Page 386 - War Conflict
Koreas, UNC agree to remove firearms, troops from border area
The two Koreas and the UN Command (UNC), led by the US, agreed on Monday to withdraw firearms and guard posts from the Joint Security Area (JSA), the only part in the Korean Demilitarized Zone where troops from the three sides stand face to face.
Taliban key commander among 21 killed in Afghanistan
Taliban key commander Mullah Mansoor, the military operational chief of the outfit, was among 21 armed insurgents who were killed in Afghanistan's Kunduz province in a crackdown, officials said on Monday.
PDP demands impartial probe into death of civilians in J-K
The PDP on Monday demanded an impartial probe into the death of civilians in a blast at an encounter site in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. Condemning the incident, PDP vice president Abdul Rahman Veeri said, "A time-bound investigation is needed in the incident and justice must be accorded to the victims." Three militants were killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in Laroo village, while seven civilians lost their lives in a blast following the gunfight there, officials said. The officials said immediately after the gunfight ended and the forces withdrew from the spot, civilians rushed to the encounter site where an explosive substance went off resulting in death of several civilians. In a statement issued here, Veeri urged the central government to initiate dialogue and reconciliation so that further loss of precious lives in the state is stopped and peaceful atmosphere is created in which all sections of society could feel safe and secure.
Koreas, UN Command agree to demilitarise part of border
The two Koreas and the US-led United Nations Command agreed Monday to demilitarise a section of the heavily fortified border dividing the peninsula by this week, as a diplomatic thaw gathers pace. "The three parties agreed to carry out measures to withdraw firearms and guard posts at the Joint Security Area (JSA) by October 25," Seoul's defence ministry said in a statement following trilateral talks. They will then conduct a "three-way joint verification" for the following two days, it added. The JSA, also known as the truce village of Panmunjom, is the only spot along the tense, 250-kilometre frontier where troops from the two countries stand face to face. It was a designated neutral zone until the "axe murder incident" in 1976, when North Korean soldiers attacked a work party trying to chop down a tree inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), leaving two US army officers dead. South and North Korea -- which are technically still at war -- agreed to take measures to ease military ...
Pak releases Afghan Taliban's former deputy chief Mullah Baradar: Report
Pakistan has released Afghan Taliban's former deputy chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on the intervention of Qatar, a move which could facilitate the peace process in the war-ravaged country, according to a media report on Monday. Mullah Baradar, one of the four top commanders who formed the Afghan Taliban in 1994, was captured by the Pakistani security agencies in Karachi in 2010. He has been finally released from jail on the solicitation of the government of Qatar, The News reported Monday, citing its sources. Mullah Baradar, who is in his 50s, is believed to be the highest ranking Afghan Taliban prisoner freed so far. Recently, a high-level delegation of Qatar visited Islamabad and met senior leadership of Pakistan, the paper said. It did not give any details of his whereabouts after the release. It was also not clear whether he will be handed over to Afghanistan or stay in Pakistan. It was reported a few times that Mulla Baradar has been released in Pakistan to negotiate with the .
'Pakistan given stern warning, asked to take bodies of two slain intruders'
A day after killing two heavily-armed Pakistani intruders in a gunfight which also left three soldiers dead, the Army on Monday conveyed a stern warning to Pakistan to restrain the terrorists operating from its soil. The army also asked Pakistan to take over the bodies of its two hostile nationals, said an army officer who did not want to be named. "Pakistan Army has been informed through established communication channels to take over the bodies of the hostile Pakistani Nationals. A stern warning has been conveyed to Pakistan Army to restrain the terrorists operating from its soil, the officer said. Three soldiers of Eight Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) Havildar Kaushal Kumar of Nowshera (Rajouri), lance naik Ranjeet Singh of Doda and rifleman Rajat Kumar Basan of Pallanwala (Jammu) were killed and rifleman Rakesh Kumar of Samba was injured when a group of five to six Pakistani armed intruders crossed the line of control (LoC) and fired on an army patrol in Sunderbani ...
Security forces want to avoid Kulgam like incidents: J&K DGP
Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbagh Singh Monday said security forces want to avoid Kulgam like incidents where seven civilians died in a blast after an encounter with militants had concluded. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the wreath laying ceremony of a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) jawan who was killed in a militant attack in Tral on Sunday, the Director General of Police (DGP) urged people to stay away from sites of anti-militancy operations. It was an unfortunate incident and we regret it. When an operation is concluded, there are apprehensions of unexploded explosives at the site and people, especially youth, should avoid going to such places or to touch the debris. We have been asking people to avoid such sites, he said. Singh stressed that security forces want to avoid collateral damage during the anti-militancy operations but people should also avoid creating such situations which may put them in harm's way. We express solidarity with the families of the slain persons. We do .
