Page 288 - War Conflict

BSF resorts to firing after suspicious movement along IB in J-K's Samba

BSF troops resorted to brief firing following suspicious movement along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district Sunday night, officials said. The troops observed suspicious movement of some persons near Fatwal post along the IB in Ramgarh sector of the district and fired a few rounds, they said. The personnel have been alerted at the borderline, the officials said.

Maoist gun down watchman, torch construction camp

Maoists gunned down a watchman over suspicion of him being an informer of the policeThe deceased was identified as Rabindra Mallick who was a resident of Malickpada village and was working as a night watchman at the Construction Camp in Patiamba nearby his home village."Around 20 to 25 armed Naxal stormed into the house of Rabindra last evening and took him to a nearby area and smashed him mercilessly and fired at him," said the deceased's wife."After the last year's successful operation red rebels are putting posters to avenge the killing and threatening to stop all road and other construction activities in Sudrukumpa area. We are following the SoP and working accordingly said Prateek Singh," SP Kandamandal to ANI.He was found lying in a pool of blood near a field in the village Malickpada on Sunday, the naxals left one poster over his body about their claim."Additional police forces have been mobilised and other operational steps have been taken to nab the rebels," SP Kandhamal ...

Trump confirms key plotter in USS Cole attack has been killed

President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that the US military has killed one of the architects of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole that left 17 American servicemen dead. The military said Friday that Al-Qaeda operative Jamal al-Badawi was believed to have been killed in a precision strike in Yemen. "Our GREAT MILITARY has delivered justice for the heroes lost and wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole," Trump tweeted. "We have just killed the leader of that attack, Jamal al-Badawi.

Former PDP MLA joins Peoples Conference

Former PDP MLA Abbas Wani Sunday joined the Sajal Lone-led Peoples Conference here. Wani joined the PC in the presence of Lone and Shia leader Imran Ansari, who also quit the PDP recently. Taking to Twitter, Lone said "I welcome M Abbas Wani into the caravan of change". Wani, who won his maiden election from Tangmarg constituency of north Kashmir in 2014 assembly election, was among six PDP legislators who had rebelled against the party leadership over alleged nepotism.

Roadside bombs wounds 8 in southwest Pakistan

Pakistani officials say two roadside bombs blasts have wounded eight people in the country's southwestern Baluchistan province. Officer Shams Uddin of the Levies Force said Sunday that the convoy of the force's senior officer Abdul Malik was targeted in Pishin district with a roadside bomb planted in a motorcycle. He said the attack left Malik, his two subordinates and three civilians wounded. In the second attack, a Frontier Corps paramilitary soldier and a civilian were wounded in Panjgur district when a remote-controlled bomb exploded as a paramilitary vehicle was driving by. Police officer Khurshid Dashti said the security vehicle was badly damaged. No one claimed responsibility for either attack. Baluchistan has been a scene of low level insurgency by Baluch separatists who have claimed such attacks in the past.

BJP minister slams Akhilesh Yadav over mining scam

BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh on Sunday took a dig at former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav after the Samajwadi Party leader dubbed the CBI probe in the illegal mining case as political vendetta.

71-year-old suffers heart attack on way to Vaishno Devi, dies

A 71-year-old pilgrim from Maharashtra died after he suffered a massive heart attack en route the Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said Sunday. Bhagwan Gopal Bhandari fell unconscious near Ardhkuwari on his way to the cave shrine and was rushed to a clinic where doctors declared him brought dead, they said. Quoting doctors, the official said he had suffered a massive heart attack resulting in his death.

Egyptian policeman dies trying to defuse bomb outside church

Egypt's Interior Ministry said a policeman was killed late Saturday as he was trying to defuse an explosive device near a church in a residential Cairo district. The ministry said the blast also wounded the commander of the bomb squad and another policeman. The device was in a suitcase concealed on the rooftop of a building close to the church in the Nasr City suburb in eastern Cairo, added the ministry, which oversees the police. The blast came just two days before the Orthodox Coptic Church, the dominant denomination among Egypt's estimated 10 million Christians, celebrates Christmas. It also came a little more than a week after a roadside bomb hit a tourist bus near the Giza Pyramids, killing three Vietnamese tourists and their Egyptian driver. Saturday's incident likely will force authorities to further tighten security around churches ahead of the Coptic Orthodox Christmas. Already, armed policemen guard churches, and security guards check the identity of visitors. Metal ...

