Page 495 - War Conflict
Roadside bomb hits Afghan bus, killing eight, wounding 40: officials
\A roadside bomb hit a Kabul-bound passenger bus in western Afghanistan today, killing at least eight people and wounding around 40, mostly women and children, officials said. "It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but unfortunately it got a passenger bus," Farah provincial police spokesman Muhibullah Muhib told AFP. There was no immediate confirmation that the Taliban was responsible for the blast, but Afghanistan's largest militant group is very active in the province. The explosion happened as the bus travelled through Bala Baluk district of Farah at 4:30 am (0000 GMT), provincial governor spokesman Naser Mehri told AFP. Photos posted on social media purportedly of the bus showed the vehicle's blackened shell and dozens of Afghan men standing at the scene. Civilians have borne the brunt of the 17-year conflict and improvised explosive devices, such as remotely detonated or pressure-plate bombs, are one of the main causes of casualties. Such IEDs caused 877 ...
Powerful bomb in van kills at least 5 in south Philippines
The Philippine military says a soldier and four militiamen have been killed by a powerful bomb that exploded while the troops were inspecting a suspicious van on a southern island. Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Gerry Besana says two other government militiamen were wounded in the blast after dawn today near an army militia outpost in the village of Colonia on the island province of Basilan. Police say the blast occurred after militiamen flagged down the van at a checkpoint for inspection, although the report had limited details and it's unclear what happened to the driver. No group has claimed responsibility. Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega committed "every available resource under his disposal to identify the perpetrators in the soonest possible time.
Philippines car bomb attack toll rises to 10
A powerful car bomb exploded in the Philippines island of Basilan early on Tuesday. The death toll has reached 10, according to military sources.
6 killed in car bomb attack in Philippines
Six people, including a soldier and four militia men, were killed on Tuesday when a powerful bomb apparently rigged to a vehicle exploded in the southern Philippines island of Basilan.
UN receives 70 new allegations of sex abuse and exploitation
The United Nations says it received 70 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the second quarter of 2018 43 involving UN personnel, 24 involving people working for UN partner organisations, and three pertaining to UN-authorised international forces. UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said today the allegations made between April 1 and June 30 include 18 from UN peacekeeping missions and 25 from UN agencies. The 84 alleged victims include 46 women and 17 girls and one boy under the age of 18, he said. Haq said the alleged perpetrators include 80 men and 4 women. Of the 70 cases, he said 61 are being assessed and investigated, three were substantiated through an investigation, two were not substantiated and four were closed under circumstances which were not disclosed.
IS group claims responsibility for Tajikistan attack: SITE
The Islamic State group today claimed responsiblity for an armed attack on foreign cyclists in Tajikistan that left four people dead, the SITE monitoring group reported. Two Americans, a Swiss national and a Dutch citizen were struck by a car and attacked yesterday while on a popular cycle route in the Danghara district, about 100 kilometres south of the capital Dushanbe, officials said. In a statement published today, the IS group said that a "detachment from the soldiers of the Caliphate" had carried out the attack against "citizens of Crusader coalition countries," according to SITE.
Palestinian teen says no regrets after release from Israeli prison
Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi said today she was deeply changed by her eight-month sentence in an Israeli jail for slapping two soldiers, but does not regret any of her actions. Tamimi, who was 16 when she was arrested in December for hitting and kicking soldiers in front of her house in the occupied West Bank, was released yesterday and swarmed by media from across the globe. In an interview the day after her release, the now 17-year-old told AFP that she understood she had become a "symbol" of the Palestinian cause. "Of course my life has been changed a lot. I changed a lot in prison," said Tamimi. "I became more focused, more aware also. Prison ages a person. In one day you age 100 years," she said in the backyard of her home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. Asked if she would have done the same thing if she had known it would land her behind bars for months, she said yes. She pointed to the circumstances in which the soldiers had entered the garden of her house in ...
Suicide car bomb kills Afghan tribal leader, 3 others
An Afghan official says a suicide car bomber has killed four people, including a tribal leader, in the eastern Nangarhar province. Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, says today's attack targeted Haji Hayat Khan, a tribal leader who also commanded a local militia battling insurgents. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the province. In a separate development, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack against a midwives training center in Nangarhar. The attack killed three people and wounded seven.
Three CRPF troopers injured in J&K grenade attack
Three CRPF troopers were injured in a grenade attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag town on Monday, police said.
Three CRPF jawans hurt in grenade attack in J&K's Anantnag
Three security personnel were injured in a grenade attack by militants in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir today, police said. Militants lobbed a grenade at CRPF personnel posted on guard duty at a temple at Sherbagh in Anantnag district this evening, a police official said. He said three jawans were injured in the blast. Security forces have cordoned off the area and were trying to track down the assailants, he added.
41 security men killed, 907 injured in militancy-related, stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir
As many as 41 security personnel, including 20 policemen, were killed and 907 others injured in militancy-related and stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir valley this year, officials said today. Giving details, the officials said 39 security personnel, including 17 Army personnel, 20 policemen and two CRPF personnel, were killed and 96 others injured in militancy-related incidents in first six months of this year. Of these, 28 Army personnel, 31 CRPF personnel and 37 policemen were injured in militancy-related incidents, they said. In stone-pelting incidents, two CRPF personnel were killed and 811 others injured during the same period, the officials said. Of these, 592 policemen and 219 CRPF personnel were injured in 734 incidents of stone-pelting in the valley, they said. According to the officials, 32 civilians were killed and 117 others injured in militancy-related and stone-pelting incidents. Twenty-five civilians were killed and 54 others injured in militancy-related incidents ...