Pakistan Army hands over administrative control of Swat district to civil authorities
The Pakistan Army on Monday handed over the administrative control of the restive Swat district to the civil authorities, ending its decade-long military operation to flush out the Pakistani Taliban militants and restore peace in the home town of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai. The Army was first sent to the picturesque Swat district of the Khyber-Pakthunkhwa province in 2007 when a local cleric and chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Maulana Fazlullah challenged the writ of the state and set up his Sharia courts. Taliban later launched an organised movement and extended its network to the adjoining districts. They imposed several restrictions, including banning girls' education, making mandatory wearing of burqa for women and keeping beard for men, among others. In 2009, the government launched a major military operation against the TTP, during a large number of people were forced to abandon their homes in Swat, Buner and other districts. Malala, who shared the 2014 Nobel ..
US general wounded in last week's Afghan insider attack
A US general was shot and wounded in a Taliban-claimed attack on a high-level security meeting last week that killed a powerful Afghan police chief, NATO's mission in Afghanistan said Monday. Brigadier General Jeffrey Smiley was among 13 wounded when a gunman wearing an Afghan security forces uniform opened fire on the gathering that included General Scott Miller -- the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan -- in the southern city of Kandahar. Miller was unhurt in the shooting inside the heavily fortified Kandahar provincial governor's compound that NATO's Resolute Support described as an "Afghan-on-Afghan incident". General Abdul Raziq, an anti-Taliban strongman credited with keeping a lid on the insurgency in the south, was killed along with the provincial intelligence chief and an Afghan journalist. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the brazen attack, saying Miller and Raziq were the targets. But American officials denied the US general was a target. Smiley suffered ...
Palestinian attacks Israeli soldier in Hebron, is shot dead: army
A Palestinian man attacked an Israeli soldier near a holy site in the southern West Bank city of Hebron before being shot dead, the army said on Monday. "An assailant attempted to stab a soldier adjacent to the Cave of the Patriarchs, lightly injuring him. The soldier and other forces at the scene, responded with live fire," the army said in a statement. The military confirmed the assailant was Palestinian and had been shot dead, but gave no further details of the attacker's identity. A series of deadly incidents have increased tensions in the West Bank this month. On October 15 a Palestinian was shot dead after stabbing a soldier in the northern occupied West Bank. Earlier this month, a Palestinian shot dead two Israelis and wounded another in a West Bank industrial zone. Israeli forces continue to hunt for the suspect. A wave of mainly lone-wolf Palestinian attacks against Israelis broke out in 2015. The series of attacks has decreased since, but analysts remain concerned over the ..
Vote counting starts in Afghan elections, marred by violence
Vote counting has started in Afghanistan following chaotic parliamentary elections marred by violence, technical glitches and unprecedented delays. Despite attacks that killed 50, including many children, roughly 4 million Afghans out of 8.8 registered voters cast their ballots over the two-day voting. In southern Kandahar province, voting is to take place next Saturday, after polls there were postponed for a week following an attack that killed two senior Afghan officials, including the powerful provincial police chief, Gen Abdul Raziq. Unofficial election results are not expected before mid-November and official results sometime in December. In other developments, Afghan forces raided a village in eastern Nangarhar province on Monday, saying seven insurgents were killed. Locals said five civilians died. The governor, Hayatullah Hayat, promised an investigation.
Imran Khan condemns killing of Kashmiris, calls for dialogue
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday condemned "the new cycle of killings of innocent Kashmiris" in Jammu and Kashmir and said that the solution to the region's dispute lay in dialogue.
