Page 40 - War Conflict

Car bombing kills 17 in Syria's Azaz: monitor

At least 17 people were killed Sunday in a car bomb near a bustling market and mosque in a rebel-held city in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said. Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, at the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor. "Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. In a nearby market, shoppers purchasing clothes and gifts ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, were also among the victims, said Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital. He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives. "The emergency rooms were full, we placed corpses on the floor," he said. "It is a real catastrophe before the Eid al-Fitr holiday." Resident Abu Youssef said the

Militant, overground worker killed in Shopian shootout

One militant and an overground worker (OGW) of militants were killed in a shootout on Monday between the security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.

China won't be bullied by US, defence minister says

China's Defence Minister has issued a stern rebuke to the United States amid the ongoing trade war and tension over the South China Sea and Taiwan, saying his country would "not let others prey on or divide us."

Car bombing kills 7 in Syria's Azaz: monitor

A car bomb in Syria's rebel-held northwest killed at least seven people on Sunday, a war monitor said. The explosion in Azaz, a city at the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in northern Aleppo province, also wounded more than 20 people, said Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

SSB arrests Nepali citizen from Siliguri; recovers explosive, detonators

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel on Sunday arrested a Nepali citizen here and recovered 40 packets of Neogel 90 explosives and 100 electrical detonators.The apprehended person has been identified as 33-year-old Sri Prasad Rai."The person was coming from Shillong (Meghalaya) and was going to Bhojpur in Nepal. The apprehended person along with the seized items is being handed over to Khoribari Police station," the paramilitary force said in a statement.He will be produced before the Siliguri court on Monday.

Student bus targeted amid deadly wave of Kabul bombings

Two people were killed and dozens more wounded in Kabul on Sunday as a wave of bombings hit civilian targets -- including a university school bus -- across the Afghan capital. The yellow bus had been heading to Kabul Education University in the western part of the city Sunday morning when it was hit by a sticky bomb -- a growing menace in Kabul, where insurgents and criminals use magnets to slap explosives on vehicles. The device had been placed under the bus, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. In the immediate aftermath, as people rushed to help victims, two more bombs that had been planted by the side of the road went off, he added. Among the wounded was an Afghan journalist who appeared to have been live-streaming the aftermath of the first explosion when he was hit in a secondary blast. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility. Initial reports said the bus was carrying university officials, but Kabul police spokesman Firdaws Faramarz later said students had been

Suspended police head says dismissal unfair, blames President for failing to prevent Lanka attack

Sri Lanka's suspended police chief has petitioned the Supreme Court, accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of failing to prevent the Easter bombings and claiming that his dismissal was unfair. Jayasundera was sent on compulsory leave by Sirisena for his alleged inaction on the intelligence shared by India, which warned of an impending attack by Islamic militants, and thereby, failing to prevent the serial blasts that killed over 250 people. In the petition submitted to the court last week, Jayasundera revealed serious lack of communication between intelligence agencies and security arms of the government, all which fall under Sirisena, and claimed he was sidelined was excluded from attending National Security Council meetings since a political rift between the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe emerged in October last year. In October 2018, Sirisena had sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The police was under the control of Wickremesinghe. In the 20-page ...

2 killed, 24 injured in serial bomb blasts in Kabul

Two persons were killed and 24 others injured as serial bomb blasts rocked Kabul on Sunday, an official said.

Chinese imports for bulletproof jackets due to price advantage; no quality concern: Niti member

Indian companies producing bulletproof jackets for the Army are importing Chinese raw material due to price advantage but there are no concerns yet about the quality of these body armours, a Niti Aayog member has said. Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat, who is a former DRDO chief, stressed that they can intervene only if body armours produced with Chinese material are below standard, but there are no such reports as of now. The Prime Minster's Office (PMO) had asked Niti Aayog to prepare a roadmap for "incentivising" domestic manufacturing of lightweight body armours (bulletproof jackets). The Bureau of Indian Standards has also finalised quality norms for body armours to be used by Indian forces, according to Saraswat. He was replying to a question about concerns over the use of Chinese raw material in the manufacturing of bulletproof jackets for Indian armed forces. Playing down the concerns, Saraswat argued that the import of Chinese raw material is market driven and cheaper than ...

State police seize two hand grenades in Punjab

State police seized two hand grenades during checking at a barricade placed near Kukranwala Adda here on Sunday.The area falls under Ajnala sub-division.The two suspects, however, managed to flee from the spot.As per the police, barricades are set up at Kukranwala Adda ahead of Operation Bluestar anniversary on June 6. During checking, the police signalled two bike-borne men to stop, but the duo, instead of stopping, escaped.The police team, while chasing the suspects, managed to snatch a bag from the pillion rider.From the bag, two hand grenades were recovered.Further details are awaited.

Police chief blames president for failing to prevent Sri Lanka attacks

Sri Lanka's suspended police chief has petitioned the Supreme Court, accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of failing to prevent the Easter bombings that killed 258 people. In a 20-page complaint, Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara disclosed serious communication gaps between intelligence agencies and security arms of the government, all which fall under Sirisena. In the petition submitted to court last week and seen by AFP Sunday, Jayasundara said the country's premier spy agency, the State Intelligence Service (SIS), ordered him last year to stop ongoing police investigations into Islamic militants. The SIS, which reports directly to Sirisena, wanted the police Terrorist Investigation Department to stop all inquiries into extremist Muslim factions, including the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ), which was blamed for the Easter Sunday bombings. Jayasundara said the head of the SIS, Nilantha Jayawardena, did not take seriously the intelligence shared by neighbouring India which ..

