Page 267 - War Conflict
4 terrorists killed in encounter in Pakistan
Pakistani counter-terrorism officers on Saturday killed four insurgents, including two women and a local ISIS commander, in an encounter in Punjab province. The terrorists were killed when the police officials opened fire on a vehicle in the Sahiwal district. "A counter-terrorism department (CTD) team tried to intercept a car and a motorcycle carrying the terrorists near the Sahiwal toll plaza, however, they started firing at them and a shootout ensued," the CTD spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Geo news. "Four people, including two women and a local ISIS commander have been killed and one child has been injured in the cross-fire," the spokesperson said. The suspects were kidnappers and three children were recovered from them, police said. The CTD said that the deceased were high-level targets who were also involved in the kidnapping of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's son, the report said. "Both the terrorists were travelling with their families to avoid police ...
Trump says to meet families of Americans killed in Syria
US President Donald Trump made a suprise announcement Saturday he would be traveling to meet the families of four US personnel killed in northern Syria. He tweeted: "Will be leaving for Dover to be with the families of 4 very special people who lost their lives in service to our Country!" Dover refers to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Nineteen people including the four Americans were killed in a suicide bombing on a small restaurant in the flashpoint northern Syrian town of Manbij on Wednesday. The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, was the deadliest to hit US troops since they deployed to Syria in 2014. It came after Trump's shock announcement last month that he was ordering a full troop withdrawal from the country because the jihadists had been "largely defeated." Two US service members, one Department of Defense civilian and one contractor were among those killed in the Manbij attack. After sweeping across swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, the jihadists' cross-border ..
Kashmiri Pandits demand creation of a separate township within Kashmir for them
Some members of the Kashmiri Pandit community gathered at the Raj Ghat here Saturday to mark the 29th anniversary of their forced exile from Kashmir and demanded creation of a separate township in the valley for them. They took an oath to return to Kashmir Valley and appealed to the government to fulfil its duty by facilitating their return. They commemorated Kashmiri Pandit Exodus Day, the organisers said in a statement. On this day in 1990 hundreds of thousands of protesters, along with armed militants, occupied streets of Kashmir shouting slogans against the minority community which eventually led to their exodus from the valley. "Many Kashmiri Pandits were killed, raped and tortured before and after 19 January, 1990 in a series of targeted killings of minority Pandits," it said. Remembering the night, Mona Razdan, one of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, said that the night was "possibly the longest night of our lives". "Mobs from all over the valley had occupied every single road ..
12 cops injured in Bihar anti-encroachment drive
At least 12 police officers were injured during an anti-encroachment drive on Saturday in Digha area of Patna in Bihar.
Egypt says kidnapped Christian man is police forensic expert
Egyptian security officials say a Christian man who has been kidnapped by suspected Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula is a police forensic expert. They identified him Saturday as 45-year-old Adeeb Nakhlah, who lived and worked in el-Arish until 2017 when he fled following a spate of attacks targeting Christians there. The officials did not say whether Thursday's kidnapping of Nakhlah was planned given his profession. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Militants led by the Islamic State group have for years been battling security forces in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The militants have targeted Christians since December 2016, killing more than a 100 of them in attacks on churches and buses carrying pilgrims to remote monasteries.
From Westgate fiasco to Dusit, Kenyan response praised
Kenya's security response to the Islamist assault on the Dusit hotel complex in Nairobi shows the numerous lessons learned since a chaotic intervention when the Westgate mall was attacked in 2013, according to analysts. The swift reaction, under a single chain of command, with the site rapidly cordoned off and procedures put in place to deal with survivors, has received widespread praise in the aftermath of the assault which left 21 dead, 28 injured and saw some 700 people rescued. "It was an operation which appeared well-executed," said a regional security analyst, requesting anonymity. "From a purely operational point of view, if the toll remains as it is, it is almost a miracle. We know how complicated it is, even with exceptionally well-trained people," he added, highlighting the tricky layout of the Dusit complex with its numerous buildings and parking lots. "Across the spectrum, we've seen greater seriousness in all aspects of counterterrorism, both prevention and response," ...
