Page 558 - War Conflict
Cops seek public's help in identifying Bukhari murder suspects
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has released images of the men suspected to have killed veteran journalist and Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari on Thursday.In the two pictures released, three men can be seen riding a motorcycle with their faces covered.An official statement read, "In connection with the today's attack at Srinagar's Press enclave, police requests the general public to identify the suspects for the purpose of the police investigation.""Any information pertaining to the suspects in the photographs should be submitted to Police Station Kothibagh on 9596770623 or PCR Srinagar on 9596222550, 9596222551, 01942477568 or Police Control Room Kashmir on '100'," it added.The police also stated the name of the person providing any clue or information regarding the suspects will be kept confidential.Just minutes before Iftaar - the breaking of fast in the Islamic holy month of Ramzan - terrorists sprayed bullets on Bukhari, outside his Press Colony residence in Jammu and ...
Belgium prepared to accept DR Congo's Bemba after acquittal: official
Belgium is prepared to accept former Democratic Republic of Congo vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, after he was cleared of war crimes last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders has said. "The Belgian authorities have responded favourably to the court's request to allow Mr Bemba to stay in Belgium, where his family lives, following his release on bail," Reynders said in a statement yesterday, adding that the handover would be finalised in the coming days. Bemba left the detention centre of the International Criminal Court on Wednesday following his acquittal of war crimes after a decade behind bars, his lawyer said. He was acquitted on appeal last Friday in a surprise decision, with the International Criminal Court in The Hague saying he could not be held criminally liable for crimes committed by his troops in the Central African Republic in 2002-2003. Bemba, 55, had been sentenced unanimously to 18 years in 2016 by ICC trial judges after a decade behind bars following his ...
France thwarts possible terror attack, arrests 2: Report
French security forces foiled a possible terrorist attack after arresting two individuals suspected of plotting assaults, local media reported.
Shujaat Bukhari killing: JK Police releases pictures of suspected attackers
The Jammu and Kashmir Police late night released two pictures of three bike-borne men who are suspected to have killed Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari, and sought the public's help in identifying them. The three militants were caught on a CCTV camera, the police said. The two pictures showed the three men riding a motorcycle. The attackers had their faces covered. The police released the pictures late night and asked the public to help them identify the attackers. "In connection with today's terror attack at Srinagar, police requests general public to identify the suspects for the purpose of the police investigation," a statement read. The name of the person providing any clue or information regarding the suspects will be kept confidential, it said. Shujaat Bukhari and his two personal security officers (PSOs) were shot dead by terrorists outside the newspaper's office in the heart of Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital today, police officials said. Fifty-three-year-old Bukhari, .
Mamata expresses shock over Kashmiri journalist's killing
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed shock over the killing of senior journalist and Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari by militants outside his office in Srinagar.
Soldier abducted and killed in J&K
A soldier was abducted and killed by militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said.
Moscow slams Norway plans to double US troop presence
Moscow today criticised Norway's plans to ask Washington to double the number of US troops stationed in the Scandinavian country and deploy them nearer the border with Russia. The plans "cause us serious concern," Russia's embassy in Norway wrote on its Facebook page. Before joining NATO in 1949, Norway allayed Russian fears by pledging not to open its territory to foreign combat troops so long as it was not attacked or threatened with attack. The stationing of US troops in Norway "contravenes the Norwegian decision from 1949... This makes Norway less predictable, can stoke tensions, incite an arms race and lead to a destabilisation of the situation in northern Europe," the embassy wrote. Oslo's announcement came after nine nations along NATO's eastern flank last week called for the alliance to bolster its presence in their region. Since last year, 330 US Marines have been deployed on rotation at Vaernes in the centre of Norway, despite loud protests from Russia. Oslo now wants to ...
Bullet-ridden body of Army jawan abducted by militants found
The bullet-ridden body of an Army jawan was recovered from Pulwama district hours after he was abducted by militants on his way home for Eid celebrations, police said today. Aurangzeb, who was 'buddy' of a company commander, was abducted by militants at Kalampora in Pulwama this morning when he was on his way home in Rajouri district for Eid celebrations. His body was found by a team of police and Army at Gussu village, about 10 km away from Kalampora, in Pulwama district. He was shot in his head and neck, police said. Aurangzeb belonged to 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and was posted at the 44 Rashtriya Rifles camp at Shadimarg in Shopian, they said. At about 9 am, Army men from the unit stopped a car asking the driver to drop Aurangzeb in Shopian, officials said, recounting what had happened. Militants stopped the vehicle as it approached Kalampora and abducted the jawan. Reacting to the development, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, "Another piece of terrible news ..
Cattle thieves kill at least 10 people in northern Nigeria
At least 10 people were killed in raids by suspected cattle thieves on four remote villages in northern Nigeria, police said today, in the latest violence to hit the region. Armed bandits stormed the villages in the Birnin Magaji area of Zamfara state, in an apparent reprisal attack after local militia killed one of their number, said locals. Police spokesman Mohammed Shehu told AFP "10 people were killed by the bandits". "From our reports, the attackers fled to the Rugu forest in neighbouring Katsina state," he added. Local residents, however, gave a higher death toll. "We lost 26 people in the attacks on Dutsin Wake, Oho, Badambaji and Kabingiro (villages)," said Dantani Bube, who lives in Dutsin Wake. Seventeen were killed in Dutsin Wake, seven in Oho and one each in Badambaji and Kabingiro, another resident, Lawwali Maishanu, told AFP by telephone from the area. Maishanu said local militia had earlier killed a suspected bandit at a market. Bandits then demanded the civilian ...
Divergent views put question mark over continuation of Ramzan ceasefire
The fate of the Centre's one-month-old policy of suspension of operations against militants in Jammu and Kashmir hangs in the balance, with a few security agencies flagging its disadvantages including regrouping of militants and some within the Home Ministry being in favour of extending it with a rider that intelligence-based operations should be increased, officials said today. At a meeting called by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to review security for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra, the pros and cons of the unilateral ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan move were discussed with officials from central and state governments, security agencies and paramilitary forces, they said. The security agencies highlighted that during the halt to operations in the holy month of Ramzan, militants have been able to regroup, move more freely and convince youngsters to join them, they said. The increase in attacks on security forces, including today's kidnapping of an Army man from South ...
Afghan official says insurgents burned down clinic
The governor of eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan Province says a clinic that was providing medical facilities for more than 2,000 people has been burned down by insurgents. Hafiz Abdul Qaum says the attack happened early today in Kamdesh district and seven staff members were taken hostage, with five later freed. Qaum says two doctors are still being held by the insurgents. He said all the facility's equipment was burned. Zakiullah Storay, head of the health deportment in the province, said the facility was important, with 20 beds for people living in the rural area. Storay said the insurgents later freed the two remaining hostages.
Senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari shot dead in Srinagar
Senior journalist and Editor-in-Chief of English daily "Rising Kashmir" Shujat Bhukhari was on Thursday shot dead by militants outside his office here, police said.
Terrorists attack CRPF personnel in Anantnag
Two bike-borne terrorists attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on Thursday and snatched his rifle in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.The terrorists attacked the CRPF personnel of B Coy 46 Battalion with a stone near Sadora Railway Station.The terrorists later managed to flee the spot.The incident comes hours after a group of men pelted stones at a CRPF convoy in state's Banihal area.
Senior journalist Shujat Bukhari shot dead in Srinagar
Senior journalist and Editor-in-Chief of English daily "Rising Kashmir" Shujat Bhukhari was on Thursday shot dead by militants outside his office here, police said.
Libya militia attacks oil facility in east: military official
A militia opposed to Libya's military strongman Khalifa Haftar today attacked eastern oil sites under his control, setting fire to at least one crude reservoir, a military source said. The attack was carried out by the Benghazi Defence Brigades, including fighters driven from Benghazi city by forces loyal to Haftar, the source said. The fighting took place south of Ras Lanuf and Al-Sedra, two terminals severely damaged in clashes between the two groups in 2016 and 2017. One of the reservoirs was hit by a rocket fired by the attackers, the same military source said. A spokesman for Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army, which controls most of the country's east, said the attack had been repelled. "The army and air force have been tracking down the Benghazi terrorist brigades," who fled the area, the spokesman said. "The attack aimed to reduce pressure on the terrorists in Derna," the LNA spokesman added. The LNA launched an offensive on May 7 to "liberate" the coastal city of ...
