Page 168 - War Conflict
90 Taliban fighters killed in Afghanistan: Police
More than 100 people, including 13 civilians, have been killed as government forces and Taliban fighters intensified operations over control of Talawka area in Afghanistan's Kunduz city, police said on Sunday.
Opposition questioning valour of armed forces: Rajnath
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Sunday accused some opposition parties of questioning the valour of the armed forces in the wake of the IAF air strike inside Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack. "The irony is that there are some political parties in the country which are more worried about the surgical strike than Pakistan," he said at an event organised in his parliamentary constituency of Lucknow. "They are even asking how may persons were killed in the air strike," added Singh, who was on his first visit to the Uttar Pradesh capital after being re-nominated as the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha polls. "Rival political parties are raising questions on the courage and valour of our armed forces," he said further. Upon his arrival earlier in the day, the home minister said that he had taken several steps to transform Lucknow into a world-class city. "Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted to make Lucknow a beautiful, world-class city," Singh said. In the last five ...
Caliphate in ruins - and al-Baghdadi's rise and fall
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became on one of the world's most-wanted terrorist leaders when he proclaimed the Islamic State terror organization's so-called caliphate from a pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014.
Death toll from central Mali massacre up to 134, says UN
The death toll from a massacre in a central Malian village rose to 134 dead, the UN said, as new video emerged Sunday showing victims strewn on the ground amid the burning remains of their homes. An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday. Among the victims in Ogossogou were pregnant women, small children and the elderly, according to a Peuhl group known as Tabital Pulaaku. Graphic video obtained by The Associated Press shows the aftermath of Saturday's attack, with many victims burned inside their homes. A small child's body is covered with a piece of fabric, and at one point an ID card is shown covered with blood. In the capital of Bamako, visiting UN Security Council President Francois Delattre, condemned the killings as an "unspeakable attack" late Saturday. At least 55 people were wounded and the UN mission in Mali said it was "working to ensure the wounded were ...
Sitharaman slams Cong, Oppn for questioning IAF air strikes
Hitting out at the Opposition and Congress in particular over questioning the air strikes inside Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack, Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman Sunday said the BJP government gave freedom to the armed forces to act and they delivered. Not respecting armed forces, but to bring them to shame to make them kneel down to their interests and even defame them has been the approach of the Congress party, Sitharaman alleged. "None of their (Congress) alliance partners be it from the Communists to the regional parties who are their friends today could even say please don't make badnaam of our armed forces," she said at an event here. "Today they shed crocodile tears for Pulwama," she alleged. The government, Sitharaman said, had credible information that more such (Pulwama like) suicide terror attacks may happen and to prevent such attacks "we had to take a pre-emptive strike in Balakot." Sitharaman was addressing an ex-servicemen and intellectuals meet here
Centre enhances VIP cover of UP Deputy CM Maurya, accords fresh one to Sharma
The Centre has sanctioned an upgraded and fresh VIP security cover to the two Deputy Chief Ministers of the BJP-led government in UttarPradesh in view of possible threats to them during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, officials said. They said while the existing central paramilitary commandos contingent of Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya has been enhanced to an all-India level, another Deputy CM of the state, Dinesh Sharma, has been accorded a similar paraphernalia, afresh. While Maurya already had a 'Y+' category cover of the CRPF during his movement in UP, he will now have the sanctioned 3-4 armed commandos for security across the country. Sharma has been given the same category of VIP security cover on an all-India basis, they said. The 'Y+' cover has about 3-4 commands who are armed with sophisticated rifles like AK-47s and possess mobile armour gadgets. The two UP politicians are expected to traverse the length and breadth of the country during the Lok Sabha polls, that will see its .
