Page 344 - War Conflict

'Well-founded' hopes for Afghanistan peace: UN

Hopes for peace in Afghanistan are better than they have been in many years, despite a grave humanitarian crisis and persistent violence, a senior United Nations official said Friday. The UN's humanitarian chief in the country, Toby Lanzer, told reporters that even though some 3.6 million people are "one step away from famine" and the worst drought in decades has devastated crops, the situation was not entirely bleak. "Despite all of this, there are new-found opportunities in Afghanistan, and there are very well-founded hopes for peace," Lanzer said in Geneva, ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan in the Swiss city next week. "It sounds like a paradox, but there are better opportunities today then there have been in many years for Afghanistan," he added. Lanzer did not spell out why he believed the Taliban may be ready to negotiate an end to its 17-year insurgency. But he said "there is more coordination amongst the international community than I think we have witnessed .

Kosovo police arrest 4 Serbs, sparking protests in the north

Tensions in Kosovo rose again after police arrested three ethnic Serbs, including two police officers, early Friday on suspicion of involvement in the killing earlier this year of a leading Serb politician in the north of the country. The three men were arrested in the Serb-dominated town of Mitrovica, 40 kilometers north of the capital, Pristina, as suspects in the January slaying of Oliver Ivanovic, police said in a statement. A fourth Serb was arrested for resisting police. A fifth person is still at large, police said. Police said they seized evidence for the investigation into Ivanovic's killing during raids in four locations. Police showed photos of a drone, automatic weapons and ammunition and other equipment found in the raids. Prosecutor Syle Hoxha said they have questioned more than 40 witnesses to date in the case. Nobody has yet been charged in the slaying. Thousands of Serbs protested in Kosovo towns, some blocking all main roads leading to Northern Mitrovica, as well as .

Pak will provide 'robust security' to Chinese nationals, Qureshi assures China

Pakistan assured China on Friday of "robust security" to Chinese nationals in the country and thoroughly probe the terror attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi that killed four people. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi telephoned Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to apprise him of the prompt action taken by the security forces to thwart the attack and the death of two policemen in the security operation, according to the Foreign Office. "Pakistan is fully committed to taking all necessary measures to provide robust security to all Chinese nationals in Pakistan," Qureshi said. Three terrorists affiliated to the Baloch Liberation Army attacked the consulate in Karachi, the port city in southern Pakistan's Sindh province. After a gunfight with security forces, the three were killed. Qureshi also assured the Chinese state councilor that a thorough investigation will be done to arrest the financiers, planners and facilitators behind the attack. He said Pakistan .

Major terror attack on Chinese consulate in Karachi foiled; 7 killed

Three heavily-armed suicide bombers on Friday stormed the Chinese consulate in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi, killing four people including two policemen before being shot dead by security forces which foiled the daring attack in the high-security zone, police said. The attack was soon claimed by the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) which said it would not tolerate "any Chinese military expansionist endeavours on Baloch soil". Resource-rich Balochistan is at the heart of ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Three suspected suicide bombers were killed by security forces before they could enter the consulate, located in the posh Clifton area, Karachi Police Chief Amir Shaikh said. Nine hand grenades, Kalashnikov assault rifles, magazines and explosives were recovered from the possession of the terrorists, Geo News reported. "Food supplies and medicines were also recovered from their possession," officials said. "We have received two dead bodies of policemen and ..

Three, including former SPO, kidnapped in J-K's Shopian

Three persons including a former special police officer (SPO) were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen Friday in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said. The gunmen kidnapped Basharat Ahmad Wagay, a former SPO, Zahid Ahmad Wagay, and Reyaz Ahmad Wagay from their village at Reban in Zainapora area of Shopian, the sources said. However, a police official said they were ascertaining the reports about kidnapping of the three persons. "No one has come forward with a complaint about the kidnappings so far. We are ascertaining facts," the official said. Militants killed two persons -- one shot dead and another terminated in ISIS-style execution -- in South Kashmir last week on the charge of being informers of security forces.

Sikhs among 32 killed in powerful blast in Pakistan's restive northwest

At least 32 people, including three Pakistani-Sikhs, were killed and more than 40 others injured on Friday when a suicide bomber triggered a powerful bomb blast at a busy market outside a religious seminary in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said. According to initial investigation, an improvised explosive device was planted in a bike that was used for transporting vegetables to the popular Friday Market (Juma Bazar) near an imambargah, a Shia religious place, in Orakzai tribal district's Kalaya area, bordering Afghanistan. "This is a Friday bazaar, where hundreds of people had gathered for groceries," Deputy Commissioner Khalid Iqbal said. "The ground is then used for Friday prayers as well," he added. At least 32 people were killed while more than 40 others injured, Dawn news quoted district administration officials as saying. "Three Sikh traders and three children were also among the dead in the Orakzai blast," Iqbal told PTI. The minority Sikh community ..