2 held for illegal firearm trades, weapons seized
Two persons from Thane who were allegedly involved in illegal trade of firearms were arrested by the Special Operations Team of the Rachakonda police on Thursday.Two pistols, two live rounds (7.65 and 7.62) and two mobile phones were seized from them. The accused have been identified as Datthu and Shyam Sunder.Datthu, who is a resident of Bhiwandi's Thane, has reportedly been a part of illegal fire arms business and has contacts with illegal firearms traders in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.Further investigation is underway.
Searches underway in Srinagar's Lal Chowk
Security forces started a search operation on Saturday in Lal Chowk and adjacent areas to the Jammu and Kashmir capital here, police said.
Modi boards tank at L&T's gun-making facility in Gujarat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday boarded a tank while inspecting Larsen and Toubro's Armoured Systems Complex facility here for manufacturing high-end guns. The prime minister shared a brief video of himself standing in a tank on his Twitter handle. "Checking out the tanks at L&T's Armoured Systems Complex in Hazira," Modi said in the tweet. The Armoured Systems Complex, which Modi inaugurated earlier in the day, will be the first private facility in the country where the K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be manufactured. The company has set up the Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira, around 30 kilometers from Surat, to manufacture and integrate advanced armoured platforms, such as self-propelled artillery Howitzers, future infantry combat vehicles, future-ready combat vehicles and future main battle tanks.
Indonesia cleric to be freed despite holding to radicalism
Lawyers say the Islamic cleric who was the ideological leader of the Bali bombers and other Indonesian militants is being freed after the country's president relented on a requirement he renounce radical beliefs. Abu Bakar Bashir had previously been ineligible for a parole because of his refusal to recognise the secular government's authority. He insists he is only answerable to God and that Indonesia should be governed by Islamic law. Lawyer Yusril Ihza Mahendra, an adviser to President Joko Widodo's reelection campaign, told a news conference Saturday that the president, after being lobbied, was able to "respect" Bashir's beliefs and ease the conditions of his release. Widodo announced Friday that 80-year-old Bashir would be released on humanitarian grounds. He was sentenced to 15 years prison in 2011.
Lanka police gets 3-month detention order to question four men arrested over recovery of explosives
Sri Lankan police has obtained a three-month detention order to interrogate four men, suspected to be the members of a radical Muslim group, arrested over the seizure of some 100 kilos of high explosives and 100 detonators in north western Sri Lanka. The police's CID (Criminal Investigations Department), found some 100 kilos of high powered explosives, 100 detonators, 20 litres of nitrate acid, wire codes and two firearms at Wanathavilluwa police division on Thursday. The four men arrested by the CID, includes the owner of the land where some of the explosives were buried. The CID on Friday obtained a three-month detention order from the defence secretary to interrogate the four suspects. The defence secretary is empowered to grant a detention order for 90 days. Acoording to media reports, a radicalised local group of Muslims is said to be behind the explosives seized on Thursday. Police are investigating if the explosives have any connection to a group of people arrested recently at .
Two monks shot dead as violence flares in Thailand's deep south
Gunmen in Thailand's deep south shot dead two Buddhist monks and wounded two others inside a temple, police said Saturday, capping a week of deadly violence as the prime minister vowed to "punish" those responsible. Black-clad assailants carrying rifles crept into Rattanaupap temple in Narathiwat province near Malaysia's border on Friday evening and started firing, local superintendant Pakdi Preechachon told AFP. "The attack took place around 7:30 pm (1230 GMT) when an unknown number of gunmen dressed in black entered the temple through a rear area via a creek," Pakdi said. "Two monks were shot dead at the temple while two others were wounded." Since 2004 clashes between ethnic Malay-Muslim rebels and the Buddhist-majority Thai state that annexed the region a century ago have killed nearly 7,000 people, mostly civilians of both faiths. The death toll in the south dropped to a record low last year as Thailand's junta tightened its security web but violence has boiled over in recent ...
Zimbabwe in 'total internet shutdown' amid violent anti-fuel hike protests
Thousands of Zimbabwean citizens were unable to access the internet on Friday after the government had ordered the nation's biggest telecom operator to shut down its services again, amid the violent anti-fuel hike demonstrations that have rocked the African nation since this week.Although network connectivity was restored after several hours, popular social networking platforms remained blocked for the users, said Econet Wireless. This meant that the people could not access social media sites like WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook throughout the entire week, CNN reported.Although violence abated in the capital Harare, most shops and businesses remained shut with the military and security forces patrolling the streets of the city.The total 'internet shutdown' comes after the United Nations has accused Zimbabwe's Army of committing human rights abuses on cracking down the protesters over the massive hike in fuel prices.Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency ..
