Page 290 - War Conflict

Sikh man shot dead by militants in Pulwama

A Sikh man was shot dead by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district Friday, police said. Simranjeet Singh was shot at by the militants at Khasipora in Tral area, 36 km from here, a police official said. Singh, whose elder brother was elected as a sarpanch in recently held panchayat elections, was rushed to SMHS hospital here where he succumbed to injuries, the official said. Further details were awaited, he said.

Maoist guerrilla killed in Jharkhand

A Maoist guerrilla was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Jharkhand's Chatra district on Friday, police said.

PB CM appeals to all political parties not to hold rallies during 'Maghi' fair

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday appealed to all political parties not to hold any conference during the annual 'Maghi' fair at Sri Muktsar Sahib, in view of the sanctity of the occasion. He announced that neither the Congress party nor the state government would organise any public function during the sacred event to be held later in January. The chief minister said the occasion should not be marred by any political overtones but should be observed with utmost reverence. The solemn occasion observed every year in the memory of 40 'muktas' (liberated ones) who laid down their lives in the battle of Khidrana (1705), now known as Sri Muktsar Sahib, should never be exploited for pursuing narrow, vested and political interests, he said in a statement here. The auspicious occasion of 'Maghi' in Sri Muktsar Sahib was being held since time immemorial as a mark of respect to the 40 'muktas', who valiantly fought against the Mughals. However, the people of Punjab felt that over .

Civilian shot dead by gunmen in Kashmir

A civilian was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

Stray incidents of violence continue to rock Kerala

Stray incidents of violence continued to be reported in Kerala, which turned into a war zone over the entry of women of menstruating age in Sabarimala temple, Friday with rampaging protestors hurling crude bombs and stones in various places. As many as 1,369 people have so far been arrested and 801 cases registered in connection with violent protests which were witnessed during the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by pro-Hindu outfits Thursday, police said, adding that 717 people are now in preventive custody. Crude bombs were hurled at the house of Malabar Devaswom Board member, K Sasikumar, at Perambra in Kozhikode in the early hours of Friday, the police said. Similar explosives were hurled at a mobile shop in Adoor in Pathanamthitta, they said. Four incidents, in which crude bombs were used, were reported in Kannur, a politically volatile district which is witness to frequent clashes between CPI(M) and BJP workers, and at least 200 people had been arrested, the police said, adding no ...

Heathrow, Gatwick investing in anti-drone technology

Britain's two biggest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, are investing in anti-drone technology following severe disruption at Gatwick caused by drone sightings in the run-up to Christmas, spokesmen said on Friday. The British army was deployed to London Gatwick on December 20 after the airport grounded all flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded over some of the busiest days of the year. "We have invested several million pounds (dollars, euros) in providing ourselves with the equipment and the technology that the armed forces deployed over Christmas," a Gatwick Airport spokesman told AFP. He said investment was made "in the days immediately after" the disruption but declined to give details, saying only that it had "equivalent capabilities" to the technology used by the military. A spokesman for London Heathrow, Britain's biggest airport, also said they would be investing in anti-drone technology. "The safety of our passengers and colleagues remains our top priority. ..

Gunmen shoot civilian in Pulwama

Unidentified gunmen shot and critically injured a civilian on Friday in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Police step up security for Kerala CM

Kerala Police will step up security for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan following widespread protests in the state over the entry of two women to the Sabarimala shrine, a police officer said on Friday.

Pompeo expects Trump-Kim summit soon, but not final deal

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday again voiced optimism that a second US-North Korea summit would take place soon but said he doubted it would seal a landmark deal. US President Donald Trump, who held a historic summit with Kim Jong Un in June in Singapore, on Tuesday revealed that he had received a "great letter" from the North Korean leader and boasted of their relationship. "Lots of work that is left to be done, but I am confident that in the next short period of time President Trump and Chairman Kim will get the chance to meet again," Pompeo told Fox News host Sean Hannity, a prominent supporter of Trump. He said the summit would work to "truly create a much better, safer America with less threat of not only nuclear weapons being launched at us but nuclear proliferation as well." But asked if the next summit would lead to a lasting deal, Pompeo said: "I'd be surprised if we get all the way home in this meeting, although it would be fantastic if we did." Trump and Kim, in .

Security forces arrest Maoist, seize explosives in Jharkhand

Security forces arrested a Maoist in Palamau district and seized explosives in Latehar district in separate anti-naxal operations in Jharkhand, police said. Palamau, Superintendent of Police, Inderjit Mahata Thursday said police arrested a Maoist identified as Sudeshwar Bhuyan from a place under the jurisdiction of Manatu police station area. The SP said Bhuyan was absconding for the last 15-years. Latehar, Superintendent of Police, Prashant Anand Thursday said that during an anti-naxal operation the security forces recovered a cache of explosives from Ranidah forest under Chipadohar police station in Latehar district. Five IEDs, three grenades, three bundles of cotex wire, two bundles of electric wire were recovered during the operation, Anand said.

