Page 250 - War Conflict
Maha: 5 persons injured in multiple attacks in Malegaon
Five people were injured after a group of persons attacked them with sharp weapons in Malegaon town in Maharashtra's Nashik district, police said Saturday. In a series of attacks that started late Friday night, the gang first attacked Harun Khan and an aide in Ayesha Nagar locality of the town, then assaulted Atiq Khan in Jafar Nagar, damaging vehicles and ransacking a hotel there in the process, police said. The group of attackers then moved to Millat Nagar area and assaulted powerloom owner Mohammad Abid and his employee Fayyaz, police added. The group used choppers, knives and swords in the multiple attacks that took place over half an hour, an official said. The five injured persons are undergoing treatment at a private hospital here, he added. He said the attackers are history-sheeters and the assaults are possibly the fallout of a complaint filed against them earlier by the brother of powerloom owner Mohammad Abid. A case has been registered at Pawarwadi police ...
UN set for Yemen truce talks aboard ship
The head of the UN mission in Yemen boarded a vessel that will be the venue for key talks between the government and Huthi rebels on shoring up a ceasefire. Retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert picked up a government delegation at a rendezvous in the Red Sea before returning to the port of Hodeida to await Huthi envoys who are to arrive on Sunday, a UN statement said. The sides will discuss the next steps to implement an agreement reached in Sweden in December that calls for a ceasefire in Hodeida and a pullback of forces from the port city. It is the third meeting of a joint committee on implementing the agreement which has been hailed as a major step toward ending the four-year devastating war in Yemen. On Sunday, the "parties will then resume joint discussions on the implementation of the redeployment of forces and the facilitation of humanitarian operations, as agreed in the Stockholm Agreement," said a UN statement. The Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels have accused each
US army kills 13 Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia
The US army on Saturday said its forces conducted an airstrike in Somalia on Friday, killing 13 Al-Shabaab terrorists.
Bihar: Robbers loot gold, silver worth Rs 2 cr
Gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 2 crore were looted from Surbhi Jewellers, near Yadav Chowk in Hajipur on Saturday.The six accused, who looted the shop, came in a car and held the staff members and owner hostage. According to the owner Krishna Soni, police showed negligence and did not take any action into the matter even after they were informed about the robbery. Soni stated that when he reached the city police station, there was no officer to hear his complaint.Following which, the people accompanying the owner got enraged and raised slogans against the police personnel.However, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mahendra Kumar later reached Basanti Nagar police station and assured the victim of immediate action.On the basis of CCTV footage, police registered a complaint and conducted raids at several places.The investigation into the matter is underway.
US says airstrike in Somalia kills 13 al-Shabab extremists
The United States military says it has killed 13 members of the al-Shabab extremist group with an airstrike 30 miles (48 kilometres) outside Somalia's capital. A US Africa Command statement says Friday's strike occurred near Gandarshe in Lower Shabelle region. The statement says the al-Qaida-linked fighters have used Gandarshe as a staging area for bombings in the capital, Mogadishu. A half-dozen US airstrikes in December killed 62 al-Shabab fighters near Gandarshe as they were preparing to attack a Somali military base. This is the 10th US airstrike this year in Somalia. It carried out nearly 50 strikes last year in the Horn of Africa nation against al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. A strike on Thursday killed 24 al-Shabab fighters in neighbouring Hiran region.
JeM module busted by J-K police, grenade throwing case solved
Sopore police in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday busted a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror module and solved the grenade throwing case.Three suspected people were arrested in the case and further investigation in the matter is underway.On January 25, a grenade was hurled on SBI camp of 179 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Sopore town in Baramullah district in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the grenade missed the intended target and exploded outside the camp in which no one got injured.In this connection, a case under relevant sections of law was registered in Police Station Sopore and investigation of the case was set into motion.During the course of an investigation, three suspected people namely Ghulam Qadir Rather, Aijaz Ahmad Khan and Owais Khalid Dar were detained by police for questioning. All accused were residents of Sopore.According to Jammu and Kashmir police, "During questioning, all three accused confessed the terror crime. It was further revealed that the ..
Venezuelan air force general declares allegiance to Guaido
A Venezuelan air force general rejected the authority of President Nicolas Maduro Saturday, becoming the highest-ranking military officer to recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's acting president. The crack in the military's united front behind Maduro came as Guaido was mobilizing a mass protest in Caracas to back his call for Maduro's resignation and early elections. Dressed in full uniform, Major General Francisco Yanez appeared on a video posted on social media to declare his support for Guaido, the National Assembly head who has led the most serious challenge yet to Maduro's rule. "I address you to inform you that I disavow the vitiated and dictatorial authority of Nicolas Maduro and recognize Deputy Juan Guaido as the president in charge of Venezuela," he said. Yanez, who is strategic planning director of the air force high command, asserted that "90 per cent of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces is not with the dictator, it's with the Venezuelan ...
Special dance troupe from Sri Lanka to perform in Delhi
Depicting the nature and beauty of the wildlife in Sri Lanka, a 20-member dance troupe from the island nation's Navy will perform in Delhi next week, the Lankan embassy said here Saturday. The event is slated to be held at the Charkha Museum Open Air Theatre at Connaught Place on February 5. "A Sri Lankan cultural dance and drum performance will be jointly organised by the Sri Lanka High Commission here and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)," the embassy said in a statement. The dances will be performed by a 20-member dance troupe from the Sri Lanka Navy, it said. "This cultural dance performance will bring together all Sri Lankan dance types to one platform and it is the first cultural dance show of its kind to be performed in the heart of New Delhi," the statement said. The programme will showcase colourful dances and drums from various parts of Sri Lanka depicting the nature and the beauty of the wildlife there, it added.
Army chief to review operational preparedness during his
Chief of the Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, Saturday arrived at Rangapahar Military station, Dimapur on a two-day visit during which he will review operational preparedness of army formations in the region. On his arrival, the Army chief was received by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command Lieutenant General MM Naravane and was briefed by General Officer Commanding Spear Corps, Lieutenant General Rajeev Sirohi. The Spear Corps, besides undertaking extensive Counter Insurgency operations in North Eastern states is also responsible for operations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh. The Army Chief expressed satisfaction with the operational preparedness along the LAC and appreciated the conduct of people friendly counter insurgency operations by the Spear Corps, PRO Defence Col. C Konwer said. Gen Rawat also complimented the troops for ensuring peace and tranquility in the region by their dedicated hard work in difficult terrain and
Omar, Mehbooba condemn killing of woman by militants in Shopian
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Saturday condemned the gruesome killing of a young woman by militants in Shopian district of the state. Ishrat Muneer, a 25-year-old woman from Pulwama, was shot dead at point blank range by militants in Shopian district on Thursday night. They made a video of the incident and circulated it on social media. The woman in the short video clip can be seen pleading for mercy with folded hands but the gunman shot her twice. Condemning the incident, Omar Abdullah said, "Horrific murder & deserves the strongest condemnation. There can be no place for such brutal acts in a civilised society & apologists for these murders are just as guilty as the perpetrators (sic)." Mehbooba Mufti too wrote on the microblogging site, "Women living in conflict areas like Kashmir have faced unimaginable pain & trauma. No words are enough to condemn her gruesome and barbaric murder (sic).
Eight killed in firefight between Philippine troops and Islamists
A "fierce firefight" on Saturday killed five Philippine soldiers and three militants from the notorious Islamist group suspected of this week's deadly cathedral bombing in the nation's restive south, the military said. The soldiers battled the Abu Sayyaf militants on the southern island of Jolo, which is the group's stronghold as well as the site of dual bomb attack on January 27 that killed 21 people at Sunday mass. After the cathedral bombing, President Rodrigo Duterte singled out the kidnap-for-ransom group -- which has previously been blamed for some of the Philippines' deadliest attacks -- and ordered the military to "crush" them. "It was a fierce firefight", regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana told AFP, confirming the death toll. "It went on for nearly two hours." Philippine officials have theorised in public that the cathedral attack was the work of at least one suicide bomber, but have also conceded they have not been able to confirm their ...
Jammu to host 19th All India Police Band competition next week
The 19th All India Police Band Competition will start here from Tuesday with 23 different police forces taking part in the five-day event, a senior police officer said Saturday. All arrangements have been put in place for the competition that will be held in different categories of brass and pipe band and bugle calls, said A K Choudhary, Jammu and Kashmir additional director general of police (ADGP), Armed. The competition is being hosted by the state police from February 5-9 in Jammu. Gulshan Ground will be the main venue, where the opening and the closing ceremony will be held, he said. The annually competition is being organised by the state police for the second time, after Srinagar hosted it in 2002. Twenty-three police teams and the Central Armed Police Forces -- consisting 1,448 members -- including 32 females, are participating in the competition, the ADGP added.
J&K Police bust JeM terror module, 3 held
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police Saturday busted a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror module with the arrest of three people, an official said. The breakthrough came while the police were investigating the grenade attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at Sopore on January 25, a police spokesperson said. The three were picked up for questioning in connection with the attack, he added. "During questioning, the suspects confessed to their involvement in the attack. They were then formally placed under arrest," the spokesperson said. Ghulam Qadir Rather alias Kasir, Aijaz Ahmad Khan and Owais Khalid Dar were arrested from their hometown of Sopore in Baramulla district. "They also revealed that the JeM terrorists active in Sopore provided two grenades to these individuals for throwing on the security forces to cause damage to life and property and instill fear among the general public," he added. The official said one live grenade was recovered at the instance of the ...
