Page 494 - War Conflict
Six dead as gunmen storm Afghan govt building, 11 killed in bus bombing
Gunmen today stormed an Afghan government office in Jalalabad during a meeting with foreign aid agencies, killing at least six people in the latest of a series of assaults in the eastern city. On the other side of the country a roadside bomb apparently intended for security forces hit a passenger bus and killed 11 people, as civilians once again bear the brunt of violence in Afghanistan. The attack in Jalalabad targeted the compound of the refugees and repatriations department. It ended after more than five hours of intense fighting between militants and security forces, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province. At least six people were killed and 14 wounded, Khogyani said, but he warned the toll could rise as security forces searched the building. As the attack began with multiple explosions, local representatives of foreign donors and agencies were meeting department employees inside the building. "All the partner agency representatives attending the
Iraq has spent more than USD 700 bn oil wealth since 2005
Iraq has raised more than USD 700 billion from oil since 2005, but almost the entire amount has been spent, the central bank announced today. "Between 2005 and 2017, the finance ministry has taken in $706.23 billion dollars in foreign exchange" from oil, it said in a statement. "A total of USD 703.11 billion, or 99.5 per cent of the amount, has been spent," it said. Since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State group last December, marking an end to decades of conflict in Iraq, social grievances have boiled over in a series of protests. After erupting in the oil-rich southern province of Basra on July 8, unrest has quickly spread to several cities, as people have vented their anger over unemployment, high prices, power cuts and a lack of usable water. Fourteen people have been killed in clashes between security forces and demonstrators, frustrated over the lack of basic services in what has been ranked one of the world's most corrupt countries. According
Gunmen storm Afghan govt building, 11 die in bus bombing
Gunmen today stormed an Afghan government office in Jalalabad during a meeting with foreign aid agencies, killing at least one person in the latest of a series of assaults in the eastern city. On the other side of the country a roadside bomb apparently intended for security forces hit a passenger bus and killed at least 11 people, as civilians once again bear the brunt of violence in Afghanistan. The attack in Jalalabad targeted the compound of the refugees and repatriations department. It ended after more than five hours of intense fighting between militants and security forces, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province. As the attack began with multiple explosions, local representatives of foreign donors and agencies were meeting department employees inside the building, Khogyani said. "All the partner agency representatives attending the meeting were Afghans and those who were stuck inside, including the director of the refugees and repatriations ...
New Myanmar Rakhine commission denounced by observers
A new commission set up by Myanmar to look into human rights abuses in Rakhine state has been criticised by observers today as a "political gimmick", as the country tries to stave off further censure over its treatment of its Rohingya Muslims. The government announced yesterday evening that an "independent" commission of inquiry had been established but gave no details about its remit, powers or the timeframe given to complete its report. The military tore through Rohingya villages in a campaign that started last August following a spate of insurgent attacks, forcing some 700,000 to flee over the border en masse to Bangladesh. The Rohingya have recounted testimony of widespread murder, rape, torture and arson at the hands of the army and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs, in violence the UN has branded as ethnic cleansing. In the decades before that the Rohingya systematically had their rights stripped away by a country that widely regards them as illegal immigrants from ...
Commonwealth secretary general to visit Sri Lanka
Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland will arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday on a four-day official visit, it was announced here on Tuesday.
Israel Arab sentenced to jail for 'incitement' with poems
An Israeli court today sentenced an Arab woman to five months in prison for incitement to violence and support for a terrorist organisation in poems and other social media posts, the justice ministry said. Dareen Tatour, 36 and an Israeli citizen, posted a video clip of herself reading her poem "Resist, my people, resist them," in October 2015, accompanied by pictures of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, according to authorities. The posts on YouTube and Facebook came as a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence was erupting, including Palestinian knife attacks. She was convicted in May and sentenced in the Nazareth district court. Her lawyer Gaby Lasky was expected to appeal. Her prosecution has drawn international criticism. International writers group Pen has defended Tatour, saying she "has been convicted for doing what writers do every day -- we use our words to peacefully challenge injustice." The poem was quoted in Hebrew in the charge sheet, but according to an ...