Jharkhand: 1 Naxal killed gunned down in Chatra

At least one Naxal was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Jharkhand's Chatra district on Friday.The gunbattle which continued for a couple of minutes commenced at 7 am in the morning.Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of police and CRPF personnel launched a search operation in the region when they fired on by a group of Naxals hiding there. The security forces retaliated to the firing.The joint team also recovered one INSAS rifle from the incident spot.Both Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are known to be a Naxal hotbed, with encounters and attacks taking place nearly on a weekly basis. A few days back, nearly 10 Naxals were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, while one District Reserve Guard personnel sustained injuries in the cross-firing.

Omar, Mehbooba engage in Twitter war

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah Thursday engaged in a 'Twitter war' with both sides accusing each other of taking political advantage of militancy in the state. Mehbooba Thursday said Governor Satya Pal Malik should issue directions to security forces not to harass the families of terrorists while fighting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. "Our police is a disciplined force. The Governor should issue clear cut directions that families of militants should not be harassed," she told reporters after visiting the family of a slain militant in Shopian district of south Kashmir. It was her second such visit in a week. Omar was quick to react to the visit by saying the PDP leader was "trying to rehabilitate a badly damaged reputation". "The architect of 'Operation All-out' & the overseer of the operations that killed hundreds of militants since 2015 is now going from one militant home to the next trying to rehabilitate a badly damaged reputation," .

New Delhi rejects Trump ridicule of India's efforts in Afghanistan

United States President Donald Trump has stirred a diplomatic tempest by ridiculing India's development efforts in Afghanistan and sources in New Delhi have rejected the volatile remarks by pointing out the importance of nation-building in the war-torn nation and asserting that it provides troops only for United Nations operations.

US Army chief of staff makes surprise stop in Kabul

The US Army's chief of staff made a surprise visit to the capital Kabul where he met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss prospects for a peaceful end to the country's 17-year war, the United States' longest. In a statement late Thursday, Ghani's office said Gen. Mike A. Milley supported Afghan-led talks with the Taliban, although the burden of getting the two sides to the table seems to have fallen to Washington's newly appointed peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad has met several times with Taliban insurgents since his appointment in September. They have consistently refused direct talks with Ghani's representatives calling the Kabul government U.S. puppets. Another round of U.S.-Taliban talks are reportedly scheduled for later this month in Doha, Qatar, where the insurgents maintain a political office.

J-K: Three militants gunned down in Awantipora encounter

At least three militants were gunned down in a joint operation launched by Police and security forces here in Awantipora's Tral on Thursday morning."As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the terrorists. The fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight. In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists were neutralized and the bodies were recovered from the site of encounter. The killed terrorists have been identified as Zubair Ahmad Bhat @Abu Huraira son of Bashir Ahmad Bhat resident of Chursoo Awantipora, Adfar Fayaz Parray @Abu Zarrar son of Fayaz Ahmad Parray resident of Gulshanpora Tral and Tawseef Ahmad Thoker @Abu Talha son of Ghulam Mohi-ud-deen Thoker resident of Chursoo Bunpora Awantipora," an official statement said.Elaborating about the incident and revealing identities of the terrorists, the statement further stated: "All the three killed terrorists were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attacks on security ...

SC orders Ahmed Patel to face trial over RS election

In a setback to Congress veteran Ahmed Patel, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered him to face trial in connection with his election to the Rajya Sabha in 2017 which has been challenged by BJP leader Balwantsinh Rajput.

Committee formed to probe death of Major killed in Nagrota terror attack

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that a committee has been formed to probe the death of Major Akshay Girish who was killed in Nagrota terrorist attack."As assured by the Raksha Mantri, a Committee has been constituted with members, inter alia, as suggested by Meghna Girish to look into the supreme sacrifice made by her son Major Akshay Girish. Meghna Girish has been invited to depose before and assist the Committee," the Defence Minister tweeted.Major Girish lost his life in the Nagrota terror attack in November 2016 when terrorists dressed as policemen entered the cantonment area and killed seven Army personnel including two Major-rank officers.His mother has been demanding a probe to find out the details of the death of her son.

Injured soldier undergoing treatment: Army

The Indian Army on Thursday refuted reports about one of the three injured soldiers in Tral gunfight having died.

Tunisia says 2 jihadists blow themselves up in security raid

Two alleged jihadists blew themselves up Thursday during an early morning raid by Tunisian security forces on a house in the central region of Sidi Bouzid, the interior ministry said. Acting on a tip off, "police units raided a house in the Jelma area... and two terrorists blew themselves up with explosive belts", national security spokesman Walid Hkima told AFP. A police officer was wounded during a heavy exchange of fire between the two sides, he added, without specifying how many people were holed up in the house. The interior ministry said the two suspects were "among the most dangerous terrorists" wanted by police since December 12. They belonged to an offshoot of Jund al-Khilafa -- an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group -- it said. The ministry said they planned to commit "spectacular terrorist acts targeting patrols and security posts". Five explosive devices, three hunting rifles, mobile phones and a large sum of money were seized in the raid, it added. The raid

H.S. Phoolka resigns from AAP

Senior advocate H.S. Phoolka on Thursday resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party.