IGP calls for increasing long range patrolling in Kishtwar, reviews law and order

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Zone M K Sinha has called for increasing long rang patrolling and search operations in Kishtwar district to hunt down terrorists in the area , officials said Sunday. Jammu and Kashmir police has activated its anti-terrorism force - Special Operation Group (SoG) to track down militants operating in hills of Kishtwar district, where 8 listed militants are operating, the IGP said. "We have activated SoG (in Kishtwar) after the terror incidents took place", he told reporters Saturday. Sinha had visited Marwah and Warwan areas of Kishtwar Saturday to review the security situation and to take stock of the search operations being conducted in the area, officials said. A brief encounter took place on Friday between police and militants in Appan near Nowapachi in which two SPOs were injured, the officials said. The IGP also visited Inshan in Warwan where the security situation, specially in the light of opening up of Margan Top route, was discussed ..

Kashmir's militancy maths: 101 terrorists killed, 50 new recruits in 2019

Over 100 militants, including 23 foreigners, have been killed in Kashmir in the first five months of 2019, but what is keeping the security establishment worried is the large number of new recruits, officials said Sunday. According to them, 50 youngsters have joined various terror outfits since March and the security establishment needs to find a better way to cut off the supply chain and can even consider educating families on radicalisation of the youth. The officials said 101 militants -- 23 foreigners and 78 local militants -- were killed in 2019 till May 31. They include top commanders such as Zakir Musa, the chief of so-called Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda. However, there is a sudden surge of militants from Hizbul Mujahideen joining Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, especially after the elimination of Musa on May 23, they said. The officials, many of whom are engaged in either fighting militancy on the ground or formulating strategy, believe there is a need for ...

China announces South China Sea military training exercises

China began two days of military training in the South China Sea Sunday, as its defense minister warned that China's armed forces would "resolutely take action" to defend Beijing's claims over the area. The China Maritime Safety Administration announced the drills were being held all day Sunday and for half a day on Tuesday in an area near China's holdings in the Paracel island group. China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own territory and strongly objects to naval activity in the area by other nations. Another five governments exercise overlapping claims, particularly in the Spratly islands to the east. The waterway rich in fishing grounds through which passes an estimated USD 5 trillion in global commerce annually has become a global security hotspot, largely due to growing Chinese assertiveness in pressing its claims. China has expanded through reclamation or built entirely new man-made islands atop coral reefs to cement its footprint in the area, equipping many .

Three blasts hit Kabul, killing one and injuring 17

One person was killed and 17 others wounded Sunday in three successive blasts in Kabul, Afghan officials said, capping a murderous week of mayhem across the city. Among the wounded was an Afghan journalist who appeared to have been live-streaming the aftermath of the first explosion when a second bomb went off. The events started with the detonation of a sticky bomb -- a growing menace in Kabul, where insurgents and criminals slap magnetic bombs on the underside of vehicles. The charge had been placed under a bus carrying officials headed to the Kabul Education University, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. In the immediate aftermath, two more bombs that had been planted by the side of the road went off, he added. "In total, one Afghan civilian was martyred and 17 others, including a local journalist and five Afghan forces, have been slightly wounded," Rahimi said. Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar confirmed the toll. There was no immediate claim of ...

1 trooper killed in gun battle with Maoists in Jharkhand

One security personnel was killed while four others injured during a gun battle with Maoists in Jharkhand's Dumka district on Sunday, police said.

Afghan officials: 3 bomb blasts in capital, 1 killed

Afghan officials say there have been three explosions in the capital, Kabul, including a sticky bomb attached to a bus carrying university students that killed at least one person. Ferdus Faramarz, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, has confirmed that two other blasts were later heard from the same area, but couldn't provide more details. He says ten people were also wounded in Sunday's attack, which took place in western part of the city. Wahidullah Mayar, spokesman for the public health ministry, says at least four women are among the wounded from the bus attack and have been taken to hospitals. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, but both Taliban and Islamic State militants are active in the capital and have staged attacks in Kabul.

Woman robbed of gold rings, chain in Uttar Pradesh

Unidentified robbers looted two gold rings and a gold chain from a woman in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) early on Sunday morning.

Angola's former Unita leader reburied after 17 years

The former leader of Angola's Unita rebel group, Jonas Savimbi, has been reburied 17 years after his death.

One dead, 10 wounded as shots fired in Sudan capital

One person was killed and 10 wounded in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Saturday when shots were fired near the site of a protest sit-in, a doctors' committee close to demonstrators said. "After regular forces opened fire, there were casualties on Nile Street near the sit-in site," the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said in a statement. The committee did not specify which forces opened fire or identify those killed or wounded. A man died "who was hit with live rounds in the head," the committee said. Soldiers and security forces blocked off the city's Nile Street on Saturday afternoon, while gunfire could be heard in the distance, an AFP reporter said. It was unclear who was firing. The doctors' committee said three people were wounded by gunfire and most of the other casualties were hit with rifle butts and steel bars, without elaborating. The military ousted president Omar al-Bashir in April after months of protests against his authoritarian rule. Protesters have remained ...