Page 242 - War Conflict
'Heavy clashes' as US-backed forces battle IS in Syria: Monitor
US-backed forces were locked in fierce fighting as they pressed the battle against the last shred of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" in eastern Syria on Sunday, a war monitor said. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by a US-led coalition, announced a final push to retake the jihadist pocket near the Iraqi border late Saturday, after a pause of more than a week to allow civilians to flee. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes between both sides on Sunday morning, as coalition planes and artillery bombarded jihadist positions. "The battle is ongoing. There were heavy clashes this morning, with landmines going off," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based war monitor. The SDF launched an offensive to expel IS from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor in September. The Kurdish-led alliance has since whittled down jihadist-held territory to a patch of just four square kilometres (one square mile) on the eastern banks of the ...
Five militants killed in Kulgam district gunfight
Five militants were killed on Sunday in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district.
S Korea announces hike in payment for US troops
Seoul said Sunday it agreed to hike its payment for maintaining American troops on its soil, settling a dispute with its longtime ally ahead of a second summit between the US and North Korea. The two countries have been in a security alliance since the 1950-53 Korean war, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty -- with more than 28,000 US troops stationed in the South to guard against threats from Pyongyang. But US President Donald Trump has repeatedly complained about the expense of keeping American forces on the peninsula, with Washington reportedly asking Seoul to double its contribution toward costs. The negotiations ended with South Korea's foreign ministry saying Seoul will pay about 1.04 trillion won (USD 924 million) in 2019, 8.2 per cent more than what it offered under a previous five-year pact which expired at the end of last year. The ministry said although the US had demanded a "huge increase" in payment, they were able to reach an agreement that reflects .
Three killed in UN helicopter crash in disputed region
An Ethiopian military helicopter crashed inside a United Nations compound in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, killing three crew members and injuring 10 passengers, the UN said in a statement Sunday. The statement said the helicopter was carrying 23 passengers when it crashed on Saturday inside the compound of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), "killing three of its crew members." "Ten passengers were injured with three in critical condition," it said. The MI-8 helicopter was carrying Ethiopian troops from Kadugli in Sudan to Abyei, which has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in 2011. "We are investigating the incident," said UNISFA's acting Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Gebre Adhana Woldezgu. Ethiopia is the sole troop contributing country to UNISFA, with some 4,500 soldiers on the ground. The UN Security Council has warned that the situation in Abyei and along the Sudan-South Sudan border "continues to ...
Five militants killed in encounter with security forces in J-K's Kulgam district
Five militants were killed Sunday in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, the Army said here. The gunbattle broke out after the ultras opened fire on a search team of the security forces in the district's Kellem village this morning, an Army official said. He said five militants were killed in the encounter. The identity and group affiliation of the ultras are being ascertained. Weapons and war-like stores have been recovered from the encounter site, the official added. Clashes between protestors and security forces broke out near the encounter site, a police official said, adding there were no immediate reports of injury to anyone. He said the law enforcing agencies were trying to restore order in the area.
Afghan lawmaker says airstrikes kill 21 civilians
An Afghan lawmaker says airstrikes in the southern Helmand province have killed 21 civilians, including women and children. Mohammad Hashim Alkozai, a senator from Helmand, said Sunday that 13 civilians were killed in one strike and eight in another. Both airstrikes were carried out late Friday in the Sangin district, where heavy fighting is underway between NATO-backed Afghan forces and the Taliban. Alkozai says at least five other people were wounded in the airstrikes. Omer Zwak, the provincial governor's spokesman, says insurgents fired on Afghan forces from a civilian area. He confirmed that airstrikes had killed civilians but could not provide further information. He says an investigation has been launched.
South Korea, US sign new cost-sharing deal for US troops
South Korea and the United States struck a new deal Sunday on how much Seoul should pay for the US military presence on its soil, official said, after previous rounds of failed negotiations caused worries about their decades-long alliance. Last year, South Korea provided about USD 830 million, roughly 40 percent of the cost of the deployment of 28,500 US soldiers whose presence is meant to deter aggression from North Korea. President Donald Trump has said South Korea should pay more. The allies had failed to reach a new cost-sharing plan during some 10 rounds of talks. On Sunday, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said the countries signed a new deal. A five-year 2014 deal that covered South Korea's payment last year had expired at the end of 2018. Some conservatives in South Korea voiced concerns over a weakening alliance with the United States amid a stalemate in negotiations with North Korea to deprive it of its nuclear weapons. They said Trump might use the failed military cost-sharing ...