Soldier killed in ceasefire violation along LoC in J-K
A soldier was killed Sunday when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages with heavy caliber weapons and rockets along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, a defence spokesperson said. The Indian Army retaliated in strong measure, inflicting adequate damage and casualties to Pakistani troops, Jammu-based Public Relations Officer (defence) Lt Col Devender Anand said. He said grenadier Hari Bhakar, a resident of Rajasthan's Nagaur district, was seriously injured and admitted to the nearest field hospital, but succumbed later, taking the number of Army personnel killed since last week to three. On March 18, rifleman Karamjeet Singh was killed in Pakistani firing in Rajouri district, while rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan troops in the same sector on March 21. Col Anand said heavy caliber weapons and rockets were also fired from across the border in unprovoked firing by Pakistan ...
Blast kills 8 children collecting scrap metal in Sudan
Sudanese officials say eight children have been killed in an explosion near a military facility where they were searching for scrap metal to resell. The officials say the explosion happened Saturday in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital, Khartoum. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters. The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, an independent professional union, says seven children died at the scene and the eighth succumbed to wounds in a hospital. The committee is part of an umbrella opposition movement that has been organising street protests since December calling on President Omar al-Bashir to resign. A security crackdown has killed dozens of people.
CAPFs asks govt for new assessment system to 'weed out' unfit personnel
The central paramilitary forces have asked the government to bring a new assessment system that would annually "weed out" unfit personnel as over 55,000 troops in their combat ranks are in the "low medical category". The recommendation was made after the Union Home Ministry, under which these internal security forces function, recently held a meeting with all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) at the North Block here. The six CAPFs are the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Assam Rifles. The meeting was called in the wake of a recent Delhi High Court directive to increase the retirement age of jawans and officers, up to the rank of commandant, in these forces from 57 to 60 years, like that in the CISF and the Assam Rifles. The court had called the current policy of different age of superannuation in four paramilitary forces .
Driver working with NBC News killed in Syria
A driver working with NBC News reporters in Syria was killed Saturday by an explosive device in eastern Syria, where several media outlets are covering the liberation of the last sliver of territory held by the Islamic State group. Noah Oppenheim, the president of NBC News, said in a statement that NBC employees escaped unharmed, and expressed "deepest sympathies" to the driver's family and loved ones. "We are still gathering information from today's events, and are in touch with the driver's family to support them however we can," he said. Several media outlets are in Syria to cover the military defeat of the Islamic State group in the small eastern village of Baghouz. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared victory over IS on Saturday after clearing the militants from their last position in the village following weeks of heavy fighting. IS left behind booby-traps and explosive devices, and there may be unexploded munitions in the area following U.S.-led airstrikes. The ...
Two injured in mysterious Shopian mosque blast
Two persons were injured on Sunday in a mysterious blast inside a mosque in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.
Thousands attend New Zealand vigil to honour 50 mosque dead
Thousands of people have gathered in the New Zealand city of Christchurch to listen to prayers, songs and speeches at a vigil to remember the 50 people killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques. One of those watching from a wheelchair was 21-year-old Mustafa Boztas, who was shot in the leg and liver during the March 15 attack at the Al Noor mosque. Boztas says it was beautiful to see what the community had put together to show they care and that "we are all one." Officials estimate up to 40,000 people attended the event on a sunny Sunday evening at Hagley Park. It was held on a stage that had been set up for a concert by Canadian singer Bryan Adams that was cancelled after the attacks.
Army personnel killed in LoC firing by Pakistan
An Army personnel was killed Sunday in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said. They said the cross-border firing started in Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch around 5.30 pm Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night. The Indian Army retaliated strongly but the casualties suffered by Pakistan were not known immediately, the officials said, adding Pakistani troops used mortar and small arms to target forward posts and villages. The soldier was critically injured around 4 am in the firing and was immediately evacuated to the military hospital, the officials said. They said he succumbed to injuries, taking the number of Army personnel killed in the last four days to two. On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a ...
