Dostum's convoy on Saturday on the way from Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in Balkh province, to Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan," said Aljazeera quoting Bashir Ahmad Tayenj, a spokesman for Dostum's Junbish Party.The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. "Four guards were killed and six wounded in the attack," said Taliban's spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.This is the second attack on Dostum in last one year. Dostum had a close shave in Kabul airport's suicide bombing attack in July in which 23 people were killed.
Jihadists kill three civilians in Burkina attack: security sources
Three civilians were killed in a jihadist attack on Sunday in Yendere in western Burkina Faso, near the border with Ivory Coast, security sources said. The town was attacked "by a group of armed individuals," two of whom were killed by authorities, a source told AFP. "Three civilians, all passengers in a public transport vehicle, were killed," said the source, describing the assailants as jihadist "terrorists". "Two assailants were killed by security forces in response. There were no victims among the security forces." This is the first attack in the violence-ridden country to claim lives so near the border with Ivory Coast. Two civilians were injured in the attack, according to a different security source. Yendere was the target of a similar attack earlier this month, which claimed no victims. on Thursday, four Burkina Faso paramilitary police members died in an attack on a base near the border with Mali, a region that sees frequent attacks by jihadists, security sources said. The .
Four killed as thousands protest at border, but Gaza-Israel truce holds
Tens of thousands of Gazans gathered at the Israeli border Sunday to mark a year since protests and clashes erupted there, but fears of mass bloodshed were averted after late Egyptian-led negotiations. Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, one during an overnight demonstration and three 17-year-olds in clashes later Saturday, the health ministry in Gaza City said. Another 316 Gazans were wounded. But fears of a repeat of similar protests and clashes to those that saw more than 60 Palestinians killed on May 14, when the United States transferred its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, did not materialise. Israel deployed several thousand troops along the border, with the anniversary coming at a sensitive time ahead of its April 9 elections. Egypt tried to mediate between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas to rein in violence. Hamas officials say an understanding was reached that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of Gaza in exchange for the protests remaining calm. ..
Fourth Palestinian killed in Israel border clashes: Gaza ministry
A fourth Palestinian died from Israeli fire in clashes sparked by mass demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday, the health ministry in the enclave said. Billal al-Najjar, 17, was shot by Israeli forces east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, it said in a statement. Two others aged 17 and a 20-year-old man were killed, according to ministry statements, as tens of thousands gathered to mark the first anniversary of weekly protests along the frontier.
Afghan vice president survives Taliban attack
Taliban fighters on Saturday attacked a convoy carrying Afghanistan's vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum, in an assault that left the former warlord unscathed but killed one of his bodyguards, an official told AFP. Enayatullah Babur, Dostum's former chief of staff, said the hour-long attack also left several others in the convoy wounded. The attack occurred in the northern province of Balkh, where Dostum had held a rally earlier in the day. On Twitter, a Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group had carried out the attack and claimed four of Dostum's bodyguards had been killed. Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader, is notorious in Afghanistan for extreme barbarities and for repeatedly switching loyalties over 40 years of conflict. Despite a catalogue of war crimes attached to his name and accusations of organising the rape and torture of a political rival, Dostum became Afghanistan's first vice president in 2014. At the rally in Balkh, Dostum had claimed he could clear northern ...
Indian Navy inducts sixth indigenous transport ship
The sixth indigenously designed and built transport ship has been inducted into the Indian Navy, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday. LCU L56 is the sixth ship of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy, it said in a statement. Amphibious operations capability including transport of troops, tanks and equipment will get enhanced with the addition of this LCU which will be based at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the statement said. The ship is commanded by Lt Cdr Gopinath Narayan and has a compliment of five officers and 50 sailors, it added.
Blast damages CRPF vehicle in J&K, NIA probes (3rd Lead)
An explosion destroyed a car on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Banihal area on Saturday, sparking panic and slightly damaging one of the CRPF vehicles moving as part of a convoy, authorities said.
Cong fulfilling Gandhiji's dream of disbandment: Mungantiwar
Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar Saturday said the Congress, with its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi's wish that the opposition party be disbanded. He said the Congress had coined terms like "maut ka saudagar". "khoon ka dalal" for the PM and also said made casteist slurs. Speaking to reporters at the state BJP office, Mungantiwar, also Maharashtra finance minister, said, "Mahatma Gandhi was of the firm view that the Congress was meant only to attain freedom and not for power (and hence should be disbanded post Independence)." "Today, the Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi is working to fulfil the Mahatma's dream through self-annihilation with its criticism of the Prime Minister," he claimed. Mocking the Congress for releasing a booklet detailing "100 mistakes" of PM Modi and calling him Shishupal, a mythological character in the Mahabharata, Mungantiwar said the opposition party was playing the "same cassette" ..