Somalia, Eritrea mend ties as change sweeps Horn of Africa
The presidents of Somalia and Eritrea today signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties after over a decade of animosity, in the latest lightning rapprochement between Horn of Africa rivals. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's three-day visit to Asmara coincides with an extraordinary peace process between Eritrea and Ethiopia -- part of dizzying change in a region burdened by war, proxy conflicts, isolation and iron-fisted rule. "The two countries will establish diplomatic relations and exchange ambassadors," read a "joint declaration on brotherly relations" signed in Asmara by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Mohamed. The declaration came just three weeks after Ethiopia and Eritrea declared an end to two decades of conflict, rapidly restoring diplomatic ties and flights between their capitals. The history of the three nations, and their fallouts, have been intertwined. Somalia and Eritrea were once close. Under Somali dictator Siad Barre, the military regime in ...
1.2 mn Syrians 'went back home' since 2015: Russia
Around 1.2 million Syrian refugees have returned to their homes since September 2015, since Russia launched its anti-terror operations there, the Defence Ministry here has said.
Egypt president defends painful austerity measures
Egypt's president zealously defended his economic policies today, saying he was left with no choice but to embrace painful austerity measures to revive an economy mauled by years of political turmoil and violence. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was speaking at a youth conference a day after he expressed his displeasure over recent online postings urging him to step down over the economy. He said he was "upset" over the posts, which he said were inappropriate. The #Sissi_leave hashtag surfaced this summer following steep price hikes for fuel, drinking water and electricity as part of austerity measures designed to overhaul the economy, still recovering from years of turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising. "They have pushed us into being a nation of poverty, a nation of neediness, but when I begin working toward getting us out of this, I find the hashtag #Sissi leave," he said. "Should I have been upset or not? I was upset. I was upset." El-Sissi was first elected in 2014, a year after, as
After prison release, Palestinian teen considers law study
Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi, who became an international symbol of resistance to Israeli occupation after slapping two soldiers, walked out of an Israeli prison today and told throngs of journalists and well-wishers that she now wants to study law to defend her people. In a news conference in the courtyard of her family home, the curly haired 17-year-old briefly raised her fist and said the "occupation must leave," speaking against the backdrop of a large model of a slingshot meant to symbolize Palestinian stone-throwing protests. However, the once feisty teen appeared to be subdued, stopping short of committing to continued acts of protests and saying her eight-month prison stint had taught her to appreciate life. Underlying her case are clashing narratives about Israel's half-century rule over the Palestinians, the extent of permissible Palestinian resistance to it and the battle for global public opinion. Tamimi's supporters see a brave girl who struck two armed soldiers in ...
Violence flares up as Malians vote in key election
Malians today voted in a crucial presidential election as attacks disrupted polling in areas already beset by deadly ethnic and jihadist violence. Despite the deployment of 30,000 security personnel throughout the country, several incidents were reported in the north and centre. Rockets were fired on the UN mission (MINUSMA) camp in Aguelhok, in the northeast, according to a UN security source who added that "there are no casualties and the rockets did not fall into the camp." Elsewhere, unidentified gunmen burned polling stations and ballot boxes. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 73, leads a crowded field of 24 candidates -- including just woman -- bidding for re-election to the post he has held since 2013. He voted in Sebenicoro, near the capital Bamako, surrounded by journalists and supporters. Keita's record on security has been a dominant theme, with opponents, including several former ministers, accusing him of incompetence. The international community hopes the poll will ...
Local CRPF jawan shot dead in JK's Pulwama
A CRPF jawan was shot dead by terrorists at his home in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir today, police said. Unidentified militants barged inside the house of a local CRPF constable Naseer Ahmad Rather in the Naira area of Pulwama in south Kashmir and fired upon him, a police official said. He said Rather received critical injuries and was rushed to a hospital but did not survive. The area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the assailants, the official said adding a case had been registered.
Nigeria army kills at least 16 Boko Haram militants in north
Nigeria's military says soldiers have killed at least 16 Boko Haram extremists after an attack in the country's northern Borno state. Col Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director Army Public Relations, said today that insurgents in three vehicles, including gun trucks, on Friday attacked the Mairari area village of Monguno. He said that soldiers and the air force responded, killing at least 16 extremists. He said soldiers also captured the gun trucks and ammunition. Nwachukwu said one soldier and four civilians had been injured during the fighting, and were evacuated to a military hospital. He said additional troops have been sent to the area, while fighting patrols are trailing the insurgents who fled the attack. Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people during its 9-year insurgency.
CRPF trooper on leave attacked in J&K, dies
A CRPF trooper on leave was killed when militants attacked him at his home in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Sunday, police said.
Rajasthan: Tin shed at tractor race collapses, 17 Injured
At least 17 people were injured after a tin shed collapsed during a tractor race event in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan on Sunday.A video footage of the incident shows that the huge shed crumbled when the spectators climbed up on it during the tractor competition earlier today.The incident happened when hundreds of people gathered to watch the tractor race in Padampur Dhaan mandi area.No casualties have been reported in the incident. "No loss of life in the incident. Total 17 people have received injuries," said Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police Yogesh Yadav.Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje also expressed grief for the injured and ordered an inquiry."I pray for quick recovery of the injured. I also appeal to everyone not to indulge in rumour mongering. The District administration shall be enquiring into the matter in detail," tweeted Raje.The injured have been shifted to hospital where they are being treated.