Page 46 - War Conflict
Senior Taliban leader says insurgents want peace
Senior Taliban officials including the group's top political advisor met with Afghan political figures in Moscow Tuesday, saying they were committed to peace in Afghanistan -- even as US-led talks appear to have stalled. In a message the Taliban have not altered since talks with the US started last autumn, Taliban co-founder and political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said the insurgents want an end to 18 years of conflict -- but would only sign a deal after foreign forces quit Afghanistan. The Taliban are "really committed to peace, but think the obstacle for peace should be removed first", Baradar said in a rare televised appearance at the start of the two-day meeting marking 100 years of diplomatic ties between Russia and Afghanistan. "The obstacle is the occupation of Afghanistan, and that should end," Baradar added. Baradar -- who helped Mullah Omar found the Taliban -- was appointed its political chief in January following his release from a Pakistan prison. Tuesday's Moscow
ISIS terrorists movement: Lakshadweep admin reviews security, directs high vigil
The Lakshadweep administration Tuesday held a multi-agency security review meeting following intelligence reports that a boat carrying 15 Islamic State (IS) terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka to the scenic islands. Farooq Khan, the Administrator of the Union Territory, held a meeting at Kavaratti with senior officials of the local administration, Navy and Coast Guard, a Lakshadweep administration spokesperson said. He said Naval officers briefed Khan that both the Navy and Coast Guard vessels are undertaking enhanced patrolling across all the islands of Lakshadweep. "The surveillance by Naval maritime patrol aircraft is also in progress and all possible measures have been taken to prevent such intrusion in any of the islands in Lakshadweep," the spokesperson said, quoting the defence officials. The Navy officer also informed the meeting that a boat from Tamil Nadu, named S S Rafai, with eight crew members and bearing false registration documents has been seized near Suheli island, .
Dwayne Johnson pens tribute on 'Memorial Day'
As the United States commemorated 'Memorial Day' on Monday, Dwayne Johnson penned a heartfelt tribute to those who sacrificed their lives serving in the US armed forces.Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who lost their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.'The Rock' shared a picture with his child on Instagram, where the two are seen watching a film. Along with the picture, he thanked the US armed forces for their unconditional services."Good way to close out our Memorial Day. The freedoms & safety to enjoy these blessed moments in my life with my babies, that I hold close to my ." he wrote.Johnson added, "I know don't come without a sacrifice and burden to endure. I'm forever grateful and honor all who gave their everything in service for the very blessings that we enjoy. Hope you had a blessed Memorial Day weekend with your families."The Rock went on to write that this is .
Pak shells forward posts in J-K's Rajouri district
Pakistani troops fired from small arms and shelled forward posts in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district using mortar on Tuesday, officials said. "The Pakistan army, at about 1600 hours Tuesday, initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation starting with firing of small arms followed by shelling using mortars along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district's Nowshera sector," a Defence public relation officer (PRO) said. Indian troops are giving a befitting reply, the PRO said. The Pakistan army earlier in the day resorted to firing on forward posts along the LoC in the Shahpur sector in Poonch, the officials said. There were reports of firing of a few rounds from across the International border (IB) in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district. On Sunday, a teenager was injured in firing by the Pakistan army along the LoC in the Nowshera sector. On May 19, assistant sub-inspector Satyapal Singh suffered splinter injuries when a mortar shell exploded near him when he was manning a ...
Better to be alert than complacent: Kerala DGP on ISIS 'threat'
Kerala DGP Loknath Behera on Tuesday asserted that the police is taking all precautionary measures in the wake of an apparent ISIS threat, adding that people of the state have "nothing to worry.""See I am not going into details. Some say about this usage being an exaggeration etc. That's not my job. I see this as a big precautionary measure. 580 kilometres of Kerala coast is fully covered. We have even ensured that any deviations /deceptive moves are also accounted for," Behara told media here."Once all Quick Response Teams, District officials, coastal police officials have been alerted, even the smallest of instances are being reported. This is also an opportunity to assess our preparatory measures. Kerala's coast is fully covered. It's always better to be alert rather than complacent. We're ready, people should not feel they are not safe," he added.Kerala Coastal Police have been placed on alert after intelligence inputs about ISIS affiliates setting off towards Lakshadweep and ...
