Page 382 - War Conflict

J-K BJP chief visits wife, newborn child of soldier killed in gunfight with Pak infiltrators

Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina Thursday reached out to the wife of Lance Naik Ranjeet Singh, who delivered a baby hours before the mortal remains of the slain jawan were consigned to flames in Ramban district. The soldier was among three personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry who fell to the bullets of Pakistani intruders along the Line of Control (LoC) in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district on Sunday. Two heavily-armed Pakistani infiltrators, believed to be members of the border action team, were also killed in the gunfight. Raina, accompanied by former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta and Ramban MLA Neelam Langeh, visited the soldier's widow, Shimu Devi, who delivered a baby hours after the jawan laid down his life for the nation, BJP leaders said. The state BJP chief directed the hospital staff to take care of her and provide her every medicine required from the hospital itself. The couple had waited for 10 years for the birth of their first child. Singh ...

Six militants killed in two encounters in J-K

Six militants were Thursday killed in two gun battles with security forces in Baramulla and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. "Four militants were killed in Arwani operation in Anantnag district while two ultras were eliminated in an encounterat Kreeri in Baramulla," a senior police official said. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Kreeri area in the early hours following information about presence of militants there, the official said, adding the militants opened fire on the security forces triggering an encounter. The identity of the two slain militants, affiliated to Lashkar-e-Toiba, was being ascertained, he added. In the second operation in Arwani area of Anantnag district, four militants were killed after intense exchange of fire. He said the identity of the slain militants was being ascertained. Arms and ammunition have been recovered from both the encounter sites, police said. The security forces put up printed banners at several .

Changes in security apparatus don't undermine Defence Ministry's authority: Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday the authority of her ministry and of the armed forces have not been undermined by recent changes in the country's security establishment apparatus. She also said the National Security Adviser (NSA) plays an important role in inter-ministerial coordination for security-related matters. At an event here, the defence minister was replying to a question on "changes in the shape of security establishment" and its criticism in some quarters after the NDA government recently reconstituted the Strategic Policy Group, with NSA Ajit Doval as its chairman, to assist the National Security Council. "Now if you are looking at security and strategy council, looking at national security council or NSA, now because it is going to have (to) bring in other ministries, other departments (for security-related matters)... that does not undermine the Raksha Mantralay (defence ministry)," the minister said. "It does not take away the powers of the three ...

Six militants killed in two gunfights in Kashmir Valley (Intro Roundup)

Six militants were killed on Thursday in two separate gunfights with security forces in the Kashmir Valley, police said. While two were killed in Baramulla, four died in Anantnag.

Four militants killed in two gunfights in Valley (Roundup)

Four militants were killed on Thursday in two separate gunfights with security forces in the Kashmir Valley.

US sanctions Singapore companies over North Korea dealings

The United States has imposed sanctions on the Singaporean-based director of a commodities company accused of laundering money for North Korea through the US financial system. The Department of Justice has also unsealed criminal charges against the person, Tan Wee Beng. Officials say he is also managing director of a marine fuels company involved in illicit economic activity with North Korea. That's according to a Treasury Department statement on Thursday announcing the latest round of US actions against foreign companies and individuals said to have helped North Korea evade UN-mandated sanctions on its nuclear weapons program. The blacklisting covers Tan himself and the two companies, Wee Tiong (S) Pte. Ltd., and WT Marine Pte. Ltd. The action blocks any assets they may have in the U.S.

Changes in security apparatus don't underline Defence Ministry's authority: Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday the authority of her ministry and of the armed forces have not been undermined by recent changes in the country's security establishment apparatus. She also said the National Security Adviser (NSA) plays an important role in inter-ministerial coordination for security-related matters. At an event here, the defence minister was replying to a question on "changes in the shape of security establishment" and its criticism in some quarters after the NDA government recently reconstituted the Strategic Policy Group, with NSA Ajit Doval as its chairman, to assist the National Security Council. "Now if you are looking at security and strategy council, looking at national security council or NSA, now because it is going to have (to) bring in other ministries, other departments (for security-related matters)... that does not undermine the Raksha Mantralay (defence ministry)," the minister said. "It does not take away the powers of the three ...

British security forces handling over 700 live terror probes: Scotland Yard

Britain's security forces are dealing with a record high of over 700 live anti-terror investigations, Scotland Yard's Indian-origin counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu has told an influential committee of the UK Parliament. The Metropolitan Police Lead for Counter-Terrorism and the Head of its Specialist Operations said the over-riding threat to the UK remains from terrorist groups like the Islamic State but, Islamist and far-right terrorism are "both feeding each other" as the country's terror threat levels escalate. "Across the counter-terrorism network at the moment, we are recording a record high of over 700 investigations," said Assistant Commissioner Basu, in his evidence before the UK Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee on Wednesday. He also revealed that since the ISIS-claimed attack on the UK's Parliament complex in March last year, the security forces have prevented 17 terror attacks directed against Britain, four of which were extreme right-wing terrorist plots. "The ..

Gunfight in Anantnag

A gunfight erupted on Thursday between militants and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

12 persons including arms dealers held in MP, weapons seized

Police arrested 12 persons in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh Thursday and seized firearms from their possession during a special drive ahead of the next month's elections, a senior official said. Deputy Inspector General of police Harinarayanachari Mishra told reporters that those arrested included two alleged arms dealers. They were identified as Amarjit Singh Bhatia, resident of Dhar, and Virendra Singh, resident of Barwani. The other accused were allegedly trying to buy firearms from the duo, he said. Police recovered 19 firearms including country-made revolvers and pistols besides cartridges, he said, adding that further probe was on. Assembly elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 28.

