Page 580 - War Conflict
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who announced surgical strikes, is Northern Army Commander
In a significant rejig of the Indian Army on Friday, Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, who announced the September 2016 surgical strikes in Pakistan, assumed the charge of the new Northern Army Commander, replacing Lt. Gen. Devraj Anbu who took over as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.
UN says fighting in Libya's Derna kills 17 civilians
The United Nations says fighting between the self-styled Libyan National Army and militants has killed at least 17 civilians, including two children, in Libya's eastern city of Derna. The UN Support Mission in Libya said in a statement today that the fighting has injured 22 others, including seven children, since May 16. It said an explosion on Wednesday killed seven people and wounded seven others as they were attempting to leave Derna. It added that dozens of families have left the city. The LNA, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, has surrounded the city of 150,000 people for years. Clashes have been ongoing since April. Hifter announced his intention to "liberate" Derna in May. Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
Maoist hideout busted in Jharkhand
A cache of arms and ammunition was recovered on Friday from a Maoist hideout in Jharkhand's Bokaro district, police said.
CRPF personnel injured in Anantnag grenade attack
A third grenade attack has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir, just hours after two similar such attacks took place on Saturday.In the latest attack, the second one in Anantnag district, suspected terrorists lobbed a grenade at the troops of the 40th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Anantnag district. Three personnel sustained minor splinter injuries and were taken to the district hospital.Earlier, suspected terrorists lobbed a grenade at the house of PDP MLA Mushtaq Shah in Pulwama. No injuries were reported as the grenade exploded in the lawn.An hour later, a police party in Anantnag came under the attack when suspected terrorists lobbed a grenade at them. Two security personnel and one civilian were injured in the attack.A series of grenade attacks have taken place in the state in last 10 days.On May 23, six civilians were injured in the grenade attack at Bijbehara town of Anantnag district. Two days later, two policemen and a civilian were injured in a similar
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh takes over as Northern Command chief
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on Friday took over as the chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command, a Defence Ministry statement said.
6 KLF cadres surrender with arms & ammunition in Assam
Six cadres of Kuki Liberation Front (KLF) surrendered before security forces in Assam with arms and ammunition, a police release said today. The militants surrendered at an undisclosed place in the state, it said. The weapons which the cadres surrendered include four AK series rifles, three 12-bore rifles, two 7.65 pistols, besides one each of M-16, 7.62 SLR, point 22 rifle and two grenades the release said. The ammunition included 104 rounds of 5.56 mm, 256 rounds of 7.65, 107 rounds of 7.62 mm, 44 rounds of point 22, 11 rounds of 12 bore, 12 rounds of 7.65 pistol, three rounds of High Explosives Dual Purpose (HEDP) 40 mm cartridges. The cadres will be rehabilitated through the Revised Scheme for Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation of Militants in the North East (as amended in January 2018) announced by the Union Home Ministry, the release added.
Youth hit by CRPF vehicle in Srinagar during protests
A youth was critically injured after being hit by a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle during protests after Friday prayers here, police said.
Shillong on the boil after clashes between bus drivers, locals
Curfew was clamped in at least 14 localities of Shillong today and internet services were suspended after clashes between groups of bus drivers and residents of turned violent injuring several policemen as well, a senior district official said. The clashes had begun after a bus handyman was allegedly assaulted by a group of residents of Them Metor area yesterday afternoon, the officials said. Trouble escalated when rumours spread on social media that the handyman had succumbed to injuries, prompting a group of bus drivers to converge at Them Metor. The police had to fire teargas shells to disperse them, an official said. The handyman and three injured persons were taken to a hospital where they were released after being administered first-aid. Curfew was imposed at 4 am today and will remain in force till further orders, East Khasi Hills District Deputy Commissioner P S Dkhar said. Till noon, 10 locals were picked up while four were arrested. Several policemen have also been injured ..
CRPF trooper injured in Chhattisgarh blast
A CRPF trooper was seriously injured in a blast in this Maoist-affected Chhattisgarh district on Friday, an official said.
Madras HC orders TN to explain Thoothukudi firing
The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench on Friday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to state the reasons, by June 6, for the May 22 police firing in Thoothukudi which left 13 persons dead.
1993 Mumbai blasts accused held
An alleged key conspirator of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts has been arrested by the Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), an official said here today. Acting on a tip-off, Ahmed Shaikh (52), also known as Ahmed Lambu, was last evening arrested by an ATS team near Valsad coast in south Gujarat, the official said. "Shaikh was absconding since the blasts. A red-corner notice (international look-out notice) had been issued against him. We will hand him over to the CBI now," Gujarat ATS Superintendent of Police said. The CBI probed the Mumbai serial blasts of March 1993 in which 257 people were killed and over 700 injured. Shaikh was carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, the SP said. Shaikh, who lived in a dormitory in Mumbai, left the country immediately after the blasts, another senior police official said. "He was one of the key accused in the conspiracy to smuggle explosives into India and conduct blasts at the behest of Dawood Ibrahim. Shaikh was introduced to Dawood by Mohammad
Lt Gen Anbu assumes charge as Vice Chief of Army Staff
Lt General Devraj Anbu today assumed charge as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, succeeding Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand. Lt Gen Anbu was commander of the Udhampur-based Northern Command before being appointed to the crucial post. He was commissioned into 14 Sikh Light Infantry on June 7, 1980 and has a rich experience of serving in various operational environment including in Jammu and Kashmir and in the Northeastern states. During his 37 years illustrious military career, he commanded his unit during 'Op Parakram', an infantry brigade on the Line of Control in the Kashmir Valley and a mountain division in Sikkim among other assignments.
Al-Qaeda warns Saudi crown prince over 'sin'
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has warned Saudi Arabia's reformist Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his "sinful projects", in a bulletin released today. Prince Mohammed has spearheaded a string of policy changes in ultraconservative Saudi Arabia, including reinstating cinemas and allowing women to drive. "The new era of Bin Salman replaced mosques with movie theatres," the Yemen-based jihadist group said in its Madad news bulletin, picked up by the SITE Intelligence Group. He "substituted books that belonged to the imams... with absurdities of the atheists and secularists from the east and the west and opened the door wide for corruption and moral degradation," it said. The Sunni jihadist group AQAP has flourished amid a complex war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia heads a military alliance battling Shiite Huthi rebels. In its statement, AQAP slammed April's WWE Royal Rumble event in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, near the Islam's most holy sites in Mecca. "(Foreign) ...
No ongoing talks with Afghanistan government: Taliban
The Taliban on Friday denied any talks with the Afghanistan government, after the head of the US and NATO forces in the country General John Nicholson said last week that both parties were holding a dialogue.
Exclusive: Free trade talks between China and Sri Lanka hit big hurdles
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Talks between China and Sri Lanka for a free trade agreement have hit major hurdles, mainly because Beijing will not agree to Colombo's demand for a review of the deal after 10 years, Sri Lanka's top negotiator said.
Lt. Gen Devraj Anbu takes over as Vice Chief of Army Staff
Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu took over as Vice Chief of Army Staff and Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh took over as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command on Friday.Lt General Anbu, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM was earlier the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command, was commissioned in the Sikh Light Infantry on 7 June 1980.Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, AVSM**, YSM, SM was earlier, the General officer was Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information System and Training).Singh was commissioned into 9 Dogra Regiment on 13 December 1980.
2 CRPF jawans injured in IED blasts in Chhattisgarh
Two jawans of 231 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured in Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast by the Naxals in Dantewada on Friday.The explosion took place in Aranpur area of Dantewada.The jawans have been taken to the nearest district hospital, one jawan is in a critical condition.This is the second incident in 10 days, six jawans were killed and one was injured in an IED blast in Dantewada's Cholnar village on May 20.
Curfew in parts of Shillong after clash between bus drivers, locals
Curfew was imposed in 11 localities of the Meghalaya capital today morning following a clash between a group of bus drivers and residents of Them Metor area, a senior district official said. The curfew was imposed at 4 am today and will remain in force till further orders, East Khasi Hills District Deputy Commissioner P S Dkhar said. A journalist was among those injured in the clash and many youths were picked up after they were found trying to instigate a mob last night, he added. The clash broke out after a bus handyman was allegedly assaulted by a group of residents of Them Metor area yesterday afternoon, the official said. Trouble escalated when rumours spread on social media that the handyman had succumbed to injuries, prompting a group of bus drivers to converged at Them Metor. The police had to fire teargas shells to disperse them, the official said. The handyman and three injured persons were taken to a hospital where they were released after being administered first-aid. The
Taliban reject US commander's statement on peace talks
The Taliban say they "categorically reject" a statement made this week by the US commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan about "off stage" contacts and dialogue taking place between the Kabul government and the insurgents. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says in a statement distributed to the media today that Gen. John Nicholson's remarks, made to reporters at the Pentagon from his Kabul office, were a "baseless claim." Nicholson said Wednesday that "mid-level, senior-level Taliban leaders" are "engaging with Afghans," adding that unspecified international organizations, foreign governments and other interested parties also are involved. Mujahid says that "American General Nicholson is making such fabricated statements to divert attention from his failures and keep the Washington media busy with false claims instead of exposing the failed Trump (administration's) strategy" in Afghanistan.
Malaysia: 15 suspected of planning attacks, smuggling arms
Malaysian police said today they have detained another 15 suspected militants, including several foreigners, for smuggling firearms and plotting attacks on places of worship. National police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said six Malaysians, six Filipinos, a Bangladeshi restaurant owner and a couple from a north African country were detained between March and May. Among the Malaysians was a 17-year-old student who made six Molotov cocktails he planned to use against entertainment outlets, churches and Hindu temples in Kuala Lumpur, Fuzi said. The student, a suspected Islamic State member, tested one of his devices in an open area and was detained in April, an hour after he produced a video on social media warning of the attacks, he said. The police chief said a 51-year-old Malaysian woman was held on May 9 during general elections for planning to ram a car into non-Muslims at a voting center. "In addition, the suspect also planned to drive into non-Muslim worship places using a car filled .