Pak play in Afghanistan (Column Spye's Eye)
President Donald Trump's policy responses to the new global terror that arose out of a faith-based motivation range from an unequivocal denunciation of the countries that provided safe havens to Islamic radicals to an announcement of withdrawal of American troops from the two theatres of 'war on terror'- Afghanistan and Syria. His decision on ending the deployment of US soldiers there is significantly rooted in his intrinsic aversion to the idea of US playing 'the policeman of the world' when others were not doing their bit - the businessman in him apparently getting the better of a supposed world statesman. Also, the US President was somewhere feeling the 'comfort of distance' and therefore seeking even some patchwork solution of a decidedly messy situation in Afghanistan so long as it reduced the threat of an attack from Islamic extremists on American soil.
Yemeni conjoined twins die in blockaded Sanaa: rebels
Newborn Yemeni conjoined twins whose plight sparked a plea for urgent medical treatment overseas have died in Sanaa, rebels in the blockaded capital said. Abdelkhaleq and Abdelrahim were born outside Sanaa around two weeks ago and shared a kidney and a pair of legs but had separate hearts and lungs. The head of paediatrics at Sanaa's Al-Thawra hospital, Dr Faisal al-Babili, said his department lacked the facilities to treat or separate the newborn boys and appealed on Wednesday for help from abroad. Huthi rebels, who have been fighting the Saudi-backed government since 2014, blamed a Riyadh-led military coalition for the deaths after "refusing to open Sanaa airport to allow them to get treatment", according to the rebels' media statement on Saturday. Late on Wednesday, the head of Saudi Arabia's King Salman Aid and Relief Centre, Abdullah al-Rabeeah, said he had a team that was prepared to treat them. Rebel-held areas of Yemen have been under blockade by a Saudi-led military coalition
Suspected militants make failed bid to kidnap bizman in Assam
Suspected militants of All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA) have made a failed bid to kidnap a businessman in Lower Assam's Udalguri district, police said Sunday. Six miscreants came in three motorbikes and opened fire before hurling a grenade, which did not explode, at a market place in Panery in the district Saturday night, in their attempt to kidnap the businessman, Circle Inspector Durga Kingkar Sarma said. Local people, however, came to the rescue of the man, and contacted the police, he said. The grenade has been defused and three suspected militants of the Adivasi militant group arrested in connection with the incident, Sarma said, adding that the situation was under control.
J-K: Encounter between security forces and terrorists underway in Kulgam
An encounter is underway between security forces and terrorists in Kellam Devsar area in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, officials said.The encounter broke out during a search operation in the area. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far, they said.Two terrorists from militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 1, police said.On January 26, two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces on the outskirts of Srinagar. The joint operation was carried out by 50 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Srinagar Police.Further details are awaited.
Over 300 students among 538 airlifted by IAF in J-K
As many as 538 people, including 319 GATE aspirants, were airlifted in separate sorties by the Indian Air Force (IAF) between the twin capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, a defence spokesman said Saturday. The IAF launched the special sorties of C17 Globemaster and came into assistance of GATE aspirants, the locals and tourists who were stuck in the twin capitals due to the closure of Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country owing to the recent heavy snowfall, he said. He said a total of 319 students appearing in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) on February 10 onwards were airlifted from Srinagar airport to Jammu airport on Friday and Saturday. While 179 students were airlifted from Srinagar to Jammu, 180 civilians struck in Jammu were airlifted to Srinagar on Friday, the spokesman said. Similarly, he said 179 persons comprising of 140 students and 39 locals and tourists were airlifted to Srinagar to Jammu on
US says new airstrike in Somalia kills 8 al-Shabab fighters
The United States military says it has killed eight al-Shabab extremists with an airstrike in southern Somalia. A US Africa Command statement says Friday's strike hit near Kobon, not far from the port city of Kismayo. The US says Kobon has been used to stage attacks against Somali forces. Its statement says no civilians were killed in the airstrike. The US military has carried out at least a dozen such airstrikes this year in Somalia against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. The United States has dramatically stepped up airstrikes against al-Shabab since President Donald Trump took office. Experts say it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremists, who continue to carry out deadly attacks in the Horn of Africa nation and neighboring Kenya.
