Page 31 - War Conflict
15 killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan
At least 15 people, including civilians, were killed in an attack by a group of Taliban terrorists in Ghor province in western Afghanistan on Friday night, an official of Ghor Provincial Council said on Saturday.The incident occurred after the terrorists launched an ambush at security outposts in Poshta Noor village of Dawlatyar district in the province, TOLOnews quoted Hamidullah Motahid, member of the council, as saying.A tribal elder named Lal Bahadur Frotan and two others were injured in the attack.Ghor governor's spokesperson Abdulhaqi Khatibi confirmed the attack but said authorities did not receive adequate information on the incident.He also said Afghan government forces have been rushed to the spot.In the past several years, government forces, Taliban and other terror outfits have been involved in armed confrontations, even as peace efforts are underway to end the nearly-two decades-long civil war in Afghanistan.The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) ...
Goalkeeper turned rebel fighter dies in northwest Syria
A Syrian goalkeeper turned rebel fighter who starred in an award-winning documentary died Saturday of wounds sustained fighting regime forces in northwestern Syria, his faction said. Abdel-Basset al-Sarout, 27, was among dozens of fighters killed since Thursday in violent clashes on the edges of the Idlib region of some three million people. That region dominated by an alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate is supposed to be protected by a months-old buffer zone deal, but has come under deadly regime bombardment in recent weeks. Before Syria's eight-year civil war, Sarout was a goalkeeper for Syria's youth team from the central city of Homs. When peaceful demonstrations broke out against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2011, he joined in, soon becoming a popular singer of protest songs. Following a brutal government crackdown on the protests, he took up arms against regime forces. Sarout starred in the documentary "Return to Homs" by Syrian director Talal Derki, which
Jaish militant killed in Anantnag encounter
A Jaish-e-Mohammed militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday, police said. Acting on inputs, a cordon-and-search operation was launched in the forests of Nowgam in Dooru area of the south Kashmir district, a police spokesperson said. During the search, the militants fired on the search party, which retaliated. One militant was killed and the body was retrieved from the encounter site, the spokesperson said. The militant has been identified as Iqbal Ahmad, the official said. According to the police records, Ahmad was affiliated with the JeM and was part of a group involved in the planning and execution of a series of terror attacks in the area. Many cases were registered against him, the spokesperson said. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site, the spokesperson added.
Delhi police on toes after Commissioner meets Amit Shah
After Amit Shah took over as the new Home Minister of the country, the Delhi police has finally pulled up its socks to tame a new herd of gangster emerging on the outskirts of the national capital.
Women contingent of SSB to be deployed for UN peace keeping in Congo
A 22-member women contingent of SSB will be deployed for the UN peace keeping mission in civil war-stricken Congo.
Sri Lanka president sacks intelligence chief over Easter attacks probe
Sri Lanka's president has sacked the national intelligence chief and will not cooperate with a parliamentary investigation into security lapses before the Easter suicide bombings, officials said Saturday. Maithripala Sirisena summoned an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday night to oppose a parliamentary select committee probe into the April 21 attacks that killed 258 people, including 45 foreigners, and wounded nearly 500. Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis was sacked after testifying to the inquiry last week that the attacks could have been averted. He also said the president had failed to hold regular security meetings to assess the threat from Islamic radicals who carried out the bombings on three hotels and three churchs. Sirisena's office did not give a reason for the sacking. Halfway through the testimony, the live telecast of the proceedings was stopped on the president's orders, official sources said. A ministerial source told AFP Sirisena has refused to allow any ..
Two soldiers killed, three injured in Pak blast
At least two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three others were injured after a roadside bomb targeting a military vehicle exploded in Pakistan's restive north Waziristan tribal district on Saturday, officials said. The incident happened when the soldiers were patrolling in the Degan area and their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. The blast happens a day after a three Pakistan Army officers and one soldier were killed in a similar blast in North Waziristan. The slain army personnel were identified as Lt Col Raashid Karim Baig, Major Moeez Maqsood Baig, Captain Arif Ullah and Lance Havaldar Zaheer. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the both the attacks. Militants have increased attacks in the area and during last one month, 10 security forces personnel have been killed while 35 got injured, the Army said in a statement.
