Page 43 - War Conflict
IS claims deadly attack in Egypt's Sinai: Propaganda arm
The Islamic State group claimed an attack that killed eight Egyptian policemen in the restive Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, as the country marked the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr. "Islamic State fighters this morning launched two simultaneous attacks on two police checkpoints in the city of El-Arish," said a statement released by the jihadist group's propaganda wing, Amaq. It claimed that 10 policemen were killed in the two attacks; one on a checkpoint south of El-Arish and another on a second checkpoint in a "nearby area". It said the twin operation was designed to "divide" the attention of security forces and give militants enough time to pull back before reinforcements arrived. The country's interior ministry said 8 Egyptian policeman were killed in an attack on the northeastern region, a hotbed of a years-long insurgency by militants, some linked to IS. Egyptian state television said there were fears the death toll could rise, amid reports of attacks on multiple ...
J-K: 3 people dead, 5 others injured in bus accident
Three people died and five others were injured after a speeding mini-bus toppled on Dhar Road in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Wednesday, police said.After receiving information about the incident, the police reached the spot and took the injured ones to the district hospital.Doctors at the district hospital later referred one, who got seriously injured, to Military Hospital, Udhampur.Police have registered a case and further investigating the matter.
Those behind Lankan blasts should be called devils not
Expressing solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka, the Imam of a mosque here Wednesday said those behind the recent serial bomb blasts in the island nation should be called "devils and not martyrs." Sri Lanka witnessed a deadly terror attack on April 21 when eight blasts rocked the island nation,claiming over 250 lives. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the incident. Those who were behind the Lankan bomb blasts should be called devils and not martyrs, Imam of the Palayam mosque, V P Suhaib Maulavi, said while delivering his Eid-ul-Fitr message. "We are with the people of Sri Lanka. Small children and women were among those who were brutally killed in the recent attack. Those who had done this should be called devils and not martyrs," he said. He also spoke about the importance of peace in society. Muslims across Kerala Wednesday celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the 30-day fasting during the holy month of Ramzan. Special prayers were held in open .
Personnel of BSF, Pakistan Rangers exchange sweets on the occasion of Eid
Personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers on Wednesday exchanged sweets at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.They shook hands and greeted each other as soon as the border gates opened.This is the first time when both the troops exchanged sweets after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office for a second consecutive term.Personnel of the border guarding forces have been traditionally exchanging sweets on religious and national festivals of the two countries, barring a few occasions when the diplomatic relations were at a low ebb.
Islamic State make first claim of Mozambique presence
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the first time for an insurgent clash in northern Mozambique, according to SITE Intelligence which monitors jihadist activities worldwide. An Islamist insurgency has been growing in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, with more than 200 people killed and many villages torched. Islamic State issued a statement late Tuesday claiming involvement in an apparent gunfight with the Mozambique military in Cabo Delgado province, although an insurgency expert expressed caution over the claim. "The soldiers of the Caliphate were able to repulse an attack by the Crusader Mozambican army in Metubi village, in the Mocimboa area," said the statement, according to a SITE translation. "They clashed with them with a variety of weapons, killing and wounding a number of them. "The mujahideen captured weapons, ammunition, and rockets as spoils." The Mozambican government and military decline to confirm any rebel activity. Insurgents ...
Egyptian officials: Militant attack kills 10 police personnel in Sinai
Islamic militants attacked a checkpoint in Egypt's restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, killing at least 10 policemen, security officials said. The attack took place as Muslims in the city of el-Arish were holding prayers marking the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which follows the holy month of Ramadan, early in the morning. Two officers and eight conscripts were among those killed, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The officials said the militants attacked the checkpoint, south of el-Arish, seized an armoured vehicle to make their getaway but a warplane chased them in the desert, killing at least five. The Interior Ministry later released a statement, saying eight policemen were killed in the attack. The discrepancy between the casualty figures could not immediately be resolved. Egypt has battled Islamic militants for years ..
Shelling kills 7 in Myanmar's Rakhine state
At least seven people have been killed in an artillery attack in Myanmar's Rakhine state, the media reported on Wednesday.