Hindu outfit chief visits SL, pays homage to attack victims
Hindu Makkal Katchi founder-leader Arjun Sampath visited Sri Lanka and paid homage to the victims of the Easter Sunday serial blasts and those killed in the 2009 civil war, the Tamil Nadu based right wing outfit said Tuesday. Sampath embarked on a four-day "spiritual sojourn," to the island nation on May 23 and visited the Kandy Murugan temple, Sita eliya (temple), and also took part in an event at a Shiva temple in Jaffna. He paid homage to the civilian victims of the 2009 civil war between the government forces and the now defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the outfit said. Sampath also paid homage to the over 250 people killed in the serial blasts on April 21. On May 28, he returned to Tamil Nadu, the HMK added. Arjun Sampath was earlier an Hindu Munnani (an RSS affiliate) functionary and later founded the Hindu Makkal Katchi. Last year, five men were arrested for plotting to eliminate him and his son Omkar Balaji.
India issues fresh advisory on visiting Sri Lanka
India on Tuesday issued a fresh advisory asking citizens travelling to Sri Lanka to be careful and vigilant in view of last month's bombings in which over 250 people were killed. In the advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said security situation in Sri Lanka is gradually returning to normal with the lifting of curfew and restrictions on social media and the opening of schools. At the same time it said, "Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka are advised to be careful and vigilant." It also asked Indian nationals requiring any assistance to get in touch round the clock with the Indian High Commission in Colombo and Assistant High Commission in Kandy as well as Consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota. In the aftermath of the blasts last month, the MEA had asked citizens not to undertake non-essential travel to the island nation. Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, ...
Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka advised to be careful, vigilant
Acknowledging the return of normalcy in Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday terror attacks, the Indian government on Tuesday advised its citizens to be "careful and vigilant" while traveling to the island nation, unlike the previous travel advisory where Indians were told to avoid all non-essential travel to the country altogether."Security situation in Sri Lanka is gradually returning to normal with the lifting of curfew and restrictions on social media and the opening of schools. Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka are advised to be careful and vigilant," an official release said.In the latest travel advisory, Indian nationals requiring assistance have been told to get in touch with the Indian High Commission in Colombo or the Assistant High Commission in Kandy and Consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota at any given time.At least 253 people were killed and around 500 were injured after multiple locations were bombed in a coordinated attack on Easter Sunday last month. The ...
Australian navy pilots struck by lasers in South China Sea
A witness says Australian navy helicopter pilots were hit by lasers while exercising in the South China Sea, forcing them to land as a precaution. Scholar Euan Graham, who was onboard the Royal Australian Navy flagship HMAS Canberra on a voyage from Vietnam to Singapore, said in an account of the incident that the lasers had been pointed from fishing vessels while the Canberra was being trailed by a Chinese warship. China maintains a robust maritime militia in the South China Sea composed of fishing vessels equipped to carry out missions just short of combat. Similar incidents involving lasers and the Chinese military have been reported as far away as Djibouti, where the U.S. and China have bases. Last year, the U.S. complained after lasers were directed at aircraft there.
IAF Chief leads 'Missing Man' formation to pay tributes to Kargil bravehearts
Kargil war veteran Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Tuesday paid homage to Indian Air Force (IAF) jawans who lost their lives when a Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by Pakistan during the 1999 battle.IAF Chief Dhanoa paid tribute by flying a 'Missing Man' formation at Sarsawa base in Uttar Pradesh. 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General YK Joshi and Western Air Commander Air Marshal R Nambiar were also a part of the team.The 'Missing Man' formation is an aerial salute accorded to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms.Earlier on Monday, a squadron of MiG-21 aircraft led by the IAF chief flew in the missing man formation to pay tribute to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja who was killed in action in Operation Safed Sadar during the Kargil war.Kargil war, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC).The IAF had played a key role in enabling ...
Two militants killed in encounter J-K's Anantnag
Two militants were Tuesday killed in an encounter with security forces in forests of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said. Based on specific intelligence input about presence of the militants in the Kachwan forest area of Kokernag in south Kashmir district, the security forces launched a cordon and search operation there, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired at search party of the forces, who retaliated. In the exchange of firing, two militants were killed, the official said. He said the identity and group affiliation of the slain ultras was being ascertained.
4 arrested for looting 1 kg gold in Noida
The Noida Police has arrested four people for allegedly looting one kg of gold from the employees of a jewellery designing firm here and seized cash worth Rs 30 lakh from their possession, officials said Tuesday. On May 20, two-bike borne assailants had looted a car which had the gold that was being transported from Divya Creations's office in Sector 82 to a jewellery showroom in Okhla when its occupants, the firm's employee and a driver, were overpowered by the duo at gunpoint, they said. The two robbers, their third partner and a jeweller, who had purchased the looted gold from them were arrested Monday evening from Dadri town, Gautam Buddh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said. "The car, a Maruti Ritz, was recovered soon after the incident when police chased the criminals but they had escaped with the looted gold on a motorcycle," he told reporters. The accused were identified as Vikas Singh, Bhupendra Singh alias Goli, Israr, and jeweller Ashwini, he said, ...
Gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag
A gunfight broke out on Tuesday between the security forces and militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said.
Encounter breaks out between militants and security forces in Anantnag
An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Kokernag area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district Tuesday, police said. There were no reports of any casualties on either side so far, a police official said. "A brief exchange of firing took place between militants and security forces in Kachwan forest area of Kokernag in Anantnag district," he said. He said additional forces have been rushed to the area to strengthen the cordon and prevent the militants from escaping.
Vietnam man jailed for plotting terror attack
A Vietnamese man has been sentenced to six years in jail for terrorism and weapons possession after he was convicted for smuggling a cache of guns into the country from Cambodia, a court official said Tuesday. Terror-related crimes are rare in the one-party communist state, where a hardline administration in charge since 2016 has waged a crackdown on critics, jailing dozens last year alone. Le Quoc Binh was arrested in August ahead of Vietnam's national day in central Binh Dinh province carrying seven rifles and 500 bullets that he smuggled in from Cambodia. A court on Monday sentenced him to one year in jail for allegedly planning an attack and another five years for weapons possession, according to a court clerk and state media. "Binh used Facebook to share and popularise the use of weapons and violence against the state," according to a report from Bao Ve Phap Luat, the official mouthpiece of the national procuracy office. The report said Binh was disgruntled because his family was
Afghanistan: 15 militants killed in multiple operations
At least 15 Taliban militants were killed in a series of operations conducted by Afghan forces in Southern Helmand province on Monday.According to the Khamma Press, the planned raids were conducted in various districts of the province. The forces have also detained four militants, and a tunnel used by the Taliban has also been destroyed."In an Afghan special forces operation to disrupt Taliban IED facilitation and illegal narcotic financing in Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand, four Taliban fighters were detained and one tunnel was destroyed," said a military source.Moreover, five militants were killed in an airstrike in Musa Qalah district."In Kajaki district, a strike killed two Taliban fighters," said the source. In another strike in Nahr-e-Saraj district, four more Taliban fighters were killed.However, the militant group has not commented on the operations yet.This comes weeks after sixth rounds of talks between the US and the Taliban ended in Doha.
Three killed in Ramadan violence in restive Thai south
Two people, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in a market place bombing in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, a military spokesman said Tuesday -- an apparent retaliatory attack for the killing of a wanted rebel leader. Thailand's three southernmost provinces, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, have since 2004 been plagued with conflict between ethnic Malay-Muslim rebels and the Buddhist-majority Thai state, which annexed the region around a century ago. Around 7,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in violence that rarely makes international headlines despite taking place a few hours south of some of Thailand's tourist hotspots. On Monday afternoon, the insurgents detonated a motorcycle bomb at a crowded market place in Nong Chik, Pattani province, killing two civilians. "A 14-year-old boy and a 38-year-old woman died," Colonel Thanawee Suwannathat, spokesman for the southern army, told AFP. Four military rangers were wounded in the blast. The bombing appeared to be in ...
Search operation called off in Pulwama
The pre-dawn search operation by security forces on Tuesday in Kareemabad village of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district has been called off.
Air Chief Marshal to lead missing man formation to pay tribute to Kargil war heroes
Led by Air Chief Marshal (ACM) BS Dhanoa, the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters will fly in a missing man formation from Sarsawa base on Tuesday to pay homage to IAF jawans who lost their lives when an Indian Mi-17 helicopter was shot down by Pakistan during the Kargil war.14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General YK Joshi will also be part of the team.Earlier on Monday, a squadron of MiG-21 aircraft led by the IAF chief flew in the missing man formation to pay tribute to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja who was killed in action in Operation Safed Sadar during the Kargil war.Kargil war, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC).The IAF had played a key role in enabling the Indian Army to recapture the majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC infiltrated by the Pakistani troops and terrorists.The war came to an end on .
Myanmar frees soldiers jailed for Rohingya massacre
Seven soldiers jailed for killing a group of Rohingya Muslims have been freed from a Myanmar jail despite serving less time than two reporters imprisoned for exposing the massacre. Prisons department director general Myint Soe told journalists the soldiers were "no longer in detention", declining to give any further information. Four officers and three soldiers were sentenced in 2018 to 10 years with hard labour for killing 10 Rohingya villagers, with army chief Min Aung Hlaing and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi holding up the sentence as evidence of accountability within the military. Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who helped expose the killing, were jailed last September for seven years on charges linked to their reporting. They were granted a presidential pardon this month after spending over 500 days behind bars. The killings unfolded during a bloody army crackdown in 2017 that forced some 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border into Bangladesh. UN investigators