Eight more held in connection with clashes, arson in J'khand
Eight more people have been arrested in connection with a recent clash between two communities in Jharkhand's Palamu district, a police officer said on Monday. Prohibitory order clamped under Sec 144 CrPc on Chando village and its vicinity, in the aftermath of the violence, continues to remain in force, he said. One person was killed and five people, including three policemen, injured on Friday after members of two communities clashed at the village in Chainpur police station area of the district over a route being taken for a religion procession on the occasion of Vijayadashami. The warring groups ransacked half-a-dozen vehicles and set shops on fire in the area. All eight of them arrested on Sunday in connection with the violence have been sent to jail, officer-in-charge of Chainpur police station, Sunil Kumar, said. "Six people were apprehended and forwarded to 14-day judicial custody, a day after the clashes. Eight more were held on Sunday, taking the number of those
US army general wounded in Afghanistan attack
A US army general was among those injured in a Taliban attack on top US and Afghan security chiefs inside a highly secure compound last week in Kandahar province, a military spokesman confirmed. US Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Smiley, in charge of NATO's military advisory mission in Afghanistan, suffered at least one gunshot wound in Thursday's attack, the Washington Post reported Sunday. A gunman wearing an Afghan security forces uniform opened fire on a group including General Scott Miller -- the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan -- and powerful Afghan police chief General Abdul Raziq as they ended a meeting in the southern city of Kandahar. Raziq, an anti-Taliban strongman and key US ally who was credited with keeping a lid on the insurgency in the south, was killed along with Kandahar's provincial intelligence chief and an Afghan journalist. Colonel David Butler, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, initially confirmed on Twitter that three unidentified people were ...
2 Koreas, US-led UN Command meet again at Koreas' border
Military officers from the two Koreas and the US-led UN Command met again at the Koreas' border village Monday to examine an ongoing effort to disarm the area. Demilitarising the Panmunjom village inside the Koreas' heavily fortified border was among many agreements the Koreas struck in September to lower military tensions between the rivals. Under the deals, troops from the Koreas began clearing mines from Panmunjom earlier this month before withdrawing weapons and guard posts there. They eventually plan to have 35 unarmed personnel from each side guard the village. Monday's trilateral talks are the second in kind in about a week. Officially, the village is jointly overseen by North Korea and the UN Command, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The talks are to review the demining work and discussing future steps in the area, South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement. As part of the September agreements, the two Koreas are ...
Separatist shutdown, restrictions affect Srinagar
Life across the Kashmir Valley was adversely affected on Monday by a separatist-called shutdown against six civilian deaths in an explosion in Kulgam district a day ago.
ICC anti-corruption unit 'seriously' combating corruption
International Cricket Council's (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit General Manager,Alex Marshall has said that the cricket's international body is seriously combating corruption in the wake of recent corruption allegations made against it.The ICC's comments came after Al Jazeera released its second documentary on alleged corruption in cricket. The documentary claimed that around 15 international matches had been subject to spot-fixing in the 2011-12 period."The ICC is committed to uphold integrity in cricket. As you would expect we will again take the contents of any allegations seriously and will investigate fully. However, I must refute the assertion that cricket does not take the issue of corruption seriously. We have more resources than ever before working to rid our sport of corruption," Marshall said in a statement.He also urged general public to reveal data in relation to the corruption. "Anyone with any information is urged to contact the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit," he ...
Delhi Police organises Commemoration Day Parade
The Delhi Police on Sunday organised Commemoration Day Parade in remembrance of police personnel who died in the line of duty. The parade was held at New Police Lines Ground, Kingsway Camp, to pay homage to those policemen who lost their lives between September1, 2017 and August 31 this year, they added. Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik read out the names of 13 personnel who sacrificed their lives. In all, 414 police personnel including 13 of Delhi Police were killed while serving in their respective forces. Former Delhi Police Commissioners T R Kakkar, B K Gupta, Neeraj Kumar and B S Bassi and other retired and serving senior officers paid homage by laying wreaths at the memorial. A two-minute silence was observed.
SSB jawan killed in sniper fire by militants in Pulwama
An SSB jawan was killed inside a CRPF camp on Sunday night by militants who used sniper rifles, possibly armed with night-vision devices, in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The incident happened in Midoora area when constable Vijay Kumar was talking to his family inside the camp. He was shot by militants from nearby hills, they said. This is possibly the first time that militants have used sniper fires on security forces. More gunshots were heard but were effective retaliated by security forces. The Sashastra Seema Bal was deployed in the area in view of the local bodies elections.
3 militants, 7 civilians killed in Kashmir's Kulgam district
Seven civilians were killed Sunday when unused explosives of three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, gunned down in an encounter, went off in Kulgam district of South Kashmir, police said. The incident happened at Laroo village in Kulgam district, one of the worst hit by militancy in South Kashmir, Sunday morning when security forces launched a search-and-cordon operation following intelligence report about the presence of militants. The security forces made repeated announcements to the militants for surrender but instead they were fired upon. In the retaliatory fire, three militants of Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed. As the security forces were carrying out routine clearance, they came under heavy stone pelting from a mob, which had cordoned off the encounter site. During the partial withdrawal of the security forces, the mob thronged the encounter site to gather remaining arms and ammunition, which is passed on later to militant groups, police alleged. During this, unexploded shells and ...