Page 347 - War Conflict
Taliban kill 4 Afghan troops; airstrike kills 10 people
Afghan officials say a Taliban assault on a military convoy in southwestern Badghis province left four Afghan soldiers dead. Mohammad Nasir Nazari, a member of the Badghis provincial council, says the ambush by the Taliban insurgents on the convoy travelling early on Thursday through the provincial capital of Qalay-e-Now, also wounded seven soldiers. Separately, Afghan special forces called in a NATO airstrike during an operation late on Wednesday against Taliban fighters in eastern Logar province. Provincial council chief Mohammad Nasir Ghyrat says 10 died in that airstrike but that it isn't immediately how many civilians were among the dead. The Logar governor's spokesman Khalid Safai says an investigation was underway. NATO did not immediately comment on the strike. A resurgent Taliban stage near-daily attacks on Afghan forces, leaving many casualties.
Ex-Guatemalan soldier gets 5,160 years' prison for civil war massacre
A Guatemalan court on Wednesday sentenced a former soldier to 5,160 years in prison for the massacre of 201 peasants during one of the worst atrocities of the Central American nation's civil war. The court found Santos Lopez "responsible as author" of 171 of the killings and sentenced him to 30 years for each, or 5,130 years in total. He received an additional 30 years linked to the killing of a surviving child, but the sentences are symbolic because Guatemala's maximum prison term is 50 years. Lopez was a member of a US-trained counterinsurgency force called Kaibil. He was arrested in the United States and deported in 2016. According to the investigation, Lopez belonged to a patrol that committed the massacre in December 1982 in Dos Erres, on the border with Mexico. The soldiers were trying to recover about 20 rifles stolen by guerrillas during an earlier ambush which left 19 soldiers dead. The story of Dos Erres was told in the 2017 documentary "Finding Oscar," executive-produced by
Pentagon sends 300,000 pounds of Thanksgiving food to troops
The Pentagon has sent more than 300,000 pounds of Thanksgiving food to US military troops stationed overseas and at the US southern border, the Defence Logistics Agency has announced.
Attack on J&K army camp
Militants on Thursday attacked an Indian Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district during which a civilian was injured, police said.
Terror probe over two suspected bombs found in London
British police have opened a counter-terror probe after two improvised explosive devices were found in a flat in London, the media reported.
Bullion traders' delegation meets top cop to demand arrest of robbers
A delegation of bullion traders of the city met a top police officer Wednesday to press for their demand of early arrest of the robbers who recently looted two jewellery showrooms here. Armed robbers, wearing masks, had recently looted two showrooms in Govindpuram and Shyam Park areas here. The traders met Senior Superintendent of Police Upendra Agarwal and demanded that the robberies be immediately solved and those responsible arrested, Uttar Pradesh Udyog Vyapar Mandal (UPUVM) sources said. The police officer assured the traders that investigation into the heists were underway and the culprits would be nabbed soon, they said. On Tuesday night, three bike-borne robbers allegedly snatched a bag from a goldsmith while he was returning home after closing his shop in Bhoapur area here, officials said. According to the complaint filed by victim Kali Charan, the bag contained Rs 7,000 cash, some gold ornaments, silver coins and a mobile phone, they said.
Exclude Delhi Police from Rs 1 cr compensation policy: AAP MLAs
Angry over the chilli powder attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, several Aam Aadmi Party (AP) MLAs on Wednesday wrote to the AAP chief to exclude Delhi Police from the Rs 1 crore compensation policy for the martyrs.
Northern army commander visits troops at Siachen
Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commanding in Chief Northern Command, on Wednesday visited Siachen and interacted with troops deployed on the highest battlefield in the world.Lt Gen Singh was accompanied by Lieutenant General YK Joshi, General Officer Commanding, Fire & Fury Corps.The Army Commander appreciated the high level of operational preparedness being maintained by the troops deployed in Siachen Glacier where temperatures are dipping below -30 C.Earlier, the Army Commander also reviewed Operational preparedness of Mechanised and Aviation units deployed in Ladakh sector and urged all ranks to continue to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and dedication to duty against all odds.
