Page 172 - War Conflict
NZ police visited mosque shooter before granting gun licence
New Zealand police revealed Friday that they met with the accused Christchurch mosque shooter at his home in October 2017 before granting him the licence that let him purchase the weapons used in the rampage. Australian Brenton Tarrant, a self-avowed white supremacist, applied for the gun licence in September 2017 and a police "firearms vetting team" visited his home in the southern city of Dunedin the following month, a police spokesman said. "One of the steps to gaining a firearms licence is a home visit to meet the applicant in person and inspect the security of their property," he said in a statement. The police team carried out the visit in October, interviewing Tarrant and carrying out a "security inspection" of his home, he said. "Following this, all the available information was reviewed and the licence was approved in November 2017." Tarrant also provided the names of two New Zealand residents as references, who were also interviewed by police and "met the requirements of the
Militant killed in encounter in J-K's Shopian
A militant was killed Friday in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Imamsahib area of Shopian in south Kashmir following information about presence of militants there, an army official said. He said the militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated, triggering a gun battle. One militant has been killed so far in the ongoing operation, the official said, adding that the identity and group affiliation of the slain ultra was being ascertained. Meanwhile, another gun battle broke out between militants and security forces in Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, a police official said. He said no casualties have been reported so far in the operation that is going on in Warpora area of Sopore.
Indian peacekeepers garner praise for helping local communities
Going beyond their call of duty, Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN missions in Lebanon and South Sudan have earned appreciation for undertaking activities to benefit local communities, including raising awareness about breast cancer and teaching farmers methods of goat rearing. Indian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) organised a training session with the aim of raising awareness about preventing breast cancer among the women of Shaba in south-eastern Lebanon earlier this week, a report from the mission said. The training session, conducted in coordination with local authorities and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), offered an opportunity for the local women to discuss issues about breast cancer with UNIFIL's female peacekeepers with expertise on the subject. UNIFIL doctors focused the session, attended by 35 women, on the prevention and early detection of breast cancer. Since there are no female doctor posted with the Indian ...
Encounter breaks out between security forces and terrorists in Shopian
An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists at Imam Sahib area in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday morning.Two to three terrorists are believed to be trapped inside a house in the residential area, police sources said.The security force contingent comprises troops from the 14 and 178 battalions of CRPF, Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and 34 Rashtriya Rifles (RR).On Thursday, bodies of two terrorists, along with 2 AK-47 rifles, 3 magazines, a mobile phone and a GPS device, were found by the security forces after an encounter in Baramulla district.
Security Council heads to 2 African hotspots for extremists
The Security Council is heading to Mali and Burkina Faso for a first-hand look at the challenges their governments are facing in the hotspots for extremist attacks in Africa's volatile Sahel region. The 15-member council was scheduled to leave New York late Thursday and arrive in Mali's capital, Bamako, on Friday for a two-day visit before traveling to Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on Sunday. The U.N. has a peacekeeping force in Mali, but the United States has objected to U.N. funding for the five-nation G5 Sahel Joint Force comprising military from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger which was established in 2017 to help the region better combat security threats. "The Security Council visit has three key goals to accelerate the implementation of the peace plan in Mali, to increase the efficiency of our support to the G5 Sahel force and to express the Council's full solidarity with Burkina Faso," said France's U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre, a co-leader of the ...
Two gunfights underway in J&K's Sopore, Shopian
Two gunfights were underway in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore and Shopian districts on Friday between militants and security forces, police said.
Encounter breaks out in Shopian
An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir Friday, officials said here. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Imamsahib area of Shopian in south Kashmir following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. More details are awaited.
Six killed as car rams into crowd in China, driver shot dead
A man rammed his car into a crowd in China's central Hubei province, killing six persons and injuring seven others before being shot dead by the police on Friday. The incident took place at around 6 AM (local time) in Zaoyang city, state-run CGTN reported. The driver has been shot dead by the police, it said. A total of seven persons, including the perpetrator, have been killed in the incident, it said. The seven injured have been hospitalised, the report said. Incidents of random attacks on civilians by disgruntled persons have become common in China in recent years. Last September, three people were killed and 43 others injured when a man drove his SUV into a crowd and later went on a stabbing spree in China's Hunan province. Some persons carrying knives targeted primary schools and mall to vent out their anger.
UN rights body grants Sri Lanka war crimes probe extension
The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday approved giving Sri Lanka two more years to set up a credible war crimes investigation into the island nation's brutal civil war. The UN's top rights body approved without a vote a resolution to postpone discussing the implementation of an official probe into crimes committed during the 37-year guerilla war, which ended in May 2009. Sri Lankan government troops were accused of killing at least 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians in the final months of the war. A 2015 UN Human Rights Council resolution gave Sri Lanka 18 months to establish a credible investigation. Colombo secured a two-year extension in 2017 that expires this month. UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned earlier this week that Sri Lanka could slip back into conflict unless it addressed the "worst crimes" during the final stages of its ethnic war. She told the Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka was yet to set up the special judicial mechanism as promised four years ago to try war ...
Top US general to meet with Google on China security worries
The top US military officer plans to meet with Google representatives next week amid growing concerns that American companies doing business in China are helping its military gain ground on the US. Gen Joseph Dunford says efforts like Google's artificial intelligence venture in China allow the Chinese military to access and take advantage of US-developed technology. He told an audience at the Atlantic Council on Thursday that it's not in America's national security interest for US companies to help the Chinese military make technological advances. Last week acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan expressed similar concerns and noted that Google is stepping away from some Pentagon contracts. Google has said it would not renew a defense contract involving the use of artificial intelligence to analyze drone video.