US-backed fighters launch final push to defeat IS in Syria
US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian forces said Saturday they have launched a final push to defeat the Islamic State group in the last tiny pocket the extremists hold in eastern Syria. Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted that the offensive began Saturday after more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the IS-held area in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour. An SDF statement said the offensive was focused on the village of Baghouz. The SDF, backed by US air power, has driven IS from large swaths of territory it once controlled in northern and eastern Syria, confining the extremists to a small pocket of land near the border with Iraq. Scores of IS fighters are now besieged in a small area consisting of two villages, or less than once percent of the self-styled caliphate that once sprawled across large parts of Syria and Iraq. In recent weeks, thousands of civilians, including families of IS fighters, left the area controlled by the extremists. "The decisive battle
French yellow vest anti-govt protests turn violent in Paris
A French yellow vest protester's hand was ripped apart Saturday during violent clashes in Paris as demonstrators tried to storm the French National Assembly in a 13th consecutive week of unrest. Police said the injured protester lost four fingers as police swooped in to stop protesters from breaching the parliament's exterior. Police could not confirm French media reports that the demonstrator's hand was blown up by a grenade used to disperse unruly crowds. As scuffles broke out in front of the National Assembly and French police responded with tear gas, paramedics huddled around the injured protester at the National Assembly gates, providing emergency treatment and stopping bystanders from getting too close. Police used batons and fired tear gas in Paris to disperse demonstrators, some of whom threw debris at riot police hunkered down. Fire department spokesman Gildas Lecoeur told The Associated Press that the injured man was taken to a hospital, but he couldn't confirm his current ..
Yellow Vest protests in France enter 13th week
Yellow Vest protestors continued their demonstrations here for the 13th consecutive week on Saturday, despite continued efforts by the French government to meet the protesters' demands.The Emmanuel Macron-led government had previously scrapped the proposed hike in fuel prices, which had initially triggered the protests. Macron further introduced a string of initiatives, including increasing the minimum wage by 100 euros a month, as part of his 'economic and social emergency plan' unveiled in December last year.The protesters have continued their agitations regardless, and are now demanding a 20 per cent hike in minimum wages, equal pay for men and women, tax reform, development of public services and just environmental reforms, reports Sputnik.Saturday's protests turned gruesome when a demonstrator lost his hand after a GLI-F4 instant tear gas grenade blew up while he was holding it, right outside the National Assembly here.Protestors gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on ...
Violence in Faizabad jail, 8 injured, police restore order after 6 hours
A clash between two groups of prisoners sparked a riot in Faizabad divisonal jail where at least eight inmates were held hostage and badly assaulted during the standoff that lasted six hours on Saturday, according to police sources. The violent inmates threatened to blow up cooking gas cylinders which they took from the jail kitchen and pelted stones on security personnel as reinforcements were rushed to restore order. Faizabad District Magistrate Anil Kumar Pathak said that a magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the incident. The trouble started at around 9 am when a jail functionary complained to the Superintendent about some under-trial prisoners talking on mobile phone, police said. Miffed with his action, a group of prisoners thrashed him. When some other prisoners objected to it , the group attacked them too and held them hostage. The rioters also broke CCTV cameras installed in jail as chaos reigned. Additional forces were called, which used drone cameras to take stock of
IAF arranges sorties for GATE aspirants, stranded people
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday arranged special sorties for Graduate Aptitude Test Exam (GATE) aspirants, locals residents and tourists stranded in the Kashmir Valley due to continued closure of Jammu-Srinagar highway.
Chadian army says 250 rebels captured after rebel convoy targeted
The Chadian military on Saturday said it had captured more than 250 rebels, including some top leaders, after an operation against an convoy of militants trying to cross into the country from Libya in late January that also involved French airstrikes. In a statement issued by army staff the Chadian military said the sweep would continue in the region of Ennedi, in the northwest border with Libya and Sudan, near where the armed column of rebel vehicles was brought to a halt in early February. The statement said some 250 "terrorists, including four main leaders" were detained, while more than 40 vehicles were destroyed and hundreds of weapons were seized. "Several compromising documents" were also seized," the statement added without giving further details. President Idriss Deby on Thursday said the column of rebels had been "destroyed" in a series of strikes carried out by French warplanes. Acting in conjunction with Chad's government, French Mirage 2000 jets targeted the convoy on ...
US man arrested at JFK Airport for trying to join LeT
A 29-year-old American was arrested at the JFK Airport while he was about to leave the country to join Pakistani terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which was responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.