Infiltration, South Kashmir remain a headache for security forces in JK

Failure to curb infiltration from across the Line of Control and putting a check on local recruitment of youths in terror groups remain a constant source of worry for security agencies in militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Sunday. Analysing the trends of 2018, it has been seen that infiltration figures continue to remain unchanged as around 140 terrorists successfully sneaked into the Kashmir Valley, majority of whom are believed to be of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group, they said. Although around 110 terrorists were killed during infiltration, the successful number of cross overs continue to worry the security agencies. During recent meetings with Army and BSF officials, it has been brought to their notice that the counter infiltration grid needs to be further strengthened as militants may try and sneak in during the peak winters as well. "It is not only the Line of Control, which stretches from Poonch in Jammu to Kupwara in Kashmir, but also international border, which ...

Security forces start search operation in Shopian

Security forces started a cordon and search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday following information about the presence of militants there.

No lessons learnt from the past, 'Military History of India' makes clear

Sometime in 2001-02, a Group of Ministers headed by L.K. Advani, the then Deputy Prime Minister, had accepted a recommendation of a task force headed by Arun Singh, a former Minister of State for Defence, to create the post of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to ensure that the three wings of the armed forces operated on the same page, particularly in times of conflict.

Egypt church bomb kills policeman

A policeman has been killed trying to defuse a bomb outside a church in Egypt, security officials said.

US warns Syria against usage of chemical weapons

The United States has strongly warned Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime against the use of chemical weapons in the region."There is no change to the US position against the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime - any further use will be met by a swift, strong response," John Bolton, the US National Security Adviser tweeted on Sunday.Bolton is currently on an official two-state visit to Israel and Turkey to discuss the withdrawal of US forces from Syria.The NSA further outlined the agenda of the visit, which includes discussing the way in which US will continue working with its allies and partners to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, the countering of "Iranian malign behaviour in the region," and US's support for those who have helped the nation in fighting against the ISIS.This comes after a Yazidi rights group, on Friday, urged the US to delay its troop withdrawal from the region, citing an "existential threat to minorities like the Yazidis" by increasing the ISIS' chances of a ...

CRPF trooper shoots self after firing at colleagues

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper has shot himself dead after firing at two colleagues in a camp in the outskirts of Srinagar, police said.

Non-contact warfare is "serious issue": Gen Rawat

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said Saturday that 'non-contact warfare' is "important" and it is getting a serious consideration in the restructuring of the armed forces. Rawat was speaking to the media on the sidelines of an annual function at Bhosla Military School here. Asked whether a special "vertical" is being created in the Army for non-contact warfare, Rawat said, "I have spoken about it number of times, non-contact warfare is important. "We are preparing for non-contact warfare. It is a serious issue. We are considering it seriously in our restructuring," he said.

Simmering anger sparks days of protest after Madagascar vote

Madagascar police fired teargas Saturday to disperse some 500 supporters of the losing candidate in last month's presidential election, in the fifth such protest this week, AFP correspondents witnessed. Defying a ban on demonstrations, hundreds of supporters of Marc Ravalomanana took to the streets of the capital Antananarivo to rally on the square outside City Hall, with police firing tear gas to disperse them. Several demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at officers, who arrested four people, the correspondents said. After a brief game of cat-and-mouse with police chasing demonstrators, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour quickly clearing the area. Police had also used tear gas at a similar demonstration on Wednesday. Angry protests erupted on December 29, just two days after former president Andry Rajoelina was declared the winner of a runoff vote which took place 10 days earlier. Defeated, Ravalomanana -- also a former president -- cried foul, claiming fraud and ...

CRPF trooper injured but no militant's body found in Pulwama

Police said on Saturday that no militant's body has been recovered from the site of a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that left a CRPF trooper injured.

British airports boost defences against drones

British airports are boosting their counterdrone efforts after severe disruption during the holiday period, marking the first concrete sign that the three days of flight mayhem last month could be a catalyst for spending on systems to thwart the malicious use of unmanned aircraft.

Security forces fire to disperse protesters marching to gunfight site

Security forces resorted to aerial firing on Saturday to disperse scores of protesters trying to march towards the site of a gunfight between security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Car bomb explosion wounds 3 in northwest Pakistan

Pakistani police say a car bomb has exploded in a Peshawar neighbourhood wounding three people and damaging several shops. Officer Dost Mohammad says the explosion Saturday took place outside a mosque in the Kali Bari area of the city. He says a woman was among the wounded, who were rushed to a nearby hospital. Mohammad said the area was nearly deserted at the time of the early morning blast. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is surrounded by lawless tribal regions that have served as a sanctuary for Islamic militants for decades. Militants have targeted the city for years.