Page 346 - War Conflict
2 killed, several injured in suspected ULFA(I) attack
Two people were killed and several more injured in a grenade attack by suspected ULFA(I) militants in Sibsagar district of upper Assam on Thursday evening, police said. The grenade exploded at a hardware shop in the Demow Chariali area of the district, killing a customer, Anup Gupta, and the shop owner, Kamal Agarwal, they said. Several bystanders also suffered minor injuries. The ULFA(Independent) had allegedly served an extortion notice on the shop owner a few days ago, police said, adding that the militants had also hurled a grenade at his shop about three years ago. The ULFA(I) has stepped up its activities in upper Assam districts, and during the recent past, there has been a spurt of killings and kidnappings attributed to the outfit, including the killing of five people at Dhola in Tinsukia district. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condemned the incident and said the culprits would be brought to book. Sonowal, who is currently in New Delhi, directed Director General of Police .
2 killed as Ulfa triggers blast in Assam
Two person were killed after suspected militants belonging to the anti-talk faction of United Liberation Front of Asom's (Ulfa) triggered a blast in Assam's Sivsagar district on Thursday evening, police said.
Girl injured in Kashmir was hit by militant fire: Army
The Army on Thursday maintained that a girl who was injured in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district was hit by militant fire.
US military airstrikes kill 6 al-Shabab fighters
The US military said on Thursday that it conducted two airstrikes in central Somalia on Wednesday, killing six al-Shabab terrorists and destroying a weapons cache.
1 killed as Ulfa triggers blast in Assam
One person was killed and another injured after suspected militants belonging to the anti-talk faction of United Liberation Front of Asom's (Ulfa) triggered a blast in Assam's Sivsagar district on Thursday evening, police said.
1 killed, several injured in suspected militant attack
Suspected ULFA(I) militants carried out a grenade attack, killing one person and injuring several others, in Assam's Sibsagar district on Thursday evening, police said. The grenade exploded at a hardware shop in the district's Demow area, the police said, adding that the owner of the shop was critically injured in the blast. The deceased was yet to be identified, a police officer said. Several others were injured in the explosion that was suspected to be the handiwork of ULFA (Independent) militants, the police officer said. Senior police officials went to the spot immediately after the explosion.
Eight killed as gunmen attack French drilling camp in Niger
Seven employees of a French mineral and water drilling firm and a local official were killed early Thursday when gunmen attacked their site in southeastern Niger, the company said. "A group of terrorists attacked the building where a team of Foraco drillers and technicians were resting in the village of Toumour, in southeastern Niger," the company said in a statement. "The assailants opened fire on the sleeping personnel and killed eight people," it said, adding that five others were wounded, two seriously. The victims, all Nigerien, were drilling two water wells to supply a camp for displaced people at a refugee camp at Toumour, near the borders with Chad and Nigeria. Foraco, based near the southern French city of Marseille, said the site had been chosen in conjunction with the Niger armed forces escort protecting the workers. The company did not identify the attackers, but Toumour was the site of a fierce firefight in September 16 between the military and Boko Haram jihadists which .
Ex-Army man recalls 26/11 attack in German documentary
Brigadier (Retd.) Govind Sisodia has featured in a German documentary based on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The former army man was the then Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the National Security Guard (NSG) who had led the team of 'Black Cat' commandos during the operation.The documentary, titled 'Spur des Terror', released in Germany and other European countries on November 21. The dreaded terror attacks have been recreated in the film.Brigadier (Retd.) Govind Sisodia, from Chopal in Shimla district, features prominently in the film. Apart from leading NSG commandos during 26/11 attacks, he has also led several anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir.Elucidating on how tough the operation was, Sisodia spoke about the troops fell short of time given the less time at hand."I was told by the Director-General that the commandos have to move because the situation is going out of hand. We had very less time after we were given the order to move. Troops were moved from Manesar and taken .
Latest US airstrikes in Somalia kill 6 al-Shabab extremists
The US military on Thursday announced the latest of several deadly airstrikes this week against al-Shabab extremists in Somalia as it targets a region well north of where the al-Qaida-linked fighters control large parts of the country. The US Africa Command statement said two new strikes killed six fighters and destroyed a weapons cache on Wednesday near Harardere. That al-Shabab-controlled community last month was targeted by the deadliest US airstrike in almost a year, with dozens of extremists killed. The US has now carried out 35 airstrikes this year against al-Shabab, Africa's deadliest Islamic extremist group, which continues to stage deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and other cities. Two airstrikes on Monday killed 37 extremists and one on Tuesday killed seven. This week's airstrikes have been carried out in Mudug region, well north of Mogadishu and the south and central areas where al-Shabab continues to hold large parts of rural land. Al-Shabab recently relocated to .
UK security service missed chances to thwart Manchester attack: lawmakers
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's MI5 security service missed potential opportunities to prevent a 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people, senior lawmakers said in a report on Thursday.
