Page 300 - War Conflict
NIA raids matter: Court sends all 10 IS suspects to 12 days remand
A Delhi court on Thursday sent all 10 terror suspects who were part of the now-busted ISIS-inspired terror module, to 12 days remand. The terror investigative agency had sought a remand of 15 days.The Patiala House Court also allowed the family members and parents of five terror suspects to meet them inside the court.The NIA told the court that investigation into larger conspiracy was needed to be done. The agency added that all the accused need custody to unearth the entire IS-inspired terror module as their members are active in other states as well.Advocate MS Khan, counsel for accused argued: "The press conference held by NIA showed that the entire conspiracy has been unearthed. Why keep them under custody?"Later, he told reporters after the hearing: "They are students. What NIA has recovered includes tractor's power nozzle which they planted and called it a rocket launcher. What they (NIA) are calling explosives are actually 'sutli bombs' that are used in Diwali. There is a lot ..
Mastermind of Chinese Consulate attack killed in suicide attack
The alleged mastermind of the Chinese Consulate attack in Karachi was killed in a suicide attack here on Wednesday.According to Dawn, Aslam Baloch alias Achhu, a leader of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) was killed along with five other militants during a meeting in an upscale locality of Kandahar."Aslam Baloch alias Achhu has been killed along with five other key leaders of the BLA in an attack," confirmed BLA's spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch.The other deceased have been identified as Sangat Sardaro alias Tajo, Karim Marri alias Rahim Baloch, Sangat Akhtar Baloch alias Rustam, Freed Baloch and Sadiq Baloch.On November 23, three gunmen attacked the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, triggering a shootout that left the assailants, two police officers, and two civilians dead.In the past few months, the BLA has carried out several attacks to mark their opposition against multi-million dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Balochistan.
ISIS module case: NIA produces 10 arrested persons before Delhi court
NIA on Thursday produced before a Delhi court 10 people arrested on suspicion of being members of an ISIS-inspired group who were planning suicide attacks and serial blasts, targeting politicians as also government installations, in Delhi and other parts of north India. They were produced before the court amidst tight security and with covered faces before Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey who ordered in-camera proceedings in the case. NIA sought 15-day custodial interrogation of the 10 accused who were arrested from various parts of the national capital and Uttar Pradesh.
Pakistani militant wanted in Chinese attack killed in Afghanistan
A Pakistani separatist wanted over an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November has been killed in a suicide blast in Afghanistan, his group has confirmed. Aslam Baloch was believed to be one of the leaders of the Balochistan Liberation Army, one of a myriad of insurgent groups fighting in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province. He was killed on Tuesday along with four others in a blast in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, the group said in a statement issued late Wednesday in which they vowed to continue their fight for Baloch independence. Kandahar police chief Tadin Khan confirmed a suicide bombing had taken place in the provincial capital, killing two civilians. Another Afghan official who spoke anonymously said Baloch and a second member of the BLA were the targets of the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Four people were killed when militants attacked China's consulate in the port city of Karachi in November. The BLA ..
US offers job security to Taliban rebels for peace in Afghan
The US is offering Taliban militants a safety network that includes job opportunities to persuade insurgents to join the Afghan peace process."Although some members of the Taliban may be weary of fighting and ready to lay down their weapons, they will only rejoin society if they believe their safety and the safety of their families are guaranteed, and if they have an opportunity to earn enough money to provide for their families," reads the proposed Pentagon's plan to Congress for addressing US security.According to the Dawn, the US Defence Department has also outlined a plan for rehabilitating the Taliban rebels in a new Afghanistan.The development comes days after the Pentagon announced the withdrawal of around 7,000 troops from Afghanistan.For the past several years, Washington has been trying to persuade the Taliban to come to the negotiating table and formulate a peace process to end the 17-year-old conflict in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban asserted that the presence of ...
UN 'unequivocally condemns' attack in Kabul
The United Nations has "unequivocally condemned" the recent attack on a government compound in Afghanistan's heavily populated capital city of Kabul, in which more than 40 people were killed. Expressing their sympathy and concern, the Security Council issued a statement underlining that the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism needed to be held accountable and brought to justice. They also urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Afghan Government and all other relevant authorities to this end. "The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," said the statement. Moreover, they reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, ...
France drops probe into Rwandan genocide
France has dropped a long-running investigation into the shooting down of a plane carrying former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, whose death in 1994 was a trigger for the genocide in the country.
Afghan election organisers mull delaying presidential vote
Afghanistan's election organisers are again considering postponing April's presidential ballot for two months, an official said Thursday, in an attempt to avoid a repeat of October's shambolic legislative vote. The remarks come at a sensitive time for Afghanistan as the Taliban step up their bloody offensive and President Donald Trump's plan to slash American troop numbers threatens to derail US-led peace efforts. The Independent Election Commission, which was skewered over its handling of the parliamentary vote, was meeting with "relevant sides", including potential candidates, to discuss delaying the ballot. "The purpose is reform and to avoid problems which occurred in the parliamentary election," IEC spokesman Zabi Sadat told AFP. "No decision is final yet, but we will make an announcement soon." The IEC is still finalising results of the parliamentary vote held two months ago and observers have expressed concern that it would struggle to organise a presidential election in ...
US offers safety, job security to Taliban
The US is offering Taliban militants a safety network that job opportunities to persuade the insurgents to join the Afghan peace process.
Trump defends Syria pullout, says US can't be world's policeman
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and said that his country cannot be the world's policeman in a surprise visit to troops deployed in Iraq.
Trump visits US troops in Iraq for Christmas: Report
US President Donald Trump visited the US troops in Iraq to celebrate Christmas, the official Iraqiya television reported on Wednesday.