Manipur Cong accuses BJP of putting up insurgent-backed candidate
Congress' Manipur unit has accused the BJP of putting up an insurgent-backed candidate for a Lok Sabha seat here and compromising national integrity in a bid to win the upcoming elections at any cost, a charge rejected by the latter as an attempt to malign the party. BJP's candidate H Shukhopao Mate for the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls on April 11, has been accused of being backed by insurgent groups in the state -- Zomi Re-unification Organisation (ZRO) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO). The two outfits, which have signed "suspension of operation" agreement with Government of India (GOI) and are currently in peace talks, are reported to have written separate letters to BJP president Amit Shah, asking Mate be given the party's ticket. Mate is vice-president of the BJP Manipur unit and is incharge of the party's Scheduled Tribe Morcha. "It is not just the Congress but everyone in the state is aware that he (Mate) is backed by insurgent groups. He has
11 TN fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy
Eleven Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy near Neduntheevu for allegedly fishing in the island nation's waters, an official said here Sunday. The fishermen, hailing from Rameswaram, have been taken to Karainagar in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department Assistant Director Yuvaraj said. Their two boats were also seized. The Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly damaged over 50 fishing nets and seized GPS equipment from them. The incident forced fishermen in more than 500 boats to return without fishing, the official said.
Pentagon identifies soldiers killed in Afghanistan
The Pentagon has identified two soldiers who were killed last week in Afghanistan's Kunduz province as a result of what it said were wounds sustained while engaged in combat.
NZ to hold national remembrance for Christchurch next Friday
New Zealand will hold a national remembrance service on March 29 for the victims of the Christchurch mosque massacre and their families, the prime minister's office announced on Sunday. The interfaith service will take place in Christchurch two weeks after an Australian white supremacist shot and killed 50 Muslims who had arrived for Friday prayers at two mosques in the city on March 15. "The national remembrance service provides an opportunity for Cantabrians (Christchurch-area residents), New Zealanders and people all around the world to come together as one to honour the victims of the terrorist attack," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement. "In the week since the unprecedented terror attack there has been an outpouring of grief and love in our country. "The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values." The slaughter has rocked the normally laid-back country and prompted
21 people hospitalised in Hama after suspected chemical attack
21 people were admitted to the Al-Suqaylabiyah hospital here after a suspected chemical attack by militants who fired several shells at the city, according to local media.The admitted people are reportedly suffering from asphyxia which is believed to be caused by the use of poisonous gas by the militants, reports Sputnik.The city is part of a demilitarised zone which was negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year.The latest attack joins a string of others involving the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war.
Clashes as French police crack down on 'yellow vest' protests
Clashes broke out in the latest "yellow vest" protests in French cities Saturday but a massive police deployment prevented more of the rioting and looting that marred last week's rally in Paris. More than 40,000 people took to the streets across France for a 19th consecutive week of anti-government protests -- 5,000 of them in the capital -- Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said. Most of the "yellow vest" protests were relatively calm but scuffles broke out in Paris in the afternoon as police moved in with tear gas against a hard core of hooded demonstrators, many wearing gas masks or helmets. A 75-year-old woman was seriously injured in the southern city of Nice when she fell and hit her head during a police charge. Authorities had vowed zero tolerance of any violence, outlawing the protests in a large area of western Paris for the first time. That included the Champs-Elysees, the scene of last Saturday's rampage by hundreds of black-clad agitators. This time around 6,000 ...
115 reported dead after attack on central Malian village
Militia fighters descended on a village in central Mali before dawn Saturday, killing at least 115 people in the latest deadly attack blamed on an ethnic militia, local authorities said. The massacre in the village of Ogossogou left the village chief and his grandchildren dead in the ethnic Peulh community, according to a local official who had received detailed accounts from the remote area. The victims "included pregnant women, young children and the elderly," according to Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of a Peulh group known as Tabital Pulaaku. It was not immediately possible to independently corroborate the toll given by those in contact with survivors from the Peulh village. The UN mission in Mali confirmed reports of an attack but gave no figures. Militants from a Dogon group known as Dan Na Ambassagou have been blamed for scores of attacks over the past year, according to Human Rights Watch. The umbrella group comprises a number of self-defence groups from the Dogon villages ...