Page 462 - War Conflict
Imran Khan condemns Kabul rocket attack
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday condemned the rocket attack in Kabul during a speech by Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani to mark Eid-ul-Zuha.
Attack in Kabul during President Ghani Eid prayer ceremony
Two days after Afghanistan announced conditional ceasefire with the Taliban, several rockets landed in Kabul city on Tuesday morning during President Ashraf Ghani's Eid prayer ceremony.The attack took place when Ghani was addressing a gathering during the ceremony at around 9 am (local time), reported Tolo news.Responding to the attack, the Afghan President said, "There are groups that continuing the violence and with the firing of rockets they cannot stop the people of Afghanistan's development."According to the reports, the rockets were fired at the Presidential Palace and around the Green Zone.Earlier on Sunday, Ghani declared a conditional ceasefire with the Taliban for a period of three months to mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. The military operations will, however, continue against the Taliban, until it announces a formal ceasefire.
Spain knife attacker was gay and suicidal, says wife: Reports
A man shot dead as he tried to attack a Spanish police station had come out as gay months prior and wanted to commit suicide, his wife said according to Spanish media. The 29-year-old Algerian man, identified by media as Abdelouahab Taib, invoked the name of Allah during the assault early yesterday morning in the town of Cornella de Llobregat in the region of Catalonia, which authorities are treating as a "terrorist attack". In her declaration to the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's police force, his wife, a Spaniard who had reportedly converted to Islam after meeting him, said he had told her two months ago that he was homosexual, the region's La Vanguardia daily and other media reported. He reportedly felt "shame" about this as it conflicted with his Muslim religion, she said. Then two weeks ago, she told him she wanted to divorce and she told police she suspected his attack was a suicide attempt, the daily said. Neither the interior ministry nor the Mossos would comment on the ...
Indonesian officials defend parade of veiled kids with guns
Indonesian officials have defended a street parade that involved veiled kindergarteners carrying replica weapons and police said they'll arrest the person who uploaded a viral video of the event to Facebook. The video of children dressed head-to-toe in black marching with wooden guns has caused a sensation in Indonesia, which in May suffered one of its worst attacks in years when militants used their children as suicide bombers in the second-largest city Surabaya. The parade in East Java was one of the thousands held across Indonesia on Friday to mark independence. Probolinggo Police Chief Alfian Nurrizal told The Associated Press today that police were investigating who uploaded the video. He said it may have been edited to convey the wrong impression. "He or she did not upload the entire footage," Nurrizal said. "There are allegations of intentionally cutting the footage for a certain purpose." If the parade was "filmed completely since the beginning, there will be no ...
Koreas to shut down some border guard posts: Seoul
North and South Korea have agreed to close some guard posts along their border on a trial basis, Seoul's defence minister told parliament Tuesday amid a rapid diplomatic thaw. The Demilitarized Zone that has divided the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953 is, despite its name, one of the most fortified places on earth, with the areas on either side of it bristling with minefields and barbed-wire fences. Song Young-moo said the South would withdraw around 10 guard posts as part of confidence-building measures following the landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in in April. "What it means is that we will first withdraw one or two guard posts and gradually expand it," Song told lawmakers, adding the North would take reciprocal measures. "The North and South agreed to withdraw guard posts that are closest to each other," he added. "The closest is about 700 metres away and we will begin withdrawing guard posts that are ...
Chechnya attacks carried out by young children: Report
A series of coordinated attacks in Chechnya were carried out by children as young as 11, officials said on Tuesday, blaming a campaign of online recruiting by extremist groups.
Amarnath Yatra suspended due to non-availability of pilgrims
The Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu today due to non-availability of adequate number of pilgrims, officials said, adding that it may be resumed depending on the arrival of pilgrims at the base camp. However, the Budha Amarnath Yatra went smoothly with the fifth batch of 449 devotees leaving Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the mountainous shrine of Lord Shiva in Poonch district, they said. Yesterday, the smallest batch of 43 pilgrims left the base camp for Kashmir to undertake the annual yatra to the 3,880 metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas. "No devotee arrived for the pilgrimage and accordingly it was decided to suspend the yatra from here for the time being," the officials said, adding in case the pilgrims again arrive at the base camp for the yatra, it will be resumed to facilitate them to pay obeisance at the shrine before the conclusion of the pilgrimage on August 26. The 60-day pilgrimage commenced from the twin routes of Baltal and Pahalgam ..
