Page 269 - War Conflict
Pak Rangers violate ceasefire along IB in J-K's Kathua
Pakistan Rangers Friday violated ceasefire by resorting to firing along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said. Pakistan Rangers resorted to small arms fire on border outposts (BoPs) in Hiranagar sector at around 11 am, they said. BSF troops, guarding the borderline, retaliated strongly, the officials said. On Thursday, a civilian was injured when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and resorted to firing and mortar shelling along the Line of Control in Rajouri district. Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had on Thursday said the Army was replying befittingly to the Pakistani aggression. Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling along the LoC in the Jammu region of the state for 13 days of this month, the officials said. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number -- 2936 -- of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border. The continuous Pakistani shelling and firing targeting ...
Blast at Lal Chowk, grenade attack on J&K Police camp
Minutes after hurling a grenade at a paramilitary patrol party in the city centre Lal Chowk here in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, militants hurled another grenade at a police camp in Shopian district, police said.
Mirwaiz criticises Army commander for boasting about number of militants killed in J-K
Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq criticised Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen Ranbir Singh for his remarks terming 2018 as a remarkable year for the force for killing 250 militants. "The statement of Army (commander) that 2018 was a remarkable year for them in Kashmir as they killed over 250 militants is extremely unfortunate," the Mirwaiz told a Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid here. He was responding to the remarks of Lt. Gen Ranbir Singh in which he reportedly said that 2018 has been a great year for the security forces as more than 250 terrorists were killed, 54 were caught alive and four surrendered to the forces. The Mirwaiz claimed many Army officers have in their write-ups and lectures admitted that Jammu and Kashmir is a political problem that has to be resolved politically. "Instead of admitting this, the armed force of a country that prides itself in the history of its freedom struggle...sells the killings of these armed youths as a great ...
Death toll climbs to 21 in Bogota terrorist attack
The death toll in Thursday's gruesome car bomb explosion at the police academy in Bogota has climbed to 21, police say.President Ivan Duque declared a three-day national mourning in the wake of the bomb attack at the General Santander National Police Academy just before a graduation ceremony for its cadets was slated.Police identified the assailant as Jose Aldemar Rojas Rodriguez, according to Anadolu Agency. No group has owned responsibility for the blast.Police said the driver rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the compound of the police academy at full speed and refused to stop despite being signalled to do so. The suspect is believed to be among the dead.Bogota has often been the hotbed of conflict between leftist rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels.
Israel demolishes home of accused Palestinian killer
Israeli forces demolished the West Bank home on Friday of a Palestinian accused of the fatal September stabbing of an Israeli-American, witnesses told AFP. Residents of the town of Yata, near the flashpoint city of Hebron, said that troops arrived at the home of Khalil Jabareen and were met by stone-throwing Palestinians. There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side. The Israeli army spokesman's office said it had no immediate comment. Ari Fuld, 45, was a father of four who lived in the Israeli settlement of Efrat, near the shopping mall in the occupied West Bank where he was stabbed. Jabareen, 17 at the time of the incident, was shot and moderately wounded near the scene after a brief chase and placed under arrest. He was allegedly identified as the assailant from footage on security cameras outside the mall, at the Gush Etzion Junction south of Bethlehem. There is regular friction between Israelis and Palestinians at the junction, which lies near a major Israeli ...
Unprovoked firing by Pak Rangers in Hiranagar sector
Pakistan Rangers on Friday resorted to unprovoked firing on the Border Security Force (BSF) duty point in Hiranagar sector.According to BSF's Public Relations Officer (PRO), the troops responded with limited firing."No loss/damage on the Indian side has been reported, and no further firing resorted to by either side," the BSF PRO added.Further details are awaited.