Car hits men emerging from mosque, no injuries: Police
A motorist rammed his car into devotees emerging from a mosque in Delhi's Khureji area on Wednesday but police said no one was injured, denying their own earlier claim that many suffered injuries.
MHA ready with fresh list of top 10 militants active in J&K
With eradication of terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir being the focus of new Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Centre has issued a list of top 10 terrorists operating in the state who need to be eliminated.
Clashes between protesters, security forces after Eid prayers in some parts of Kashmir
Clashes between protestors and security forces were reported after Eid prayers in some parts of Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said. There were no reports of anyone getting hurt in these clashes, they said. The festival of Eid was celebrated with much fanfare across the state with people thronging mosques, shrines and Eidgahs to offer prayers on the culmination of the holy moth of Ramzan. Clashes broke out in some parts of the old city between protestors and security forces after Eid prayers. Similar clashes were reported in Sopore in north Kashmir and Anantnag in south Kashmir, the officials said. In Nowhatta area of the city, masked protestors reportedly held banners in support of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and slain militant commander Zakir Musa. However, police officials said they are verifying the veracity of these reports. Security forces exercised maximum restraint while dealing with the law and order situation, they said. The situation elsewhere in the valley .
J-K: Stone-pelters mar Eid festivities, wave Pak flags in Srinagar
The celebrations of Eid-Ul-Fitr were marred by violence in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city on Wednesday as stone-pelters came out on the streets and waved flags of Pakistan and dreaded terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).In a bid to disrupt peace, the demonstrators chanted slogans and clashed with police personnel on duty in Srinagar's near Jama Masjid, soon after Eid prayers.Security personnel, however, practiced maximum restraint.The miscreants, mostly youngsters, had their faces covered and pelted stones on security personnel, who were trying to disperse them.Attempting to legitimise terrorists Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Zakir Musa, they held posters with their photos and placards saying "Kashmir Banega Pakistan" and "Musa Army".Hafiz Saeed is the chief of Lashkar-e-Taiba, who masterminded the 2008 Mumbai attacks which claimed around 164 lives.Masood Azhar is the head of Jaish-e-Mohammed, terror outfit that carried out Pulwama attack killing over 40 security
Egyptian officials: Militant attack kills 10 police in Sinai
Egyptian security officials say Islamic militants attacked a checkpoint in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 10 policemen. The officials say the attack took place as Muslims in the city of al-Arish were holding prayers marking the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which follows the month of Ramadan, on Wednesday morning. They say two officers and eight conscripts were killed. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The officials say the militants attacked the checkpoint, seized an armored vehicle to make their getaway but a warplane chased them in the desert, killing at least five. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Egypt has for years battled an Islamic State affiliate based in northern Sinai.
Amid financial crisis at UN, SG Guterres had considered selling posh NY official residence
Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said he had contemplated selling his official four-story residence in New York when he took charge as the UN chief to help resolve the deteriorating financial crisis facing the world body. The Secretary General's official residence is in Sutton Place, an exclusive Manhattan enclave off the East River. "Looking at the Organisation's overall finances, and its financial ratios, can be misleading. We have of course more assets than liabilities but not enough liquid assets. I cannot sell this building," Guterres said Tuesday in his remarks to the General Assembly's Fifth Committee on 'Improving the Financial Situation of the Organisation'. He told the delegates present at the meeting that the first thing he did when he arrived in New York to assume charge as the UN Chief was to ask if he could sell the residence. "I am not joking. It is a true story. I discovered that I couldn't, because the residence can only be sold to the United States of America ..
Gang wars, access to firearms test Delhi Police's Special Cell skills
With firearms being extensively used by criminals, the national capital has seen multiple cases of gang wars in recent weeks. However, Special Cell of Delhi Police may have just turned the game upside down with four encounters within nine days. ACPs (Assistant Commissioner of Police) Attar Singh, Manoj Dixit, Lalit Mohan Negi and Hirdaya Bhushan were directly involved in one or more cases of encounter which helped the police to nab serious offenders.