Rocket attack in Kabul during President's Eid speech
At least one rocket struck Kabul on Tuesday, followed by several explosions, during an address to the nation by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ahead of Eid al-Adha.
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Multiple rockets hit Afghan capital Kabul, clashes underway: AFP
At least nine rockets hit near the diplomatic area in the Afghan capital Kabul today, as officials said fighting had broken out between security forces and militants in the city's old quarter. An AFP reporter could see helicopters and smoke above the Eidgah Mosque in Reka Khana district, and a heavy security presence near the Kabul Stadium. "This morning a group of terrorists took over a building in Reka Khana and fired several rockets towards Kabul," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP. "Two people have been wounded. Security are fighting the terrorists.
Trump 'most likely' to meet Kim again
US President Donald Trump has said it is "most likely" he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again following their historic summit in June, according to a news report.
At least 13 killed in Rio security operations: Officials
Rio de Janeiro's drug war hit a bloody crescendo when at least 11 suspected criminals and two soldiers were reported killed in a huge military sweep through impoverished favelas and during a rush-hour police car chase. The military command heading security in Brazil's second biggest city said the two troops killed yesterday were the first lost since conservative President Michel Temer sent them in to protect Rio. The military command said 4,200 soldiers, backed by armoured vehicles and aircraft, entered the Penha neighbourhood and the Alemao and Mare favela complexes -- poor, densely populated swaths of city in large part run by heavily armed drug traffickers. Only 70 police officers were said to be involved, suggesting a turnaround from previous operations into the dangerous favelas where police have taken the lead and soldiers provided backup. According to the Rio police force, 948 pounds (430 kg) of drugs were seized in the Mare, a far bigger amount than usual in such operations, ..
US service member killed in Iraq chopper crash
A US service member was killed and several other troops injured when their helicopter crashed during anti-jihadi operations in Iraq, officials said today. The crash appeared to have been accidental, as there were no indications it was caused by hostile fire, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said. A statement from the US-led coalition that is helping Iraqi partners fight the Islamic State group said the crash occurred around 2200 GMT on Sunday. "All personnel were recovered by coalition forces immediately following the incident and three were evacuated for further treatment," Manning said. Manning did not release the nationalities of the injured. Officials did not provide immediate details on the location of the crash but noted it was "conducting a partnered counterterrorism mission." The United States leads an international coalition that has targeted IS and other jihadists in Iraq and neighboring Syria since 2014. The coalition includes Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey .
UN calls on Libya to crack down on militias
The UN has called on Libya's internationally recognised government to crack down on armed groups obstructing the work of state institutions in the chaos-wracked country. The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) late on Sunday night expressed its "strong condemnation of the violence, intimidation and obstruction to the work of Libya's sovereign institutions by militiamen". It called on the UN-backed Government of National Accord to "prosecute those responsible for these criminal actions". The GNA's military and security institutions have failed to place limits on the powerful militias that sprung up in the turmoil that followed the 2011 ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Several state institutions, including those in Tripoli, have been regular targets of harassment and intimidation by armed groups technically operating under the GNA's interior ministry. Members of militias "nominally acting under the Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Accord are attacking sovereign ...
