Page 335 - War Conflict
Afghan forces kill 26 militants
Up to 26 militants have been killed and more than 20 others injured as troops, backed by air force, targeted Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan's eastern province of Ghazni, the Army said on Wednesday.
Ukrainian president signs martial law act: spokesman
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday signed an act introducing martial law after Russia's seizure of three of Kiev's navy vessels sparked the worst crisis in years between the neighbours. "President Poroshenko has signed the law," spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Facebook. Ukraine's parliament on Monday voted in favour of the president's request for the introduction of martial law in border areas for 30 days. There was some confusion over when exactly martial law entered force, however, with some officials saying that it had already begun on Monday. The presidential spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment. Poroshenko called for the move after Russian forces fired on, boarded and captured three of Kiev's ships on Sunday off the coast of Crimea. He warned on Tuesday that Ukraine risked "full-scale war" with Russia and the country's armed forces have been put in a state of full combat readiness. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told parliament on Wednesday
29 hurt in suicide blast in Cameroon's Far North: security sources
At least 29 people were wounded Wednesday when a women bomber blew herself up in a border town in Cameroon's Far North, a region frequently hit by Boko Haram jihadists, security sources said. But a second bomber was shot dead by troops deployed in the town before she could detonate her explosives, the source said. "A suicide bomber blew herself up this morning in Amchide" on the Nigerian border, a regional security source said, speaking on condition of anonymity and giving a toll of 29 wounded. The attack occurred on market day when the town was filling up with early-morning shoppers, a local civil defence group official said. "There were many people hurt, I saw about 20," he said. "After the attack, the market emptied." A once-bustling trade hub, in 2014 Amchide was thrust into the forefront of a major battle between Cameroonian troops and Boko Haram militants who held the nearby Nigerian town of Banki for several months. The violence forced most residents to flee the town, although .
LeT commander Naveed Jhutt wanted for Shujaat Bukhari's killing gunned down
Pakistan-born Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Naveed Jhatt, who was wanted in connection with the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari and escaped from custody in February, was gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Wednesday, police said. In a major success for the security forces, "most wanted" Jhatt, who was an associate of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, was killed along with an accomplice in an encounter in a village in central Kashmir's Budgam area, officials said. Three Army personnel were injured in the encounter that claimed the life of the terrorist who had slipped away from the police dragnet at least six times and was involved in multiple attacks in the Valley over the years. The LeT terrorist was a Pakistani national and due process would be followed, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said. "We'll be writing to the Ministry of Home Affairs to inform Pakistan to take the body," Singh told PTI. The endgame for Jhatt, alias Hanzalla, started in the early .
Afghan president names negotiating team for Taliban peace talks
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday announced a 12-person team for prospective peace talks with the Taliban, as the UN renewed calls for direct negotiations between Kabul and the insurgents. The Afghan government, Western diplomats and United Nations officials have in recent weeks raised hopes of finally reaching a deal to end the Taliban's 17-year fight. At an international conference on Afghanistan in Geneva, Ghani said his government had "formed a 12-person negotiating team, comprised of both women and men, and led by presidential chief of staff (Abdul Salam) Rahimi". Ghani also laid out four principles that he said must form the backbone of any agreement, including respect for Afghanistan's constitution and the rejection of interference in domestic affairs by foreign "terrorist" and criminal groups. US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is believed to have held talks with the Taliban in Qatar earlier this month, had been pushing Ghani to announce a team for prospective ...
Sri Lanka's top military official in court over mass murder cover-up
Sri Lanka's top-ranking military officer surrendered to court Wednesday after weeks evading arrest for allegedly protecting the chief suspect in the high-profile murder of 11 people during the island's civil war. Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, dressed in full military regalia, appeared at the Colombo Fort magistrate flanked by supporters and serving navy officers. The court was told Wijegunaratne shielded a naval intelligence officer accused of 11 murders in the closing stages of Sri Lanka's bloody separatist war that ended in 2009. Three warrants for Wijegunaratne's arrest were issued by the magistrate in early November but the Chief of Defence Staff, the highest military official in Sri Lanka, had refused to surrender. In a dramatic new development, prosecutors told the court that Wijegunaratne and his bodyguards tried to abduct a key witness at the weekend who had previously testified against him. He has denied all allegations and sought bail Wednesday. Investigators say ...