Weapon of ex-Minister's security guard snatched in Kashmir
Unknown persons on Tuesday overpowered the security guard of a former Minister and snatched his weapon in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
'Militants snatch rifle from policeman'
Unidentified militants snatched a rifle today from a policeman in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, the police said. The militants snatched an INSAS rifle from constable Mohammad Ishaq at Khurhama area of Lolab in the north Kashmir district, a police official said. He said Ishaq was on duty in connection with the visit of MLA Lolab Abdul Haq Khan, a former minister, in the area when the incident took place. The police have launched a probe into the incident, the official said.
Tajikistan attack killing 4 tourists was led by opposition member: Police
Police in Tajikistan today appeared to blame a banned opposition party for an attack previously claimed by the Islamic State group that left four tourists dead and was originally reported as a hit-and-run road accident. A police statement called a detained man identified as leading an attack that killed two tourists from the United States and one each from Switzerland and the Netherlands an "active member" of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, which was banned in 2015. Authorities in the Central Asian country offered no immediate proof of the assertion. According to the police statement Hussein Abdusamadov, 33, who police identified as the leader of the group that attacked the tourists, is an "active member" of the IRPT and also "underwent training in Iran", a country with whom Tajikistan has poor relations. The Islamic State jihadist group yesterday claimed the attack on a group of seven tourists cycling in the Danghara district, about 100 kilometres from Tajikistan's ...
IS claims responsibility for Tajikistan attack that killed 4
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a weekend attack on Western tourists in Tajikistan that left four people killed. A car rammed into a group of cyclists south of the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Sunday. The driver then joined the passengers in attacking the tourists with knives, leaving four dead and three injured. Authorities in the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation had said terrorism was a possible motive. In a statement late yesterday the Islamic State said that a group of its soldiers attacked the "citizens of the Crusader coalition." The Islamic State group usually refers to the US-led coalition that is fighting it in Syria and Iraq as crusaders. The statement did not say how many militants took part in the attack.
Militants attack refugee department in Afghanistan
An explosion on Tuesday rocked the department of refugees and migrants in the Afghan city of Jalalabad.
Bomb planted near Assam Rifles camp defused
A powerful bomb planted near an Assam Rifles camp at Manipur's border town Moreh was defused on Tuesday morning.
Van blast in southern Philippines kills 10
Ten people, including troops and civilians, were killed when an explosion tore through a van at an army checkpoint in the southern Philippines today, as authorities warned the blast could be linked to a wider plot by Islamic militants. The powerful explosion happened after soldiers and pro-government militia troops stopped the vehicle and tried to search it just after dawn on the outskirts of the mainly Christian city of Lamitan, which is on the predominantly Muslim island of Basilan. One soldier, five militia troops and four civilians were killed. The van driver, a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf militant group also died, Philippine military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo told reporters in Manila. He added that government forces had been on heightened alert after receiving reports that extremists planned to plant improvised explosives in areas around the island. "We can just imagine the tragedy that this would bring to the people of Basilan had we not stopped them at the ...
Afghan official: Roadside bomb kills 11 in western province
A roadside bomb struck a passenger bus in western Afghanistan today, killing at least 11 people, including women and children, officials said. The morning attack in the Bala Buluk district in western Farah province also wounded 31 people, all civilians, according to Abdul Jabar Shahiq, the provincial health department chief. Shahiq said the bus was on its way from Herat province toward the capital, Kabul, when it hit the roadside bomb. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but the Taliban have a strong presence in the province, especially in Bala Buluk where they often plant roadside bombs to target government officials or Afghan security forces. Such attacks often end up inflicting significant casualties among civilians. The latest report by the United Nations says the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan in the first half of this year increased by 1 percent, compared to the same period last year. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said the number -- 1,692 ...