Sri Lanka holds sovereign bond issues after downgrade
Sri Lanka has abandoned plans to raise money through sovereign bonds and will pursue badly-needed revenue elsewhere after Moody's downgraded its credit rating amid political turmoil, an official said Thursday. President Maithripala Sirisena's economic advisor said "alternative finance" raised locally would service much of Sri Lanka's USD 4.5 billion in foreign debt repayments in 2019. Lalith Samarakoon said the credit downgrade by Moody's on Tuesday would result in higher borrowing costs for Sri Lanka in the international markets. He said Sri Lanka would seek to extend a USD 1 billion loan from China by an additional USD 500 million, but would only turn to international markets for cash "as a last resort". "We have arranged certain other financing options such as raising USD 1 billion through state banks," he said. Moody's said its decision was "exacerbated most recently by a political crisis which seems likely to have a lasting impact on policy even if ostensibly resolved quickly." .
Five freed Iran troops flown home from Pakistan
Five Iranian security personnel, who had been held by jihadists for a month, have been flown home after Pakistani forces secured their release, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday. The five were part of a mixed unit of 12 border guards, militiamen and Guards intelligence agents who were captured by jihadists of the Pakistan-based Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) group during an operation near the border on October 16, a state television-run news agency reported. The Pakistani foreign ministry announced on November 15 that police and troops had secured the release of five of the captives and were still trying to free the others. "Following efforts and interactions with the Pakistani side to free the border guards and militiamen," five of them "were released and returned to Iran last night", the Guards said. The Guards website carried photographs of the five being welcomed home by generals as they got off the plane. Sistan-Baluchistan province, where the men were captured, has ...
British security service missed opportunities to thwart Manchester attack - lawmakers
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's MI5 security service missed opportunities to prevent a 2017 suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people, senior lawmakers said in a report on Thursday.
Over 460 live rounds recovered from train
As many as 464 live rounds were recovered from an empty train at Ajni railway station here, a senior Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said Thursday. The bullets, which were found inside a box in the train, were recovered on Wednesday, he said. "The train in which the bullets were found was on election duty. It had reached Ajni station on Wednesday morning after dropping para-military and security forces in Telangana, where Assembly polls are scheduled to be held on December 7," Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, Central Railway Jyotikumar Satija told PTI. The box filled with 464 live bullets was found kept under a seat of a railway coach, he said. According to the official, the bullets probably belonged to the personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Further investigation is on.
UN Yemen envoy to visit battleground Hodeida city: source
The United Nations envoy will visit Yemen's embattled city of Hodeida this week, a UN source said Thursday, ahead of peace talks set for December in Sweden. Martin Griffiths, who arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, was in the country to lay the groundwork for the upcoming negotiations aimed at ending almost four years of devastating conflict. The British diplomat is expected to visit the lifeline port city of Hodeida on Friday, a UN source told AFP. The purpose of Griffiths's visit was to encourage the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels and government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition to remain calm ahead of the talks in Stockholm, the source said. Both sides have in the past week expressed support for the envoy and his mission to hold discussions, but military officials have said intermittent clashes continued to erupt in the Red Sea city of Hodeida. Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, head of the Huthi rebels' Higher Revolutionary Committee and an influential political figure, ...
Gold seized from two passengers at airport in Madurai
: Gold worth Rs 1.42 lakh was seized from two people who arrived at the airport here Thursday by a Sri Lankan Airlines flight from Colombo, directorate of Revenue Intelligence said. Acting on inputs, the officials checked the baggage of the two people, hailing from Ramanathapuram, and the search revealed the yellow metal weighing 1.2 kg. The duo has been detained for interrogation, the officials said.
Robbers loot Rs 52 lakh from cash van in Bihar
Five unidentified persons on Thursday looted Rs 52 lakh from a cash van in Sarai area, Muzaffarpur, Bihar after shooting at the security guard.The guard was later admitted to a hospital for the treatment.The incident took place on Thursday afternoon when the van carrying cash to a branch of Axis Bank. According to informed sources, a white Scorpio approached the van. One of the occupants of SUV opened fire. They managed to flee after looting the cash.Police have reached the spot. Investigations are underway.
Australia to revoke citizenship of terrorists with dual nationalities
Australia will modify a law to revoke the citizenship of convicted terrorists with dual nationalities, irrespective of the severity of their sentence, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.
Russian intelligence chief dies: ministry
The head of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, Igor Korobov, has died aged 62, the defence ministry said on Thursday. Korobov, who had headed the Main Intelligence Directorate since 2016, died Wednesday from a "long and serious illness," Russian news agencies quoted a defence ministry statement as saying. His successor has yet to be announced. Korobov's predecessor, Igor Sergun, died in January 2016. In recent years the GRU has gained notoriety over links to some of Russia's most contentious actions abroad. The West has accused the powerful agency of a number of attacks on foreign soil including the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, with a nerve agent in Britain last March. The GRU is one of Moscow's three spy agencies along with the FSB security service and the SVR foreign intelligence agency.
230 skeletons found in Sri Lanka's largest mass grave
Over 230 skeletons have been found in a mass grave discovered earlier this year in Sri Lanka's Mannar town that has turned out to be the country's biggest such site.