Kashmir: 2 CRPF jawans injured in stone pelting
Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans sustained injuries on Wednesday in a stone-pelting incident in Kashmir's Budgam district.A group of people allegedly resorted to stone pelting during an ongoing encounter between the security forces and the terrorists in Chathergram village.The jawans were immediately rushed to a hospital. They are stated to be out of danger.Talking to ANI, General Officer Commanding of Army's 15 Corps AK Bhatt said, "In an operation on Wednesday morning in Budgam, two terrorists were killed. One of them was identified as Naveed Jatt, believed to be involved in the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari. Two of our men were also injured and taken to the hospital. They are out of danger."After getting a tip-off about some terrorists hiding in the village, the security forces launched a joint operation with the local police of the area in the morning on Wednesday. In retaliating firing, the security forces gunned down two terrorists.
Afghanistan: Taliban abducts 25 travellers
The Taliban kidnapped at least 25 passengers who were travelling from Sar-e-Pul province to Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan on Tuesday.The incident took place in an area around Kushinda district of Balkh province.Munir Ahmad Farhad, spokesperson for Balkh's Governor was quoted by TOLOnews as saying that the passengers were kidnapped while they were travelling from Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pul province to Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.Some women passengers, who were among the 25 people kidnapped, were later released by the Taliban. It is unclear whether the remaining travellers would be freed by the group or not.Kidnapping and hostage-taking have become a common occurrence in Afghanistan following the US invasion of the country in 2001.
Alarm after Philippines' Duterte 'death squad' plan
Rights groups raised fears Wednesday after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced plans to create a "death squad" targeting suspected communist rebels, saying it would worsen the "calamity" triggered by his deadly drug war. The Philippines' 50-year fight against communist militants, one of Asia's oldest insurgencies, long pre-dates his anti-narcotics crackdown that has killed thousands and drawn international censure. Duterte, like previous governments, initially held peace talks with the communists but shelved negotiations last year over deadly attacks against soldiers and police. In a speech Tuesday night, he took aim at the communist rebels' hit squads known as "sparrow units". "What I lack is my own sparrow. That is where they (communists) have an edge... So I will create my own sparrow, Duterte Death Squad against the sparrow," the president said. "I will match their talent also for assassinating people," he added. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said ...
Delhi HC upholds trial court convictions in 1984 anti-Sikh riots
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday upheld a trial court conviction of 89 people for rioting, burning houses and breaching curfew in Trilokpuri area in east Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
1984 anti-Sikh riots: HC upholds conviction of 80 people
The Delhi High Court Wednesday upheld the conviction of around 80 people and awarded them five year jail term for rioting, burning houses and violation of curfew during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Justice R K Gauba dismissed their 22-year old appeals against conviction by a trial court and asked all the convicts to surrender forthwith to undergo the prison term. The convicts had challenged the August 27, 1996 judgement of a Sessions Court which had convicted 88 out of the 107 people arrested on November 2, 1984 for rioting, burning houses and curfew violation in Trilokpuri area of East Delhi. After the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, the next couple of days witnessed widespread rioting and killings of Sikhs in the national capital. According to the FIR lodged in connection with the Trilokpuri incident, 95 people had died in the rioting and 100 houses were burnt, said senior advocate H S Phoolka, who has been representing the riot victims in ...
JD-U leader survives attack in Srinagar
A Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader survived an attack on him here on Wednesday.
Bukhari's assassin killed, J&K Police call it 'good news' (Third Lead)
A top Pakistani commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who was wanted for the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead on Wednesday in a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district, police said, calling it "good news".