Intel inputs about possible threat to JK BJP leaders
An intelligence input has been passed on to the Jammu and Kashmir police about a possible threat to some BJP leaders including its president Ravinder Raina, officials said Saturday. Inspector General of Police (Jammu range) M K Sinha said they have got the security inputs and are looking into it. Security alerts have been sent to the Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Poonch and Rajouri districts and range officers for necessary action and precaution. Raina, an RSS pracharak who was appointed as the state BJP head last year, is already a state government protectee. Senior police officials said that they were aware about the threats but added that such warnings come almost on regular basis. The intelligence input is being verified by other concerned security agencies, they said.
India sends fresh women CAPF contingent for UN duties in Africa
India has sent a fresh contingent of its women Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel for UN-mandated duties in the civil war hit African country of Congo, a senior official said Saturday. The 22-member women personnel are drawn from the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) that is tasked to guard open Indian borders with Nepal (1,751 km) and Bhutan (699 km). The SSB is a CAPF or paramilitary force that functions under the command of the Union Home Ministry. The contingent was flagged off for deployment in the Democratic Republic of Congo Friday by SSB Director General Kumar Rajesh Chandra from the headquarters of the force here and the personnel will be deployed as a rapid deployable battalion of the Indian Army, the official said. While this is the first UN contingent of the SSB in its over 55 years of service history, it will be the second CAPF women squad from India to the UN as the CRPF has been sending its female combatants for similar duties in Liberia for many years now. "The ...
Sirisena against parliamentary probe into Easter attacks
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has protested a parliamentary investigation into security lapses leading to the Easter suicide bombings which killed over 250 people and injured hundreds, the media reported on Saturday.
Egypt says its forces kill 4 militants in Sinai
Egypt says security forces have killed 4 militants in the restive northern part of Sinai Peninsula. The Interior Ministry says the four were killed in a shootout with police south of the Mediterranean city of el-Arish on Saturday. It says the police seized automatic rifles, bombs and explosive belts. The ministry says the four were implicated in an attack earlier this week on a police checkpoint in northern Sinai that authorities say left eight policemen dead. On Thursday, authorities said security forces killed 14 suspected militants linked to the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. The long-running insurgency in northern Sinai escalated after the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013, and is now led by an Islamic State affiliate.
Twelve bodies found in Bosnian war-era mass grave: report
The remains of 12 Muslims killed in Bosnia's brutal 1992-95 civil war have been found in a mass grave on a mountain near Sarajevo, Fena news agency said Saturday. The war is thought to have left more than 100,000 people dead and over 7,000 people are still missing. "According to the evidence, they were liquidated while they were trying to go to the Free Territories," or areas under the control of the Bosnian army, Emza Fazlic, the spokeswoman of the Bosnian Institute for Missing Persons, told Fena. The bodies have been transferred from the grave site at Mt. Igman, west of Sarajevo, to the capital for DNA tests and the results should be available in six to eight weeks, she said. When the conflict ended, 31,500 people remained missing. The bodies of some 25,000 have since been exhumed from mass graves, but few have been found in recent years. More than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were butchered by Bosnian Serb forces in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the worst atrocity in Europe since
Taliban attack kills 14 militiamen in western Afghanistan
An Afghan official says the Taliban have killed at least 14 members of a pro-government militia in an attack on checkpoints in the western Ghor province. Abdul Hai Khateby, the spokesman for the provincial governor, says seven other militiamen were wounded in the attack late Friday, with two of them in critical condition. Khateby says reinforcements pushed the Taliban back and inflicted casualties, without giving exact figures. The Taliban, who effectively control about half of the country, carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces and government targets. The US has held several rounds of talks with the insurgents in recent months aimed at ending the nearly 18-year war.
PM Modi arrives in Maldives
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Maldives on his first foreign visit after being re-elected.