Swiss court frees Tamil Tiger bankers
Switzerland's supreme court today ruled that 13 alleged financiers of the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers were not guilty of supporting a criminal organisation and let them walk free. Bringing to an end a nine-year process, the court found that prosecutors had not proved the accused had supported a criminal organisation. It acquitted five of them completely and handed suspended sentences to the others for lower-level financial offences, the ATS news agency reported. The 13 defendants -- 12 Tamils or Swiss citizens of Tamil origin plus one German - stood accused of participating in or supporting a criminal organisation, fraud, forgery, money laundering and extortion. During their eight-week trial, which began in January and closed in March, public prosecutor Juliette Noto had called for jail sentences of up to six and a half years, ATS said. She charged that the World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC), which oversaw a fundraising and money distribution operation, had created a sophisticated .
Naval academy officer undertakes solo cycle expedition
A solo cycle expedition from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to create awareness on 'Armed Forces Flag Day' is being undertaken by lieutenant commander Manoj Gupta of the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimala in neighbouring Kannur district. The expedition began at Khardung La in Jammu and Kashmir on June 6 and would end in Kanyakumari on July 16, an INA release said today. The expedition was flagged off by colonel Satish Sharma, commandant of Ladakh scouts regimental training centre, Leh, it said. Technical support to the lieutenant commander, who would visit 40 places, was being provided by TI Cycles of India, Chennai, at its retail outlets en route, the release said. The officer has already traversed through Upshi, Pang, Sarchu, Keylong, Manali, Mandi and Ramshehar, covering a distance of 800 km, before reaching Chandigarh on June 13, the release added.
Clashes kill 39 combatants outside Yemen's Hodeida: medics
Heavy clashes killed 39 combatants outside Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida today, as a Saudi and UAE-backed offensive to retake the key aid hub entered its second day. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels suffered 30 fatalities in the fighting, which took place two km from Hodeida airport, south of the city, medical sources told AFP. Nine pro-government troops were killed in the same area, the medics said. Military sources said the deaths were caused by mines and snipers. An AFP correspondent behind the government lines in Al Duraihimi witnessed ambulances arriving from the front loaded with dead and wounded. Saudi-led coalition warplanes and Apache helicopters provided "continuous" air support to pro-government forces, striking Huthi positions, military sources said. The Huthis have put up a fierce resistance, however, using snipers to slow the assault, the sources added. The coalition-backed troops have also been slowed by the need for de-mining operations to advance. The ...
Militants snatch rifle of CRPF jawan near railway station in Anantnag
Suspected militants today snatched a rifle from a CRPF constable at GRP barracks, about 400 m from Sadura raiway station in South Kashmir's Anantnag district, officials said. The men pelted stones at the constable and a gun-shot was heard, they said, adding further details were awaited. However, local police said there was no report of any firing.
Saudi-led forces battle Shiite rebels south of Hodeida
Troops in a Saudi-led coalition captured a town south of Yemen's port city of Hodeida today as fierce fighting and airstrikes pounded the area, officials said, on the second day of an offensive to capture the strategic harbour. Soldiers took the town of Nakhila in Yemen's ad-Durayhimi district, some 20 kilometres south of Hodeida International Airport, according to the government-run SABA news agency. Fighters continued to move closer to the airport in fighting today. The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's exiled government launched an assault on the port city of Hodeida (hoh-DY'-duh) yesterday. The Red Sea port is the main entry for food into a country already on the brink of famine. The biggest offensive of the years-long war in the Arab world's poorest nation has raised warnings from aid agencies that Yemen's humanitarian disaster could deepen. The attack is aimed at driving out Iranian-aligned Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who have held Hodeida since 2015, and break the civil ..