Two militants killed in encounter in Baramulla in J-K

Two militants were killed Thursday in a gunbattle with security forces in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Kreeri area in the early hours following information about presence of militants there. Militants opened fire towards security forces, and two ultras were killed in the ensuing gunbattle, a police official said. "The encounter at Kreeri in Baramulla is over. Two militants have been killed," the official said. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants were being ascertained, he added. The official said an exchange of firing also took place Thursday evening at Arwani area of Anantnag district after security forces launched an operation based on a tip. The anti-militancy operation in Arwani area was also in an advanced stage, he said.

CRPF jawan injured in blast in Sukma, Chhattisgarh

A jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured Thursday in an IED blast carried out by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district, police said. The incident took place when a team of CRPF's 223rd battalion was out on anti-Naxal operation in a forested area under Jagargunda police station limits Thursday afternoon, a local police official told PTI. While the team was cordoning off a patch of jungle near Chintabegu village, Naxals triggered the blast of an improvised explosive device (IED), he said. It was followed by an exchange of fire between the two sides before the Naxals fled into a dense part of the forest, he said. Constable Virendra Yadav was injured in the blast. Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and Yadav was being airlifted to Raipur, the police official said, adding that he was said to be out of danger. A combing operation was underway in the area, he said. The security forces have intensified combing operations in the ...

Koreas, UN finish withdrawing firearms from border village

The rival Koreas and the US-led UN Command completed withdrawing firearms and troops from a jointly controlled area at a border village on Thursday, as part of agreements to reduce decades-long animosities on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea separately announced its troops have found what it believes are Korean War remains in another front-line area where they've been clearing land mines with North Korean soldiers. The rival Koreas plan their first-ever joint searches for war dead there after their demining work is done. Disarming the Joint Security Area at the border village of Panmunjom and the joint searches are among a package of deals the Koreas' defense ministers struck on the sidelines of their leaders' summit last month. Other steps include creating buffer zones along their land and sea boundaries and a no-fly zone above the borderline, as well as withdrawing some of their front-line guard posts. On Thursday, the Koreas and the U.N. Command wrapped up a pullout of weapons, ...

Afghan official: Taliban kill woman, lover over adultery

An Afghan official says the Taliban killed a woman accused of adultery and her lover in western Ghor province after it was discovered that she had fled her husband to be with another man. Provincial spokesman Abdul Hai Khatebi says the couple tried to flee on a motorcycle but got stopped and captured by the Taliban at checkpoint manned by insurgents in their district. Khatebi says it all happened on Wednesday the Taliban detained the two, carried out a swift self-styled trial and handed down a death sentence for both. The Taliban, who hold sway in nearly half of Afghanistan, are seeking to impose their harsh interpretation of Islam in areas they control. The insurgents consider adultery an offense punishable by death.

Two militants killed in Baramulla

Two militants were killed on Thursday in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said.

Egyptian officials: Roadside bomb kills 3 workers in Sinai

Egyptian security officials say a roadside bombing has killed three workers contracted to build a security wall in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish. The officials say another 10 workers were wounded in the explosion on Thursday. The officials blamed an Islamic State affiliate, which is active in that part of the Sinai Peninsula, for the bombing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Suspected IS militants on Sunday shot and killed three workers outside their homes in el-Arish. Egypt has been struggling to contain an insurgency by Islamic militants in northern Sinai. The insurgency intensified after the military's 2013 ouster of Mohammed Morsi, an elected but divisive Islamist president.

Yemeni official: Death toll from Saudi airstrike now at 19

A Saudi-led coalition airstrike at a fruit-and-vegetable market near Yemen's flashpoint Red Sea port of Hodeida killed 19 civilians, including children, Yemeni officials said Thursday. Wednesday's strike came amid mounting fears of a fresh coalition assault on Hodeida, a city that has been the lifeline for international aid deliveries to Yemen, ravaged by a brutal three-and-a-half year war between the Saudi-led alliance and Shite rebels known as Houthis. The coalition has been trying to wrest Hodeida from the rebels but the campaign, like the rest of Yemen's war, had fallen into a stalemate. The airstrike, which hit the outdoor market in the town of Bayt el-Faqih, just south of Hodeida, also wounded six people. Initial reports had five dead but the death toll steadily climbed overnight. The director of the Bayt el-Faqih hospital, Abdullah Shahawi, said all the victims were civilians and that at least two children were among the dead. Video footage obtained by The Associated Press ...

Discovery channel to premiere a special series on High Altitude Warfare School

Discovery Channel, India's leading destination for factual entertainment, will premiere a special series on one of the most famous warfare academies of the world - High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) - as a part of its extremely popular Breaking Point franchise.Located in Gulmarg, HAWS is a globally acclaimed institution which trains Indian soldiers and attracts soldiers from friendly countries for high & super-high altitude warfare.The show on Discovery Channel is first of its kind on Indian Television detailing the rigors of training at HAWS. The 4-episode series 'Breaking Point: High Altitude Warfare School', to be aired every Friday at 10:00 pm till November 09 will give viewers a glimpse of how the soldiers learn the art of mountain and winter warfare; HAWS is the training ground for all High-Altitude Warfare.Each moment of the series takes the viewer a step closer to how the soldiers are transformed into glorified mountain warriors of the Indian Army. The series has been ...

J-K: 2 Encounters underway between security forces, terrorists

Two encounters broke out between terrorists and security forces on Thursday morning in Athoora and Kheri areas of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.Further details are awaited.On Wednesday, two terrorists were gunned down by security forces in Nowgam area of Anantnag district.The security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the area following an input about the presence of the terrorists.

China, Russia fail to block Security Council briefing on Myanmar atrocities

After China and Russia failed to block a briefing on Myanmar, the Security Council heard the head of an independent investigation into alleged atrocities against the Rohingya calling for prosecuting senior leaders of national forces on charges of genocide.