Explosion rocks Srinagar Lal Chowk
Militants on Friday hurled a grenade at a paramilitary patrol party in the city centre Lal Chowk here in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
2 grenade attacks on security forces in Kashmir
Militants carried out two grenade attacks on security forces in Kashmir, including one in the Lal Chowk area of the city, on Friday but there were no reports of any casualty, police said. The ultras lobbed a grenade at a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) bunker at Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) in Lal Chowk this afternoon, a police official said. The grenade exploded on the roadside, he said, adding no one was hurt in the attack. A private car parked on the roadside was partly damaged due to the explosion, the official said. This is second attack on security forces in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- within 24 hours. Militants hurled a grenade on police personnel at Zero Bridge here on Thursday, resulting in injuries to three policemen. In another incident, militants lobbed a grenade at security forces in Shopian district of south Kashmir, the police official said, adding there was no injury to anyone and damage to properties due to the explosion. The attacks come ..
21 killed in Colombia car bombing
At least 21 people were killed in a car bomb attack at a police academy in the Colombian capital of Bogota, authorities said.
21 dead in car bomb attack on Colombian police academy
Colombia' s government declared three days of mourning Thursday after at least 21 people died in a car bomb at a Bogota police cadet training academy, and 68 were wounded -- the worst such incident in the city in 16 years. The defense ministry said the "terrorist act" was carried out using a vehicle packed with 80 kilograms (around 175 pounds) of explosives. "Unfortunately, the preliminary toll is 21 people dead, including the person responsible for the incident, and 68 wounded," Colombian police said in a statement, adding 58 of those injured had been discharged from hospital. The defense ministry had previously reported 11 dead and 65 injured. "All Colombians reject terrorism and we're united in fighting it," President Ivan Duque tweeted in the aftermath. Later in a statement to the nation, he said he had ordered reinforcements to Colombia's borders and routes in and out of cities. "I have also requested that priority be given to all the investigations ... to identify the ...
Sri Lanka Cricket elections postponed to Feb 21
Sri Lanka Cricket elections have been postponed by two weeks and will now be held on February 21. Earlier, the scheduled date for election was February 7.The change in the schedule was made due to a technical error in the Sinhala to English translation of the Gazette which authorises Sri Lanka's sports minister to appoint an advisory committee to hear appeals related to elections.In the original Gazette, it was stated that a retired judge would head the committee. But in the English translation of the Gazette, the word "retired" was missing which led to the postponement of the elections."It is because we had to correct the Gazette, it was a legal issue. I couldn't appoint a sitting judge. The Gazette was done by the previous minister, and according to the Attorney General's advice we had to change it and give ample time for the new appeal committee to make their considerations," ESPNcricinfo quoted Sri Lanka Sports Minister Harin Fernando, as saying.Sri Lanka Cricket elections were ...
Kosovo provocations break international law, destabilise Balkans: Putin
Provocations coming from authorities in Serbia's unilaterally-seceded province of Kosovo and Metohija might destabilise the whole Balkans, visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin has said here, urging Pristina to respect the international law.
NATO head to attend EU defence ministers' meeting in Bucharest
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed his attendance at the informal meeting of defence ministers of the European Union (EU) member states, to be held here at the end of January, Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel Les said.
8 killed in Bogota car explosion
At least eight people died and 41 others injured after a car bomb detonated outside the General Santander National Police Academy in the Colombian capital of Bogota on Thursday.A high-ranking police official said that the car bomb could be a suspected suicide attack. Police said that the driver rammed the vehicle into the compound of the police academy at full speed and refused to stop despite being ordered to, CNN reported.The suspect is believed to have died in the explosion.Condemning the incident, Colombian President Ivan Duque termed it as a terrorist attack and promised to bring perpetrators to justice.He later visited the police academy and directed law enforcement authorities to launch a manhunt in identifying the people behind the attack.Meanwhile, Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez identified "the material author of the attack, a man named Jose Aldemar Rojas Rodriguez, who was driving the car that entered the academy," as per the report.He added that the suspect was ..