Amarnath yatra crosses 2 lakh mark in 33 days; highest in 3 yrs
The number of pilgrims paying obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir Himalayas crossed the 2 lakh mark in 33 days this year, the highest since the last 3 years, officials said. As many as 2.60 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at Amarnath despite interruptions due to torrential rains. "On the 33rd day of the ongoing Amarnathji Yatra yesterday, 3,827 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave and cumulatively since the beginning of the pilgrimage on June 28, 2,62,314 pilgrims paid darshan at the holy cave," an official spokesperson said. Last year, the total number of pilgrims who visited the shrine was 2,60,003 in 40 days, whereas this year the pilgrimage has crossed this number in 33 days, he said. As many as 2,20,490 pilgrims visited the cave shrine in 2016, but it was highest in 2014, when 3,72,909 pilgrims visited the shrine. It was followed by 3,53,969 in 2013 and 3,52,771 pilgrims in 2015, data said. The smallest batch of 588 pilgrims today left Jammu for twin ..
Afghan anti-corruption efforts struggle: US watchdog
Afghanistan's security forces are failing to increase control in the war-torn country and Kabul remains apathetic to clamping down on rampant corruption, a US government watchdog said today. The latest report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which comes almost a year after President Donald Trump unveiled an overhauled strategy for Afghanistan, highlights persistent issues that have stymied progress for years. SIGAR pointed to a US Department of Justice report that found the situation in Afghanistan to be "consistent with a largely lawless, weak and dysfunctional government" with many corruption cases languishing due to the lack of political will. The report describes problems within the Anti-Corruption Justice Center (ACJC), established in 2016 by President Ashraf Ghani to prosecute major corruption cases involving senior officials or substantial monetary losses. Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to ...
Indonesia bans local IS-affiliated group behind deadly attacks
An Indonesian court today banned a local extremist network responsible for a series of deadly terror attacks on home soil, significantly expanding police powers to charge members and freeze funding. Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS), was involved in a deadly 2016 Jakarta attack and a wave of suicide bombings in May in Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya, according to authorities. Two families -- including girls aged nine and 12 -- blew themselves up at churches and a police station, killing 13. "Herewith we declare [JAD] a forbidden organisation," lead judge Aris Bawono Langgeng said at South Jakarta district court. Indonesia has banned just one other radical Islamic group, Jemaah Islamiyah, in 2008 because it was found guilty of committing terrorist acts. The ruling will beef up police powers to go after JAD, which has been connected to a series of other plots in Indonesia, including a firebomb attack on a church that ...
Man jailed in Australia over terror plot
A man was jailed for 17 years today for plotting a terrorist attack in Australia after being prevented from travelling to Syria, with the judge saying he continued to hold extremist views. Agim Kruezi, 25, was arrested in 2014 and pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court to one count each of preparing for terrorist acts and planning a foreign incursion. The court heard Kruezi, reportedly an Australian-born Albanian, planned to travel to Syria to fight with an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group but was stopped by customs officers and his passport was cancelled. He instead turned his attention to an attack on home soil. Broadcaster ABC said police found a loaded semi-automatic sawn-off rifle, two balaclavas, two machetes, a photocopy of a book titled Jihad, and an Islamic State flag pinned to his bedroom wall when he was arrested. Instructions to carry out beheadings were also discovered on his computer and in the days before his arrest, he purchased 10 litres (2.6 US gallons) of petrol and .
Indonesian court outlaws Islamic State-linked group
An Indonesian court today outlawed Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of militants that supports the Islamic State group, following a series of deadly attacks over the past two years. Presiding Judge Aris Bawono Langgeng told the South Jakarta District Court that the network of almost two dozen extremist groups is a "forbidden corporation." He said its activities and those of other organizations affiliated with it or IS are banned. The case against Jemaah Anshorut Daulah was brought by government prosecutors and appeared aimed at empowering stronger police action against militant members of the network and their supporters. In 2008, a court banned Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida affiliated network responsible for the Bali bombings in 2002. The group was obliterated by a sustained crackdown on militants by Indonesia's counterterrorism police with U.S. and Australian support, but a new threat has emerged in recent years inspired by IS attacks abroad. The prosecution indictment filed ...
8 killed, 40 injured in Afghan bomb blast
At least eight people were killed and 40 others injured as a roadside bomb blast struck a passenger bus in Afghanistan's Farah province on Tuesday, government officials said.