9 injured in blast at mosque in southwest Pakistan
A powerful blast at a mosque in Pakistan's troubled Balochistan province's Chaman area on Wednesday injured at least nine people, including the prayer leader, according to police. The blast occurred at the time of evening prayers in the mosque, which is located on Taj Road in Chaman, bordering Afghanistan. At least nine people, including the mosque's prayer leader, were injured as a result of the blast, which rocked the entire neighbourhood, Dawn reported. The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) hidden inside the mosque, it said, quoting police sources. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where a state of emergency has been declared. A video shared on Twitter appears to show the damage caused by the explosion in the mosque. Authorities have cordoned off the site of the explosion. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. Chaman is considered a sensitive town in Balochistan as it shares a border with Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar ...
3 children killed in mortar shell explosion in northwest Pak
Three children were killed when an old mortar shell they were playing with exploded in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region on Wednesday, police said. The incident occurred in Matta Tehsil of Swat valley - once the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban militants. The children were playing with the mortar shell in a field, unaware of it being a bomb, when it went off injuring five of them, police said. While three of the injured succumbed to their injuries in a hospital, two others are receiving treatment, police added. The police said they have launched an investigation after collecting evidence from the site of the blast.
KLF operative held for Amritsar blast, Amarinder blames ISI-backed militants
The police have arrested an alleged operative of the Khalistan Liberation Force for the grenade attack on a religious congregation in Amritsar, an act blamed on ISI-backed militants by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday. We are on to the second person and it is a matter of time before we get him, the chief minister said here while announcing the arrest. Bikramjit Singh, a resident of Dhariwal village in Rajasansi police station area was arrested early Wednesday morning near Loharka village in Amritsar, he said. He is alleged to be one of the two motorcycle-borne men involved in the attack last Sunday at Nirankari Bhavan in Adliwal village on the outskirts of Amritsar. Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora said the motorcycle has been recovered. The second man, who threw the grenade that killed three people and injured about 20 others, has been identified as 32-year-old Avtar Singh Khalsa. Bikramjit Singh indicated to the police that the grenade was provided by
Pb CM pays homage to Indian soldiers who fought in World War 1
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Wednesday paid homage to brave soldiers of the Indian Army, who sacrificed their lives during the World War 1 and also underlined the need to sensitise youth about the significant role played by our soldiers in the great war. The chief minister was here to honour 15 out of a total of 152 descendants of martyrs of the World War 1 at a commemoration ceremony, organised to mark 100 years of the great war, according to an official release issued here. Amarinder Singh stressed on the need to preserve the rich legacy of the Indian Army, which played a commendable role along with the French and British forces, in the war. He said it was high time to sensitise the younger generations about the exemplary courage and indomitable spirit of the martyrs so that the war stories scripted by them could be kept alive. The chief minister said he had visited war museums in France and Belgium a few years back, and recently at Turkey where he paid tributes to soldiers
Tea garden manager, stone quarry manager & trader kidnapped in
A tea garden manager, a stone quarry manager and a trader have been kidnapped from three different districts in Assam, police said Wednesday. Four men in battle-fatigue came to the house of the tea garden manager Numal Chandra Borah at Sapekhati in Charideo district on Tuesday night, police said quoting the FIR filed by his wife at Borhat police station Wednesday. The FIR said the four men after entering the house of Borah claimed they were sent by the ULFA-I and forcibly took him away with them. On Tuesday night a trader at North Borbil in Karbi Anglong district was kidnapped at gunpoint by a three-men when he was returning home after closing his shop for the day, police said. Earlier on Monday night a manager of a stone quarry was kidnapped by a group of armed men from his office compound at Jagun in Tinsukia district, the sources said. The stone quarry manager was identified as Apurba Kakoty whose parents have appealed to his abductors to release him. Stating that no .