'Hardcore naxal' from Bihar conceals identity to work as labourer in Gujarat; nabbed by ATS

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad Friday nabbed a "hardcore naxal" who was involved in the killing 10 CRPF commandos in Aurangabad district of Bihar in 2016 and was now working as a factory labourer in Valsad district by concealing his identity, police said. The 33-year-old Rajesh Ravidas, who was declared 'wanted' by the Bihar government, was arrested from Vapi town in Valsad district, the Gujarat ATS said. Among other crimes, Ravidas, a key member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) outfit, was involved in the killing of 10 commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in a Naxal ambush in the Aurangabad forests in 2016, the anti-terror squad said in a statement. Based on a specific tip-off, an ATS team nabbed him from the industrial town of Vapi in South Gujarat, where he was working as a labourer in a factory by concealing his real identity, said police officials. According to the ATS, Ravidas, also known as Uttamji, is a "hardcore naxal" involved in over 50 ...

Afghan official says death toll in mosque blast climbs to 27

An explosion ripped through a mosque inside an Afghan army base in the country's volatile eastern Khost province as Friday prayers were drawing to a close, killing 27 soldiers and wounding 57, the military said. The blast may have been set off by a suicide bomber or a remotely detonated bomb but nothing was officially confirmed and details were sketchy. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. It was the latest in a relentless, near-daily onslaughts in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regularly target Afghan military and police forces throughout the country. "There were soldiers lying everywhere and the smoke was so thick, it was difficult to see," said Abdullah, a spokesman at the base. Like most Afghans, he uses only one name. He spoke to The Associated Press over the phone from the base. The dead and wounded were rushed to a clinic within the army base, while the more seriously wounded were taken to a nearby hospital. Sakhi Sardar, head of the hospital in Khost .

10 Afghan soldiers killed in deadly mosque blast

At least 10 members of the Afghan National Army were killed in a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Afghanistan's Khost province on Friday.The soldiers were offering prayers inside a military base located in the mosque premises at around 1:30 pm (local time) when the explosion took place, Captain Abdullah, a spokesperson for the 2nd regiment of the Afghan National Army was quoted as saying by TOLOnews.He added that 15 others were also injured in the strike and that the number of casualties is likely to increase.Although the Taliban are believed to have carried out the suicide attack, no terror group has claimed responsibility so far.The latest attack comes after a suicide bomber targetted a religious gathering inside a wedding hall in Kabul on Tuesday, where 40 people died and over 80 were left injured.

Cameroon's military says it kills at least 43 separatists

Cameroon's military says it has killed at least 43 armed separatists fighting for the creation of an English-speaking state in the Central African nation. Gen Agha Robinson, the commander of troops fighting the separatists, said Friday the military has destroyed at least three camps in operations since Thursday in Bali village in the Mezam administrative area and Abu village in the Fundong administrative area in the North West region. He says the military seized a huge consignment of guns, ammunition, machetes, motorcycles and drugs. Robinson says many separatists are on the run and the military is tracking them. He says the local population helped inform troops of separatist hideouts. Hundreds have been killed in Cameroon's South West and North West regions in months of fighting between the military and separatists.

Death toll in Afghan base bombing rises to 27: military

An Afghan military spokesman said the death toll from a bombing at a mosque inside an Afghan military base on Friday in the volatile eastern Khost province has risen to 27 soldiers. The spokesman, Abdullah, who like many Afghans uses only one name, says the explosion on Friday also wounded 57 troops. The base is located in eastern Khost province, a stronghold of the Haqqani-linked Taliban group. Abdullah said it still wasn't clear whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber or whether a remotely detonated devise was used. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. It wasn't immediately clear whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, but Khost province is a stronghold of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. The Taliban, however, have in the past decried attacks on religious gatherings but have almost daily targeted Afghan military and security forces.

Top LeT commander among six militants killed in Anantnag encounter

Azad Malik, killed in Anantnag today, was among the 3 militants involved in assassination of Syed Shujaat Bukhari

Sikhs among 31 killed, 40 hurt in powerful blast in Pak's northwest

At least 31 people including three Sikhs were killed and more than 40 others injured when a powerful bomb blast ripped through a busy market outside a religious seminary in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, officials said. The explosive material was planted in a bike in the Friday Market (Juma Bazar) near an imambargah, a Shia religious place, in Orakzai tribal district's Kalaya area, bordering Afghanistan. People were buying warm clothes when the bomb went off, officials said. At least 31 people were killed while more than 40 others injured, district administration officials as saying. "Three Sikh traders and three children were also among the dead in the Orakzai blast," Deputy Commissioner of Orakzai Tribal district Khalid Iqbal told PTI. Officials said that most of the victims were minority Shia Muslims, who in the past were also targeted in the area. "Three children were among those killed. The remote-controlled bomb was attached to a motorcycle," officials

Six Hizb and LeT militants killed in J&K, including one wanted in Shujaat Bukhari's murder case