11 dead as war-damaged flats collapse in Syria's Aleppo
Four children were among at least 11 people killed when a war-damaged block of flats collapsed in Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, state media said. One child was pulled out alive from the rubble of the five-storey block after rescue teams toiled, many of them with their bare hands, to remove the shattered breeze blocks that had buried him, AFP photographers reported. He was the sole survivor of the collapse in the formerly rebel-held neighbourhood of Salaheddin, the official SANA news agency reported. Saleheddin was heavily bombed before the army overran rebel districts with Russian support in late 2016. What little reconstruction there has been among the ruins has been carried out privately. The state has limited public works to the restoration of basic infrastructure. Many of the buildings around the block that caved in still bear the scars of the ferocious four-year battle for the northern city, with several on the brink of collapse. Washington has estimated the costs of ..
Maha to implement 'Tejashri' scheme for women: Mungantiwar
The Maharashtra government will implement the "Tejashri financial services" scheme to help rural women, state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said Friday. He said it would be implemented by the state's Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM) and would help understand the needs of rural women and bring them into the mainstream of development. Mungantiwar said help will be provided to debt-ridden women as part of this scheme. The minister informed that Rs 68.53 crore will be distributed in the next three years as part of the programme, including Rs 10,000 as loan per person to those from very poor families. Self-help groups (SHGs) will get financial assistance of Rs 20,000 for repayment of loans and working capital of Rs 2 lakh will be made available to women entrepreneurs, he said in a statement. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Commissioner, Human Development Mission and MAVIM for the scheme.
Militant module busted, three arrested in J&K
The police said on Saturday it has busted a militant module in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town with the arrest of three persons.
'Rapid US troops withdrawal would increase bloodshed', says Afghan Envoy
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's special envoy Umer Daudzai has said that the rapid withdrawal of US troops from the country would only create a "vacuum and increase bloodshed".During an interview with CNN, Daudzai was quoted as saying, "If it happened in a matter that's not orderly ... if it happens that it leaves a vacuum behind, then obviously bloodshed would increase."Daudzai told CNN that while the peace talks in Qatar have brought "clarity", neither side has fully agreed to anything.The statement by Daudzai, President Ghani's Special Representative on Regional Affairs for Consensus on Peace, came as the Afghan government along with the international community is seeking to re-establish peace in the region.His remarks come after US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad announced last week that the US and Taliban have agreed in principle to chalk out a framework for a deal that could end the 17-year old conflict in Afghanistan, during the six-day long talks in ...
Bharat Ke Veer: Families of slain CAPF personnel get Rs 2.5 L
The families of 17 paramilitary troopers, killed in the line of duty, Saturday got Rs 2.5 lakh each as part of 'Bharat Ke Veer', a home ministry initiative. Families of 10 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, four from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), two from the Assam Rifles and one from the Sashastra Seem Bal (SSB) were given the cheques by BSF Director General Rajni Kant Mishra at the headquarters of the border guarding force. The monetary contribution has been made by a private company Jamna Auto Industries Limited, a BSF spokesperson said. Bharat Ke Veer (BKV) was launched by the home ministry, under whose command these paramilitary or Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF's) function, in April 2017. Till now, an amount of Rs 45.32 crore has been received in the corpus of this fund, the official said. Anyone can contribute to the fund through the BKV mobile app or the website. All contributions are exempt from income tax as per government rules.
C'garh: Woman ultra killed in exchange of fire with cops
A suspected woman naxal was killed and another injured Saturday in an encounter between security forces and ultras in Chhattisgarh, police said. The skirmish took place early this morning in the forest of Rengaiguda village, around 450 kms from Raipur, under Polampalli police station limits when a joint team of security forces was returning after an area domination operation, Sukma Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla told PTI over phone. The combine squad of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Force (DF) was returning to their camp from Pidmel when they were fired upon, he said, adding that Maoists fled after a brief exchange. "During search, two suspected women naxals, dressed as civilians, were found injured in the forest. No weapons were recovered from them," Shukla said. He said the women were rushed to the field hospital of the CRPF in Dornapal where one of them died during treatment while the condition of other woman is stable. Efforts are on to ..
More security operations in Kandahar planned to clear it of Taliban, says Afghan acting Defence Minister
Afghan and NATO forces are planning to launch more operations in Kandahar to clear it of the Taliban, said Afghanistan's acting Defence Minister Assadullah Khalid after touring the province along with NATO forces commander General Scott Miller.Khalid, after a meeting with Scott Miller, said, "The purpose of our today's (Friday) visit is to assess the security situation and the military operations which have been launched in Maiwand and Ghorak districts as well as the operations which will be launched in other areas in the near future."Khalid and Miller met Afghan National Army and Police force members as well as the provincial Police Chief Gen. Tadeen Khan, Kandahar tribal elders and commanders leading the military operations against militants and discussed issues relating to security and the operations, reported TOLO NewsThis was Miller's second visit to Kandahar after being appointed in September 2. The NATO chief first visited the province last October when former Kandahar police ..