Three terrorist drowned in canal after police chase in Pak
Three alleged terrorists of banned Al-Qaeda were drowned after their car fell in a canal during a chase by the security personnel in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday, officials said. The incident happened after the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab Police raided a house in Jehlum, 200-kms near Lahore, after receiving a tip off that some terrorist were hiding in a house and were planning to attack the offices of the security officials, the CTD said in a statement. It said that when the raiding team challenged the terrorists they managed to board a car and fled. They were chased off by the security personnel. Exchange of fire also took place and as a result the terrorists' car fell in a canal at upper Jehlum and they drowned, it said. The CTD said that later the Rescue 1122 divers recovered the bodies of the three terrorists. It identified them as members of the Yahya Atif Ghauri group of Al-Qaeda. "Hand grenades, guns and explosives have been recovered from their ...
ICC should reconsider its stand on Dhoni's 'Balidan' badge: Rajiv Shukla
Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajiv Shukla on Saturday said the International Cricket Council (ICC) should reconsider its stand regarding the army insignia worn by MS Dhoni on his wicket-keeping gloves in the World Cup match between India and South Africa on June 5."I think the ICC should reconsider its stand. Dhoni has not done anything, which amounts to violating the rules and regulations," Rajiv Shukla told ANI.ICC on Friday had turned down the BCCI's request to allow Dhoni to continue wearing the army insignia on his wicket-keeping gloves."The regulations for ICC events do not permit any individual message or logo to be displayed on any items of clothing or equipment. In addition to this, the logo also breaches the regulations in relation to what is permitted on wicketkeeper gloves," said ICC in a statement.Earlier, CoA chief Vinod Rai had said that the board had written to the ICC not to remove wicket-keeper batsman Dhoni's army insignia. However, he also acknowledged if ..
We will go by ICC norms: CoA cheif Vinod Rai on Dhoni's glove controversy
A day after supporting its wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for wearing a military insignia during an international match, Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai on Saturday said that there is no question of breaking the International Cricket Council's (ICC) norms and consequently, they will follow the cricket governing body's decision."Our stand is very clear, we will conform to ICC norms. This is not a religious or a commercial message but I find that ICC has not allowed other players also for this kind of thing. We don't suppose to escalate, we will go by ICC's norms absolutely," Rai told ANI."Even yesterday, we were clear in our mind that this is not religious or commercial but at the same time, ICC got to our notice that on the gloves, they allow only 2 manufacture logos. There is no question of breaking ICC's norms and there is nothing patriotic and nationalistic about it, it's just his personal message that's all. We will go by ICC norms. We just don't want to go against
Goa airport closed temporarily following fire incident
The Goa airport was closed temporarily on Friday afternoon following an incident of fire caused by a drop tank of a naval fighter aircraft, a Navy official said. A portion of the main runway of the airport caught fire after a drop tank of a MiG-29K aircraft fell down from the jet while it was taking off, Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma said. He said the airport has been closed for a few hours following the incident that took place around 2 PM. The Goa airport is used for both civilian and military aircraft. "All efforts are on to resume flight services at the airport as soon as possible," Sharma said.
140 terrorists killed after Syrian Army repels attack
At least 140 terrorists were killed after the Syrian Army launched efforts to repel an attack on the Hama Province by armed opposition groups and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terror group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries like USA, Canada, etc.The offensive on the province lasted for two days, from June 6 to June 7, Sputnik reported while quoting the Russian Centre for Syrian Reconciliation.Around 500 terrorists with armoured vehicles and tanks attacked Syrian Army positions near Jabin and Tal Melh towns in the province, according to Major General Viktor Kupchishin, who is the commander of the Russian Centre for Syrian Reconciliation."While repelling the attack, Syrian government forces killed over 120 terrorists and destroyed five tanks, three IFV, nine off-road vehicles, a multiple-launch rocket system and two mortars," Kupchishin said.Apart from this, armed opposition groups from Idlib also launched an offensive on June 7 near the towns of Karnaz and ...
Dhoni's decision to wear badge personal: Lt. Gen. Cherish Mathson
Former India skipper MS Dhoni's decision to display an Army insignia on his wicket-keeper gloves was personal, said Lt. Gen. Cherish Mathson, GOC-in-C South Western Command,on Saturday.