Page 499 - War Conflict
Encounter underway between terrorists, security forces in J-K
An encounter broke out today between terrorists and security forces in Handwara area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, police said. Security forces launched a search operation in Check Sodul village in Handwara area following information about the presence of terrorists in the area, a police official said. He said the search operation turned into a gun battle when the hiding militants opened fire on the security forces. No casualties had been reported in the exchange of fire between the two sides so far, the official added.
Nearly 250 dead in IS attacks on south Syria: New toll
The death toll in coordinated Islamic State group suicide bombings and shootings in southern Syria rose to nearly 250 overnight, more than half of them civilians, a monitor said today. Yesterday's attacks hit Sweida, a Druze-majority province mostly held by the government which had remained relatively insulated from the country's seven-year civil war. The death toll climbed steadily throughout the day and into the night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said. "The toll is now 246 people dead, including 135 civilians," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman. The others killed were pro-government fighters or residents who had taken up arms to defend their villages. "The toll keeps rising as civilians who were wounded are dying and people who were unaccounted for are found dead," Abdel Rahman told AFP. The onslaught began with a triple suicide bombing in the city of Sweida, which was followed by attacks with guns and explosives on villages to ..
Kovind, Modi pay tribute to Kargil heroes
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid homage to the martyrs of Kargil on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
Suicide attack on Afghan intelligence convoy kills five: police
A suicide bomber blew himself up near an Afghan intelligence convoy today, killing at least five people and wounding six, police said, in the latest deadly attack in the city. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the National Directorate of Security (NDS), which police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said happened at 5:00 am (local time). Most of the victims were NDS officers, Stanikzai said. Four members of the NDS and a civilian were killed, while five NDS personnel and a civilian were wounded. The attacker was "most likely" driving a vehicle carrying explosives, Stanikzai added. The assault comes two days after five rockets were fired on a residential area of Kabul, wounding at least three people. There was no claim of responsibility. And on Sunday, a suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing at least 23 people, including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. A further 107 people were wounded. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State group (IS),
Maratha quota stir: Internet services suspended in Navi Mumbai
Internet services in the neighbouring Navi Mumbai township have been suspended since early today, a police official said. The decision was taken in the wake of the situation in areas like Kopar Khairne, which witnessed violence during the Maratha quota agitation yesterday, he said. The situation in Kopar Khairne was still tense, the official said. Last evening, the police had lobbed teargas shells and used baton-charge in Kopar Khairane area after a group of protesters stoned vehicles, clashed with local people and indulged in arson. Miscreants had also set fire to a police outpost. The incidents took place after the Maratha organisations, seeking reservations in government jobs and education, had called off the bandh. A group of protesters who were returning home last night had hurled stones at vehicles of local people in Kopar Khairane, a police official earlier said. Later, some members of local communities had gathered at the spot and clashed with protesters, he ...
Afghanistan: 4 security force members killed in suicide attack
At least four National Directorate of Security (NDS) force members were killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul, early Thursday morning, local police officials confirmed.According to Tolo News, the attack took place at about 5 am local time after a suicide bomber targeted the NDS forces in Bagh-e-Daoud area in PD5 of Kabul city, a spokesman for Kabul police chief Hashmat Stanekzai confirmed."The investigation is ongoing into the attack and more details will be shared soon," Stanekzai said, as quoted by Tolo News.The Taliban has claimed responsibly for the attack.This comes after at least 16 people were killed and 60 others wounded in a suicide bombing outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul last Sunday.
Suicide bomber kills 4 Afghan officers
At least four Afghan intelligence officers were killed in a suicide attack here in the city early on Thursday, police said.
More than 220 dead in IS attacks on Syria's Sweida: monitor
The death toll from raids and suicide bombings carried out today by the Islamic State group in Syria's southern Sweida province has risen to over 220 people, a war monitor. "The toll from the attacks increased to at least 221 dead, 127 of them civilians," Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP.
Sri Lanka cricketer Gunathilaka quizzed in rape case
Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka was quizzed by the police today over the alleged rape of a Norwegian woman in a hotel room where he was present, officials said. The police, however, said the evidence do not point to the opening batsman's personal involvement in the case in which one of his friends has been arrested. Gunathilaka, 27, was not aware of what took place between the Norwegian woman who had complained of rape on Saturday night after which his friend, Sandeep Jude Selliah, 26, was arrested, they said. He had booked two rooms at the hotel on the night of the incident and had violated Sri Lanka Cricket's code of conduct of players by staying out longer hours, the police said. Gunathilaka was later suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket for his disciplinary breach and therefore will not figure in the 5 match ODI series against South Africa starting Saturday. His friend has been remanded in custody and was to make a magisterial court appearance tomorrow, the police said.
US, France sanction Syria chemical programme suppliers
The United States has sanctioned eight people and five entities that helped form key parts of a procurement network for Syria's chemical weapons program, US officials said today. The move, which comes as part of a coordinated action with France, targets the procurement network for Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC), which the US Treasury Department said is the agency responsible for developing chemical weapons. "Syria's horrific use of chemical weapons, including attacks against innocent women and children, remains deeply embedded in our minds," Sigal Mandelker, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. "Today, we are continuing our campaign to stop the Assad regime's ruthless attacks by targeting the procurement networks that have supported its chemical weapons program." France on Sunday renewed an asset freeze on 24 entities and individuals from the same network for providing an array of support to the SSRC, US ...
Maratha stir: Protesters clash with locals in Kopar Khairane
Police lobbed teargas shells and used baton-charge in Kopar Khairane area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai this evening after a group of protesters stoned vehicles and clashed with local people. The incident took place after the Maratha organisations which had called for a Bandh to press the demand of reservations called off their stir, police said. A group of protesters who were returning home hurled stones at vehicles of local people in Kopar Khairane, police said. It led to members of local communities gathering at the spot, who clashed with the protesters. Stone-pelting ensued, in which some offices and shops were also damaged. Stones were also pelted at the police, who used baton charge and lobbed teargas shells, said a police officer. The situation was tense but under control now, he said.