Trump makes surprise visit to Iraq; meets US soldiers
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania on Wednesday night made a surprise visit to Iraq to greet American soldiers stationed in the country. This is his first visit to Iraq as the US President. "I want to come and pay my respects most importantly to the great soldiers, great troopers we have here," Trump told a pool of reporters travelling with him. He stayed in the country for a few hours. While in Iraq, Trump met with US military leaders and spoke to troops at the Al-Asad Air Base, a joint US-Iraqi military base west of Baghdad. A scheduled in-person meeting with Iraq's Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi was cancelled. Trump's travel to Iraq was made public after he finished giving remarks to a group of about 100 mostly US special operations troops engaged in combat operations in Iraq and Syria. When asked why he wanted to come to Iraq, Trump told reporters before a meeting with military leaders on base: "It's a place I have been talking about for many many years. I was ...
Trump visits US troops in Iraq for Christmas
US President Donald Trump visited the US troops in Iraq to celebrate Christmas, the official Iraqiya television reported on Wednesday.
18 arrested in Tunisia amid violent protests
Tunisian authorities have arrested 18 people during protests that erupted after the death of a journalist who set himself on fire to protest economic problems in the North African nation, officials said Wednesday. Thirteen were arrested in the provincial city of Kasserine and five others in Tebourba, near Tunis, Interior Ministry spokesman Sofiane Zaag said. Clashes between protesters and Tunisian authorities took place in several regions over the past two days after journalist Abderrazak Zorgui posted a video online before his self-immolation in Kasserine describing his desperation and calling for revolt. He expressed frustration at unemployment and the unfulfilled promises of Tunisia's 2011 Arab Spring revolution. The most violent protests took place in Kasserine, in west central Tunisia, where police used tear gas to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators. According to ShemsFM radio,the military was deployed to help police tackle the protests and secure state buildings. In Tunis, ...
11 trekkers including 5 from Delhi rescued by ITBP from U'khand
Eleven trekkers, including five from Delhi, have been rescued from the upper reaches of Uttarakhand after they got stranded for two days due to snowfall, ITBP officials said Wednesday. They said a group of five trekkers and porters each and a guide were rescued by the troops of the 14th battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district after they got stranded there on December 24. "The group lost contact due to snowfall in Khaliya Top area in Bhainstal area of Munsiyari. They are in good health and were brought to Munsyari this afternoon and were further sent off to their destinations," a senior official said. Further details and the identities of the trekkers were awaited, they said. Munsiyari is at an altitude of 7,200 feet. The ITBP is deployed in the state as part of their mandate to guard the India-China border.
Tunisia clashes spread over tough living conditions
Clashes between Tunisian protesters and security forces spread from an impoverished western city overnight, authorities said Wednesday, as anger grew over the death of a journalist who set himself on fire over economic conditions. In the western city of Kasserine, police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths in a second night of unrest, an AFP journalist said. Clashes also broke out in the eastern town of Jbeniana, where a policeman was injured, and in Tebourba in the north where at least five people were arrested, national security spokesman Walid Hkima said. The unrest follows the death of 32-year-old journalist Abderrazk Zorgui on Monday after setting himself ablaze in Kasserine. The interior ministry said one person had been arrested for alleged involvement in the desperate act of protest, which triggered an outpouring of anger in the city with protesters setting tyres on fire and blocking roads. Thirteen people were arrested in Kasserine for "acts of destruction" during the ...
BLA commander Aslam Baloch killed in Kandahar bombings, say sources
As many as six people including Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) commander Aslam Baloch were killed in a suicide bombing attack that took place here on Monday (December 24), sources have confirmed.Tolo News quoted the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Wednesday confirming that the suicide bomb explosion, which targeted a vehicle, took the lives of six civilians in Aino Mina Township in Kandahar city. However, the Afghan ministry did not confirm reports on the murder of the Baloch leader"A number of civilians were killed as a result of the suicide attack in Aino Mina township. Six people were killed, and two others were wounded. It is said that a number of Baloch nationals were among those martyred," said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.According to sources, the Baloch leader had been residing in Kandahar since 2005. He was openly criticising Pakistan and the Chinese government for their policies and motives in Balochistan.BLA has also carried out several attacks against ...
Uttarakhand: 11 trekkers rescued by ITBP
As many as 11 people including five Delhi trekkers, one guide and five porters were rescued by 14 Battalion Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from Munsyari region of Uttarakhand on Wednesday.The group was stranded since December 24th when they lost contact due to snowfall in the Khaliya Top in Bhainstal area of Munsyari.All the rescued people are in good health and were brought to Munsyari this afternoon.Khaliya Top Munsyari is a five-kilometer trek in which tourists from around the country participate.
UN-led monitors meet in Yemen's Hodeida as clashes test truce
A UN-led team tasked with monitoring a ceasefire met Wednesday in Yemen's flashpoint city of Hodeida, after sporadic clashes underscored the fragility of the truce which began last week. The ceasefire in the rebel-held city, home to a Red Sea port vital for millions at risk of starvation, is part of a peace push seen as the best chance yet of ending four years of devastating conflict. Retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert is heading the joint committee, which includes both government officials and Huthi rebels, and chaired its first face-to-face meetings on Wednesday. The committee gathered once over lunch and again shortly afterwards for talks on the implementation of the truce and planned troop withdrawals, Yemeni sources close to the discussions said. Members of the government delegation arrived to the sit-down in UN vehicles, a Yemeni official said. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has described the meeting as "one of the priorities" of Cammaert's mission. A truce in Hodeida and ...
New IS module busted by NIA in Delhi, UP; 10 arrested (Intro Roundup)
The NIA on Wednesday claimed to have busted an Islamic State module by arresting 10 people, including the group leader, who were allegedly planning terror attacks targeting some political personalities and security establishments as well as crowded places in Delhi and the national capital region.