8 killed in Bogota car explosion
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack
Ten killed in car bomb attack on Colombian police academy
A car bomb attack on a police cadet training academy killed 10 people and wounded 65 on Thursday in Bogota, making it the worst such incident in the Colombian capital in 16 years. The defense ministry said the "terrorist act" was carried out using a vehicle packed with 80 kilograms (around 175 pounds) of explosives. "All Colombians reject terrorism and we're united in fighting it," President Ivan Duque tweeted. Vowing to bring those responsible to justice, Duque added: "COLOMBIA is sad but will not bow to violence." The bomber -- believed to have been killed in the attack -- struck at the General Francisco de Paula Santander Officer's School in the south of Bogota during a promotion ceremony for cadets. No group has claimed responsibility, but public prosecutor Nestor Humberto Martinez named suspect Jose Aldemar Rojas Rodriguez as the "material author of this abominable crime." Martinez said Rojas Rodriguez entered the school compound at 9:30 am (1430 GMT) driving a grey 1993 Nissan ..
Doctor and child killed in Sudan protests as police break up march
A doctor and a child were killed Thursday during protests in Sudan's capital, organisers of the anti-government demonstrations said, as police dispersed a crowd of hundreds marching towards the presidential palace. At least 26 people have died in protests that have rocked Sudan since they first erupted on December 19 after a government decision to raise the price of bread. The rallies have since escalated into broader demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir's three decades of iron-fisted rule and triggered deadly clashes with the security forces. Human rights groups have given a higher death toll, with Amnesty International saying that more than 40 people had been killed and over 1,000 arrested. "One doctor and a child (have been) killed in today's demonstrations," the doctors' committee, part of a protest movement spearheaded by the Sudanese Professionals Association, said in a statement late on Thursday. The committee said the two were killed with "live ammunition" but did ..
Two days of clashes near Libya capital leave 10 dead
Two days of clashes between rival militias near Libya's capital Tripoli have left 10 people dead and 41 wounded, the health ministry said Thursday. Fighting between armed groups erupted Wednesday despite a truce deal four months ago that had halted deadly battles in the city. A medical source told AFP that fierce clashes hit an area some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Tripoli on Thursday, after fighting around an airport 25 kilometres from the capital the previous day. The violence has pitted the Tripoli Protection Force, an alliance of militias from the city, against the Seventh Brigade group from the town of Tarhuna. The health ministry said that there were women and children among the wounded. Tripoli was plagued by militia clashes that killed at least 117 people and wounded more than 400 between late August and late September. The United Nations mission in Libya on Wednesday condemned a "military mobilisation" in southern Tripoli and warned groups not to break a ceasefire ...
Putin calls for stable Balkans during Serbia visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for stability in the Balkans during a pageantry-filled visit to Serbia, a key Moscow ally. After arriving to a rousing red-carpet welcome in Belgrade, Putin said he would back efforts to maintain calm in the region, a day after accusing the West of destabilising the Balkans through efforts to boost NATO membership. "Russia, like Serbia, is interested in the situation in the Balkans remaining stable and not dangerous," Putin told reporters at a joint news conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Although Serbia and all of its neighbours aspire to join the European Union, Belgrade has maintained close ties with Russia, its historical "Orthodox big brother" whose people also share Slavic origins. The affection for Moscow is fanned by its unyielding support on the emotive issue of Kosovo, a former Serbian province that broke away in a 1998-99 guerilla war. Serbia has never accepted the split and Russia similarly rejects it, ...
US 'jihadist' sought to attack White House: FBI
Authorities in the US state of Georgia have arrested a 21-year-old man who sought to buy explosives and an anti-tank rocket for a "jihad" suicide attack on the White House planned for Thursday. Byung Pak, the US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, announced the arrest of Hasher Taheb of Cumming, Georgia late Wednesday after a monthslong FBI investigation sparked by a tip from the local community "that Taheb had become radicalized." According to the indictment, Taheb tried to recruit an informant and an undercover FBI agent into a plan to attack the White House and other targets in Washington, including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and an unnamed synagogue. Wanting to fulfil his "duty" to conduct jihad and expecting to become a "martyr," Taheb originally hoped to travel to Islamic State-held territory in the Middle East, he told the FBI source, the indictment said. But because he had lost his passport, Taheb told the informant it would be better to launch ...