EU to fund new HQ for G5 Sahel force
The EU will finance the construction of a new headquarters for the Sahel's five-nation anti-terror force in Mali, after the destruction of the former HQ in a jihadist attack that left three dead at the end of June, the bloc's foreign policy chief said today. "The EU has decided to finance in full the rebuilding of a new headquarters and to continue its support in order to ensure the operational continuity of the Force's staff on the ground," Federica Mogherini said in a statement. Two soldiers and one civilian were killed when a car bomb exploded outside the G5 Sahel force headquarters in the central Malian town of Sevare on 29 June. The suicide attack was claimed by a jihadist group, the Muslim Islam Support Group, the main Sahelian jihadist alliance linked to al-Qaeda. The joint force was launched in 2017 by Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger and has received 100 million euros in financial support from the EU. It is set to expand to 5,000 troops, divided into seven ...
Police bear the brunt of Maratha stir; IPS officer injured
Policemen bore the brunt of the ongoing Maratha quota stir in Maharashtra, as 12 police personnel, including an IPS officer, were injured in violence since yesterday during protests in various parts of the state. IPS officer Sandip Patil, Superintendent of Police of Satara district in western Maharashtra, was injured in stone- pelting by protesters at Satara today, police said. Three policemen, including an officer, were injured during stone-pelting incidents at Kalamboli in adjoining Navi Mumbai during the Maratha quota protest, police said. Eight policemen, including two officers, were injured after protesters threw stones at the Ghansangvi police station in Jalna district yesterday. Yesterday, a constable, deployed near the funeral venue of the protester who jumped to death during the quota protest on Monday, died. Police said the cause of death is yet to be ascertained. In neighbouring Navi Mumbai and Satara district today, protesters pelted stones at police, who caned ...
55 killings in cross-border firing make 2018 deadliest in recent years
At least 55 people, including 27 army and BSF personnel, have been killed in the first six months of this year in cross-border firing -- making it the deadliest in recent years for civilians as well as security forces manning the international border and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Army foils infiltration bid on LoC in Kupwara district
The Army said on Wednesday it has foiled an infiltration bid from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district.
IS suicide bombings, gun attacks kill 50 in Syria
At least 50 people were killed on Wednesday in a wave of suicide bombings and gun attacks claimed by the Islamic State terror group on government-held parts of south-western Syria.
Parliamentary panels flays OFB for under-representation of SC/ST staff
A parliamentary panel has flayed the Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) for under representation of staff from Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Schedule Caste (SC) communities, terming the present recruitment and promotion policy as "faulty". It seems that the OFB is not serious enough to implement constitutional provisions on the reservation policy, the panel observed. The panel, headed by BJP MP Kirit Solanki, submitted the report to the Lok Sabha today. "The committee is perturbed to note that the representation of STs in the overall staff strength of OFB is below prescribed percentage," the panel observed. It further stated that as on January 1, 2011, there was a huge shortfall of 9,143 and 492 in Group A, B and C posts, respectively, of the ST category. The panel said the OFB, in its reply to the committee, has stated there was non-availability of SC/ST candidates. "From the reply it seems that OFB is not serious enough to implement constitutional provisions on the reservation policy of the ..
Three Pak Army soldiers, a polling officer killed, says military
Three Pakistan Army soldiers and a polling officer were killed in a gunfire by unidentified assailants in Baleda area of the restive Baluchistan province, the military said today. A security team responsible for transporting the polling staff to their designated stations in NA-271 constituency (Baled) had come under attack late last night, the military's media-wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The miscreants had opened fire on the security convoy, killing three soldiers and a polling officer, while 14 others were injured, the ISPR said. Among the wounded, 10 were in a critical condition, it said. The ISPR said that despite the attack the Army team managed to take the polling staff to their designated stations in the NA-271 constituency and polling process started at designated time this morning. Earlier today, an Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up outside a polling station in Bhosa Mandi area of Baluchistan's provincial capital Quetta, killing .
U'khand CM pays tributes to Kargil martyrs
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today paid tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1999 Kargil conflict. On the eve of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, Rawat said, "Showing exemplary courage in Kargil, Indian soldiers pushed back infiltrators across the borders despite severe odds making the entire world acknowledge their valour." Speaking of the long tradition of the state of making supreme sacrifices for the country, the chief minister said many brave sons of the state also laid down their lives in the Kargil war. "The country will always gratefully remember the sacrifices of our soldiers to protect the frontiers in the Kargil war," he said, adding his government was committed to work for the welfare of army men and their families. Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed on July 26 every year, marking successful conclusion of the war with Pakistan in the Kargil-Drass sector of Jammu and Kashmir in 1999. The Indian soldiers successfully gained back the high altitude .
More than 150 dead in IS attacks on southern Syria
A string of suicide blasts and raids claimed by the Islamic State group killed more than 150 people in southern Syria today, in one of the jihadists' deadliest ever assaults in the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacks hit several areas of the largely government-held southern province of Sweida, where IS retains a presence in a northeastern desert region. They came almost a week into a deadly Russia-backed regime campaign to oust IS fighters from a holdout in a neighbouring province of the country's south. IS claimed responsibility for the violence, saying "soldiers of the caliphate" attacked Syrian government positions and security outposts in Sweida city, then detonated their explosive belts. The Britain-based Observatory said three suicide attackers set off booby-trapped belts in Sweida city, as other blasts hit villages to the north and east. A fourth suicide explosion hit the city later. "IS fighters then stormed villages in the province's northeast ...