In a blow to Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, six militants, including a terrorist involved in planning journalist Shujaat Bukhari's murder and three commanders, were killed in an early morning encounter at Bijbehara in South Kashmir, police said. The security forces had launched an operation in the foothills of Wagahama Suktipora Thursday night following information about the presence of militants in a hideout there, they said. The police said there was firing from a house and the six militants were killed when they were trying to escape under the cover of darkness in the ensuing encounter. "It was a swift operation based on intelligence inputs provided from the ground," Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Swayam Prakash Pani said here after the encounter ended. The terrorists were identified by the police as Azad Ahmad Malik of Arwani in Bijbehara, Unais Shafi of Takiya Maqbool Shah, Bijbehara, Basit Ishtiyaq of Pushwara Anantnag, Atif Najar of Waghama ..

UN envoy takes Yemen peace bid to flashpoint Hodeida

UN envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in the battleground Yemeni port city of Hodeida on Friday to press the warring sides to exercise restraint ahead of planned peace talks in December. Griffiths's visit aims to send a message to the rebels, who control the Red Sea city, and the government forces, who have been attacking it with support from a Saudi-led coalition, to keep a lid on hostilities in the runup to the talks in Sweden, a UN source told AFP. According to an AFP correspondent, clashes could be heard in the distance as the envoy visited the lifeline port from which nearly all the country's imports and humanitarian aid pass. Griffiths, who arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, has met rebel chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi and addressed "what can facilitate new discussions in December", rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam said. Abdelsalam said that included "procedures needed to transport injured and sick for treatment abroad and bring them back", a key sticking point ...

Casualties after blast rocks mosque on Afghan army base: Officials

An explosion rocked a mosque on an Afghan army base during Friday prayers, killing or wounding a number of soldiers, officials said, in the latest violence to hit the war-torn country. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in the eastern province of Khost, which defence ministry spokesman Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed told AFP had caused casualties.

3 arrested for stealing 12 temple idols in Telangana

: Three people, who allegedly stole 12 panchaloha antique idols from a temple in Mahabubabad district of Telangana in October, were arrested here Friday, police said. Worth Rs 3 crore in the international market, the idols were recovered from L Ram, K Santosh and V John, the police said. The idols of Lord Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and nine others, believed to be of the Kakatiya era, belonged to a Ramalayam temple, the police said. The age of the idols is yet to be ascertained scientifically, a press release from the police said.

Terrorist involved in Shujaat Bukhari's assassination shot in Anantnag

Terrorist involved in the assassination of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead along with five others belonging to banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in an encounter with security forces in Sekipora area of Bijbehara in Anantnag district on Friday.Giving details of the encounter, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said that Azad Malik of the LeT was involved in Bukhari's killing. "The six terrorists neutralised in Anantnag encounter have been identified as Azad Malik, Unais Shafi, Shahid Bashir, Basit Ishtiyaq, Aqib Najar and Firdous Najar. Terrorist Azad Malik was wanted in Journalist Shujaat Bukhari's murder too," read a statement from the police. Bukhariwas shot dead by terrorists in Press Colony in Srinagar on June 14.In a joint operation of the Indian Army's 3 Rashtriya Rifles, 116 battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the terrorists were killed in the wee hours today. Incriminating materials, including a huge quantity of

4 killed in fresh clashes in C.African capital

At least four people have been killed in fighting between the army and militias in the capital of Central African Republic, sources said on Friday. The clashes erupted in Bangui's mainly Muslim PK5 district -- an area that has become a flashpoint in the troubled country, already weakened by sectarian violence and dogged by militias. The fighting started when a "PK5 fighter fired on the security and defence forces" at around 1600 (1500 GMT) on Thursday, a local resident told AFP, with battles going on for two hours. The bodies of three people were brought to the neighbourhood's Ali Babolo mosque, the local imam said, and a taxi driver was also killed, according to a medical source. More than 20 people were injured. It was unclear Friday whether the people killed and wounded were civilians, soldiers or militia fighters. The distinction between fighters and civilians is sometimes difficult to make in the PK5 district, a major economic hub which has been a battleground on and off for ...

Afghan official: Rally blocks road to protest killing of 3

An Afghan official says hundreds of protesters have blocked roads in northern Parwan province to denounce the death of three people who they say were civilians, killed in an operation against the Taliban. The protesters say the operation by Afghan special forces involved a NATO airstrike in the Jebul Siraj district Friday that killed the three. However, NATO spokeswoman US Sgt 1st Class Debra Richardson says no NATO or American activity took place in Parwan in the past three days. The provincial governor's spokewoman, Wahida Sakhar, says Parwan officials are negotiating with the protesters and promised an investigation into the incident. Afghan special forces called in a NATO airstrike during an operation Wednesday against the Taliban in eastern Logar province. Ten people died but it's unclear how many were civilians.