UNSC condemns car bombing in Colombian capital
The UN Security Council has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Thursday's car bombing at a police academy in the Colombian capital of Bogota, which caused heavy casualties.
All women Assam Rifles Contingent to make history at Rajpath
The dedication to serve the nation, feeling of satisfaction in performing duty and donning and honouring the uniform is what the woman soldiers of the all women Assam Rifles Contingent have to say.For the first time in the history of Assam Rifles and also in the para military an all women Contingent will be saluting the President at the Rajpath this Republic Day on January 26.This women Contingent is also special as some of the mahila jawans are kin of martyred soldiers, who have been recruited on compassionate ground.Some of them shared their experiences to ANI.Rifle Woman Sunita Thapa, who was recruited in place of her husband said that she had stepped into her husband's shoes only to fulfil his dreams.Praising the support she is getting from her family, the mother of a five-year-old son said, "The entire family is proud of me and I am proud of the Assam Rifles".The soldier said that her husband died in an accident when he was on leave and she would try to fulfil all his dream as a .
Sitharaman decides to induct women in military police
Enhancing representation of women in armed forces, Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said the government has taken a "historic" decision to induct women in the military police.
Israeli fire wounds 14 on Gaza border: Hamas ministry
Fourteen Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire in new clashes along the Gaza border Friday, said the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, rocked by ongoing weekly protests. The ministry said the 14 were shot, including two medics, but did not report that any were in life-threatening condition. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in multiple locations along the border, though clashes were less intense than in previous weeks, AFP correspondents said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said approximately 14,000 Palestinians took part in "riots" along the border, with protesters "burning tyres and hurling rocks at (Israeli) soldiers". Troops responded "in accordance with standard operating procedures", she said. Palestinians have held often violent demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border since March 2018. At least 243 Palestinians have since been killed by Israeli fire, the majority during protests and clashes. Others have died in airstrikes or shelling. Two Israeli soldiers have ...
Explosion in north Syria targets al-Qaida gunmen, kills 11
Syrian opposition activists say an explosion outside an office belonging to an al-Qaida-linked group in the country's northwestern has killed at least 11 people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Smart news agency, an activist collective, said the blast occurred Friday on the southern edge of the rebel-held city of Idlib. The blast comes a week after members of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, or HTS, took over control of Idlib province and the surrounding countryside after forcing rival insurgents to accept a deal for a civil administration run by HTS in their areas. The Observatory said 11 people were killed in the blast, including seven HTS members. Smart said 12 people were killed, many of them militants.
Norway probes knife attack as possibly 'terror-related'
Norwegian police said Friday they were investigating a knife attack in Oslo by a suspected assailant from Russia as a possible "terror-related" act. On Thursday a man stabbed a woman in a shop in central Oslo n broad daylight. The woman is in critical but stable condition in hospital, and the suspect was arrested shortly afterwards. "There are reasons to examine whether the knife attack was terror-related and the investigation will try to clarify this," Benedicte Bjornland, the head of Norway's domestic intelligence service PST, told reporters. The suspect is a 20-year-old Russian national who arrived in Norway on Thursday from Russia, via Sweden, she said. He was not previously known to Norway's intelligence services. The PST was brought into the case because of information that emerged during police questioning of the suspect on Thursday. "He said he wanted to kill people and that it was an act of terrorism," Bjornland told local media. Public broadcaster NRK presented the suspect ..
Women to comprise 20 percent of military police after graded induction: Sitharaman
Women inductees in the military police will be done in a graded manner, and will eventually comprise 20 percent of its total strength, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Friday. The decision to induct women in the military police with an aim to enhance their representation in the armed forces was announced by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat last year. In a series of tweets, the official handle of the defence minister said,"to improve representation of women in our armed forces Smt @nsitharaman takes a historic decision to induct women for the first time in PBOR (Personnel Below Officer Rank) role in Corps of Military Police." It further said, "the women will be inducted in graded manner to eventually comprise 20% of total Corps of Military Police." Their role would range from probing rape and molestation cases to assisting the Army wherever required. Last year, Rawat had said the process to allow women in combat role, currently an exclusive domain of men, was moving fast and