LeT terrorist involved in Shujaat Bukhari's assassination killed in J-K
Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Naveed Jhutt, who was wanted in connection with the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari and had escaped from custody in February, was killed along with an accomplice in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Wednesday, officials said. Three army personnel were injured in the encounter that claimed the life of "most wanted" Jhutt, they said. The LeT terrorist was a Pakistani national, Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said. "We'll be writing to the Ministry of Home Affairs to inform Pakistan to take the body," Singh told PTI. Jhutt's endgame started in the early hours of Wednesday when a special operations group of the Jammu and Kashmir police cordoned off a house at Kuthpora locality in Chadoora in Budgam following an intelligence input about the presence of militants, officials said. A gun battle broke out when those holed up inside the house fired at security forces, they said, detailing the events leading to Jhutt's killing. .
93 Rohingya fleeing by boat sent back to Myanmar camps: Police
Nearly 100 Rohingya Muslims were forced back to Myanmar's Rakhine state after being detained at sea en route to Malaysia, police said Wednesday, stirring fears of a fresh refugee boat crisis. Three vessels carrying fleeing Rohingya have now been seized and returned to Rakhine over the past two weeks, as the monsoon season gives way to more favourable, if still treacherous, sailing conditions. All on board the third boat were being returned to camps around the capital Sittwe in the central part of the state, where more than 120,000 people have been confined since intercommunal violence in 2012. A photo in local media showed the group huddled on the deck in the baking sun, a scene reminiscent of the boat crisis in 2015 that saw countless Rohingya abandoned by smugglers in the Andaman Sea after authorities shut down trafficking routes. They were headed for Malaysia when stopped by navy officers on Sunday night off the southern town of Dawei, Police Major Min Lwin told AFP. "They were all
Naveed Jatt dead, it's good news: DGP
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday confirmed the killing of LeT commander Naveed Jatt, who was wanted for the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, in Badgam district and called the Pakistani's elimination "good news".
LeT militant involved in Shujaat Bukhari's assassination killed in J-K: officials
"Most wanted" Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Naveed Jhutt, who was allegedly involved in the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari, was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Wednesday, officials said. The gun battle broke out after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Budgam in the morning following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said. The militants opened fire at the security personnel carrying out searches and the forces retaliated, he said. Internet services in Budgam have been snapped as a precautionary measure. Bukhari, a veteran journalist and editor of Rising Kashmir, was shot dead by terrorists outside his office in the heart of Srinagar in June this year.
Rise in US deaths in Afghanistan clouds outlook for peace
A rash of American combat deaths in Afghanistan is putting a spotlight on a stalemated 17-year war that is testing President Donald Trump's commitment to pursuing peace with the Taliban. Trump has acknowledged that his original instinct was to withdraw from Afghanistan, but last week he suggested he is willing to stick it out, asserting that the U.S. is in "very strong negotiations" an apparent reference to US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad's efforts to get the Taliban to agree to peace talks. On the other hand, Trump indicated he had little confidence the talks are going to succeed. "Maybe they're not. Probably they're not," he said. The human cost of the conflict rarely makes headlines in the US, leaving Trump with political room to maneuver. But that might be changing. In early November, Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, and a major in the Utah National Guard, was killed by an Afghan soldier in Kabul. Last Saturday, Sgt. Leandro Jasso, a 25-year-old Army Ranger from ...
Slain journalist Shujaat Bukhari's killer Naveed Jatt shot dead
A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, Naveed Jatt, who was wanted for the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, was killed on Wednesday in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district, police sources said.
Polling begins in Madhya Pradesh
Polling began Wednesday morning to elect a 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh, where the ruling BJP and opposition Congress are fighting for supremacy. Polling is being held between 8 am and 5 pm on 227 seats, while in three assembly segments - Lanji, Paraswada and Baihar - in the Naxal-affected Balaghat district, voting time is between 7 am to 3 pm. The BJP is eyeing a fourth straight term in office, while the Congress is hoping for a comeback in the state which was once its stronghold. The battle of ballots in Madhya Pradesh is just months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls slated in the first half of 2019. As many as 2,899 candidates, including 1,094 independents, are in the fray for the 230 seats, but the main contest is between the Congress and BJP - the Big Two of MP politics. The state has 5.04 crore eligible voters. State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V L Kantha Rao said Tuesday 3,00,782 government employees, including 45,904 women, have been deployed on poll duty across the ...