India supported Russian-Chinese proposal to form working group on use of chemical arms in Syria
India has voted in support of a Russian-Chinese proposal to establish a working group to consider various proposals on an attribution mechanism on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, according to its explanation of vote in the recently-concluded session of the global chemical warfare watchdog here. Making two separate explanations of the vote, Permanent Representative of India to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Venu Rajamony said India attaches high importance to the chemical weapons convention and stands for its full, effective and non-discriminatory implementation. India had voted against the decision to set up an attribution mechanism at the fourth special session of the conference of states parties. It pointed out then that the convention contains a finely balanced co-operative structure, bringing together various policy making organs and a technical secretariat headed by the Director General. "The founding fathers viewed this as an ...
7 injured in blast at mosque in southwest Pakistan
A powerful blast at a mosque in Pakistan's troubled Balochistan province's Chaman area on Wednesday injured at least seven people, including the prayer leader, according to police. The blast occurred at the time of evening prayers in the mosque, which is located on Taj Road in Chaman, bordering Afghanistan. At least seven people, including the mosque's prayer leader, have been injured as a result of the blast, which rocked the entire neighbourhood, Dawn reported. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where a state of emergency has been declared. A video shared on Twitter appears to show the damage caused by the explosion in the mosque. Authorities have cordoned off the site of the explosion. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. Chaman is considered a sensitive town in Balochistan as it shares a border with Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province. Security was tightened on Wednesday across the country to avert any tragedy on the occasion of the Eid Milad-un
Army jawan injured in Pak firing along LoC in Jammu
An Army jawan was injured Wednesday after Pakistani troops resorted to firing on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district, officials said. On Tuesday, two soldiers were injured in Poonch and Rajouri sectors in shelling and small arms fire from across the border, prompting authorities to shut down schools in some places. Pakistan troops resorted to firing on forward areas in Pallanwala sub-sector Wednesday in which one Army man suffered injuries, they said. He was undergoing treatment at a hospital, officials added. The first seven months of this year saw 52 deaths and 232 people sustaining injuries in 1,435 ceasefire violations in the state, according to an RTI reply by the Union Home Ministry.
Army commander visits troops at Siachen Glacier
Army commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh on Wednesday visited the Siachen warriors protecting the frontiers of the country at the World's highest battle field.
Amarinder honours descendants of World War-I martyrs
Paying homage to the soldiers of the Indian Army, who sacrificed their lives during World War-I, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday underlined the need to sensitize the youth about the significant role played by the soldiers in the Great War.
Northern Army commander visits Siachen
Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh visited the Siachen glacier, the highest battle field in the world, Wednesday and interacted with troops deployed there. The Army commander was accompanied by General Officer Commanding, Fire & Fury Corps, Lieutenant General Y K Joshi, a defence spokesperson said here. "Lt Gen Singh visited Siachen and interacted with the troops deployed at the highest battlefield in the world," he said. "The Army Commander appreciated the high level of operational preparedness being maintained by the troops deployed in Siachen glacier despite the extremely harsh weather conditions where temperatures are dipping below -30 degrees Celsius," the official said. Lt Gen Singh also reviewed the operational preparedness of the mechanised and the aviation units deployed in Ladakh sector, he said. The Army commander urged all ranks to continue to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and dedication to duty against all odds, he added.
Russia slams West over chemicals arms body vote
Russia on Wednesday accused the West of seeking to turn a key international treaty into a tool to pursue its own agenda amid a spike in tensions at the world chemical weapons watchdog. On Tuesday, Moscow failed in its bid to stall new powers of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to apportion blame for chemical attacks like those in Syria or Britain. The West pushed through the new blaming powers after a string of chemical incidents in Syria, as well as a nerve agent attack on Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal in the British city of Salisbury in March. "They are trying to turn a unique tool of international law -- the Chemical Weapons Convention -- into an obedient tool to promote Western policies," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to the Belarusian capital Minsk on Wednesday. The 1997 treaty -- under which nearly every country in the world pledged to give up toxic arms -- led to the creation of the OPCW. Russia's top diplomat