Sudan protesters reject army election plan after deadly crackdown
Sudan's protest movement called Tuesday for fresh rallies and rejected the military rulers' election plan after more than 35 people were killed in what demonstrators called a "bloody massacre" by security forces. Protest leaders called on their supporters to take part in "total civil disobedience" to topple the ruling military council following the deadly dispersal Monday of a weeks-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum. The Transitional Military Council ousted veteran president Omar al-Bashir in April after months of protests against his authoritarian rule and had agreed a three-year transition period to a civilian administration. But army ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced in a televised statement the plan had been ditched and an election would take place under "regional and international supervision". "The military council decides on the following: cancelling what was agreed on and stopping negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and to ...
Jihadists kill Nigerian soldiers in string of attacks: military
Jihadists killed five soldiers at a northeast Nigerian army base hit in a string of weekend attacks, the military said Tuesday as IS-linked Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the multi-pronged assault. A military source said five troops were killed at a base in Marte in Borno state. "We lost five soldiers in the Marte encounter but I don't have any details on human losses in the other camps," said the source, who asked not to be named. "We have to wait for the final assessment on the incidents to have a definite toll on casualties." The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the IS-linked faction of Boko Haram, said in an online statement its fighters attacked five bases in Borno at the weekend, destroying vehicles and carting away weapons, according to SITE Intelligence which monitors jihadist activities worldwide. ISWAP claimed its assault on bases in the towns of Marte, Kirenowa and Dikwa killed 14 troops, but AFP could not independently verify the toll. The group also ...
UN probe urges DR Congo to 'step up' fight against impunity
UN investigators on Tuesday urged authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to "step up the pace" and broaden their efforts to ensure accountability for serious violations in the restive Kasai region. In a fresh report, the experts warned that Kinshasa is moving too slowly to investigate and prosecute a wide range of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kasai in 2016-17. "The military justice authorities must... step up the pace," said the report, which will be presented during the next session of the UN Human Rights Council (June 24- July 12). It pointed out that in the past three years, only a single case has proceeded so far that "it is ready to be tried". "The passage of time works against the criminal justice system by weakening the reliability of testimony, which is often the only evidence available, and making it more difficult to identify and preserve physical evidence, such as mass graves," the report warned. Kasai was plunged into violence in ..
Message praising IS chief found on bridge in Navi Mumbai
Police are extra vigilant after a message praising terror organization Islamic State (IS), its head Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed appeared on a pillar of a bridge in Uran near Mumbai, an official said Tuesday. Some villagers from nearby Khopta spotted the message, written with a black marker pen, and alerted police, he said. The message praised Baghdadi as the "most dreaded terrorist of the world". On another pillar, a diagram of sorts was found, featuring words such as 'port', 'airport', 'pipeline', 'train' and crude drawings representing these objects. Local police as well as officials of Navi Mumbai crime branch and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) visited the spot after learning about the message and drawings, the police official said. As some important installations are situated in and around Uran, including a naval base, JNPT container port and a power station, the police have increased the security in the area, he said. Some
Terrorist hideout busted in J-K's Poonch
Security forces busted a terrorist hideout in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district and seized a cache of arms and ammunition, officials said Tuesday. During a search operation in Lassana forest area, the security personnel seized one Chinese pistol, 19 pistol rounds and 213 rounds of AK-47 rifle, they said. An FIR was registered in the matter and a probe was underway, the officials said. The search operation was conducted by police and a team of 16 Rashtriya Rifles, they added.
Afghan president pledges to release nearly 900 prisoners
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pledged Tuesday to release nearly 900 inmates from prisons across Afghanistan. During an address to the nation for Eid -- the festival marking the end of Ramadan -- Ghani said 887 inmates would be set free. The president did not say what offences the prisoners had committed or whether they were members of the Taliban. During a peace conference in April, Ghani said he would release 175 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of "goodwill". It was not clear if those insurgent prisoners were included in the number Ghani gave on Tuesday. Ghani had proposed a nationwide ceasefire at the start of Ramadan early last month, but the Taliban rejected the offer. Last year, the Taliban observed a three-day ceasefire but there has been no reduction in violence this year. Ghani also said he had accepted an invitation from Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Pakistan later this month.