3 militants killed,7 security men hurt in J&K gunfights (5th Lead)
Three militants were killed while seven security men and three civilians injured on Thursday in three different battles between security forces and militants in the Kashmir Valley, authorities said.
Encounter between Naxals and police in Gadchiroli; IED seized
Naxals exchanged fire with police in a forest in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra Thursday morning, an official release said. The encounter broke out around 5.20 am in Vasamundi jungle in Etapalli area when a team of Quick Response Team of Gadchiroli Police was carrying out an anti-Naxal operation, the release said. Naxals opened fire on the police team and fled when the latter retaliated, it added. While there were no reports of casualties on either side, a 2.5 kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED), one kg of gunpowder, two live detonators and Naxal literature were seized from the place, the police release said.
Militant killed, 7 security men hurt in 3 J&K gunfights (4th Lead)
A militant was killed while seven security men and three civilians injured on Thursday as security forces and militants battled each other in three places in the Kashmir Valley, authorities said.
Maoists 'apologise' for killing of school teacher
Days after a school teacher was killed by the Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, the rebels have issued a letter calling it a mistake, the police claimed Thursday. Yogendra Meshram was killed because he was suspected to be a policeman but he was "innocent", the purported letter said. Meshram, teacher at a municipal school at Korchi, was shot dead by Naxals at Kombda Bajar on March 12. Local people had protested the killing vehemently, said Shailesh Balkawade, District Superintendent of Police, 'Pawan', who is a divisional commander of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), issued an apology letter which was circulated Wednesday, he said. The letter, addressed to Meshram's family, said Maoists killed him as he was wrongly thought to be a policeman due to "intelligence failure", the SP said. Maoists apologised to the family for the killing, the letter added. Balkawade said the police were gaining the upper hand against the Maoists. The rebels were under ...
Armed men ambushed convoy of Pakistan army in Balochistan
A convoy of Pakistan army came under a deadly ambush in Dasht region of Balochistan on Thursday, when the troops were on their way to carry out a search operation in the area.Local sources confirmed that heavy gunfire and loud explosions were heard in the region where the convoy was attacked. Helicopters reached the attack site to take wounded and dead to the hospital.Sources in the civil hospital at Turbat confirmed that at least 9 troops were killed and about a dozen were gravely injured.Meanwhile, Balochistan's most deadly and well-disciplined armed group the Baloch Republican Army spokesman Sarbaaz Baloch called media offices from an undisclosed location and claimed the responsibility for the attack.Sarbaaz Baloch also vowed to continue attacking the Pakistani forces until the freedom of Balochistan.
Counter-terror officers investigate linked attacks on 5 mosques in UK
Five mosques in the central British city of Birmingham have been attacked overnight, prompting the Counter-Terrorism Unit officers and local police to launch an investigation. The attacks are believed to be linked after West Midlands Police were called to reports of a man smashing windows with a sledgehammer at the Jame Masjid in Birchfield Road and then soon after to a mosque in Erdington area of the city with reports of a similar attack. The force began patrols in areas with mosques and came across further damage at similar Islamic places of worship in other areas. In the wake of the terrorist attack on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, last Friday that claimed 50 lives, West Midlands Police said it was working alongside counter-terrorism officers to uncover the motive behind the incidents. "What I can say is that the force and the Counter Terrorism Unit are working side-by-side to find whoever is responsible," said West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson. "Since the
3 injured as man out on bail opens fire in UP
Three persons were seriously injured after a man out on bail fired on them during a clash in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district on Thursday, police said. The incident took place at Muthbad village under Bhora Kalan police station, SP (Rural) Alok Kumar said. Old enmity between the groups lead to the clash during which Ankit alias Ritha, who was out on bail, opened fire on Ritesh, Sonu and Ankit Kashyap, he said. The injured trio was taken to a hospital where they are in critical condition, the officer said. Security has been tightened in the village in the wake of the incident, police added.
Bandipora encounter: Terrorists hold civilians hostage, security forces rescue one
Two civilians were taken hostage by terrorists during an encounter in Hajin locality of north Kashmir's Bandipora district, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Thursday. One of the two has been rescued safely and efforts are underway to rescue the other hostage, reportedly a minor police added.The rescue was conducted with the assistance of security forces and community members, police said.As many as three terrorists are still trapped in the area.The encounter between security forces and terrorists in Mir Mohalla area of Hajjin, started around 10 am on Thursday is still continuing and further details are awaited.The contingent of security forces comprises units of Army's 13 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF's 45 Battalion and SOG.Apart from this, on Tuesday morning, terrorists lobbed a grenade at the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Baramulla district's Sopore. Two policemen including a Station House Officer (SHO) were injured in the grenade attack by terrorists. The injured were ...
Security forces rescue one of two civilians held 'hostage' by militants in J-K's Bandipora
Security forces, with the help of locals, Thursday rescued one of the two civilians held "hostage" by militants after a search operation in the Hajin area of Jammu and Kashmi's Bandipora district, police said. Security forces launched a search operation in the area following information about the presence of militants there, a police spokesman said. "Two civilians were held hostage by the terrorists. With the assistance of security forces, police and community members, one civilian has been rescued while efforts are on to rescue another," he said. The spokesman said the hostage still with the militants is reportedly a minor.
Three gunfights on in Valley, 1 militant killed (3rd Lead)
A militant was killed and two policemen and a civilian injured on Thursday as security forces and militants battled each other in three places in the Kashmir Valley, authorities said.