Cooperative bank manager shot dead in Haryana, Rs 12 lakh looted
Two unidentified men shot dead a manager of a cooperative bank and looted Rs 12 lakh in cash at Milkpur in Bhiwani district today, police said. The incident took place on Hisar-Bhiwani road this afternoon, they said. According to police, the manager, Ramphal (55), along with bank guard Dayal Singh, brought Rs 12 lakh in cash from main branch of the bank in Bhiwani to Milkpur. After they alighted a bus in the village and were walking towards their destination, two bike-borne men came and tried to snatch the bag containing money, they said. When the manager and the guard resisted, the assailants opened fire at them, the police said. Ramphal died on the spot, while the guard was injured seriously, they said. Police said the assailants also took away the firearm of the guard. The guard has been admitted to a private hospital in Hisar where his condition is stated to be the critical, the police said. A case has been registered in Bawani Khera police station against unidentified accused and
Multiple attacks on police in Chechnya: Leader
Armed assailants attacked policemen in various locations in the Russian republic of Chechnya today, the region's leader said, adding that several officers sustained injuries. One assailant attempted a suicide bombing but failed, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov said. Two policemen were wounded in the town of Shali, and several traffic police officers sustained injuries in capital Grozny, Kadyrov wrote on his official Telegram social networking account. "The bandits have been neutralised," he added. Kadyrov, who was visiting Saudi Arabia today, said extremist propaganda that "confuses the young men" was to blame for the assaults. "The situation in Grozny and Chechnya is absolutely calm," he said. Police in the North Caucasus region said two men armed with knives attempted to enter the Shali district police department and "inflicted wounds on two police employees on duty" before being shot dead. There has been no official explanation of the incident in Grozny. News agencies cited ...
Spanish police treating knife assault as 'terrorist attack'
A police officer shot dead a man armed with a knife as he tried to attack a police station in Catalonia today, just days after the one-year anniversary of a twin attack in the northern Spanish region that killed 16 people. "We are treating it as a terrorist attack. The officer used her gun to save her own life," Rafel Comes, a commissioner with the Catalan regional police, told a news conference in Cornella de Llobregat where the attack took place. The man arrived at the police station in the town near Barcelona at 5:45 am (0345 GMT) with a knife and "a clearly premeditated desire to kill an agent of our force," he added, saying security was being reinforced at police stations across Catalonia. Anti-terrorism police sources had earlier told AFP that the man was a 29-year-old Algerian who lived in the area, and had shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as he entered the station. But Comes said the agent who shot the man dead can only recall hearing him invoking the name of "Allah" ..
Afghan forces free 149 hostages taken by Taliban in ambush
Afghan forces launched a lightning operation in northern Kunduz province today, rescuing 149 people, including women and children, abducted by the Taliban just hours earlier, officials said. By mid-afternoon, fighting was still underway in the area to free 21 remaining hostages, officials added. The operation was a boost for Afghan forces, which have struggled to contain a resurgent Taliban on battlefields across the country. On Monday morning, the Taliban ambushed a convoy of three buses travelling on a road in the Khan Abad district, and forced everyone to come with them, according to Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Rahimi said that after Afghan security forces freed 149, the insurgents were still holding 21 hostages from the buses. He added at least seven Taliban fighters have been killed in the fighting so far. The ambush came despite Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's announcement of a conditional cease-fire with the Taliban during the Muslim holiday of ...
Afghanistan awaits Taliban response to truce offer
Afghanistan today was awaiting the Taliban's response to President Ashraf Ghani's proposal for a three-month ceasefire, an offer welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war. Ghani unveiled the offer during an Independence Day address late Sunday, saying police and troops would observe the truce from this week -- but only if the militants reciprocated. The move followed an extraordinarily violent week in Afghanistan that saw the Taliban storm the provincial capital of Ghazni -- just a two-hour drive from Kabul -- and press the fight against security forces across the country, with estimates suggesting hundreds of people may have been killed. It also came just hours after regional army spokesman Mohammad Hanif Rezaee said an airstrike against a Taliban convoy in the north of the country killed around 100 militant fighters. The president said his office had cleared "all obstacles" to peace with the announcement following consultations with religious scholars, ...
Egyptian army officer killed in Sinai roadside blast
An Egyptian army captain has been killed by an improvised explosive device blast in North Sinai during a campaign to eliminate jihadists, medics said today. The officer died yesterday evening after an explosion hit his vehicle west of the coastal city of El-Arish, a local medical source said. The Egyptian army has since February been conducting a major operation focused on the Sinai Peninsula to wipe out jihadists from the Islamic State group. The military says that over 250 suspected jihadists and at least 35 soldiers have been killed in its "Sinai 2018" operation. Jihadists launched an insurgency in Sinai after the 2013 military overthrow of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was forced out by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule.