Page 601 - War Conflict
Senate panel approves CIA nominee Haspel despite torture background
Veteran covert operative Gina Haspel was approved today to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency in a crucial Senate panel vote, despite her record of involvement in torture in the early 2000s. The Intelligence Committee voted 10-5 to forward her nomination to lead the US spy agency to the entire Senate, virtually assuring final approval of her nomination. "Gina Haspel is the most qualified person the president could choose to lead the CIA and the most prepared nominee in the 70 year history of the agency," said committee chairman Richard Burr. "She has acted morally, ethically, and legally, over a distinguished 30-year career and is the right person to lead the agency into an uncertain and challenging future.
Indonesia hit by new IS-claimed attack after suicide bombings
Four men who attacked an Indonesian police headquarters with samurai swords were shot dead today and one officer also died, authorities said, days after a wave of deadly suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group rocked the country. The assault in the city of Pekanbaru on Sumatra island -- also claimed by IS -- saw a group ram their minivan into a gate at the station and then attack officers, police said. Days earlier, two families who belonged to the same religious study group staged suicide bombings at churches and a police station in Surabaya on Java island, Indonesia's second biggest city. The attacks have put Indonesia on edge -- and sparked a string of foreign government travel advisories -- as the world's biggest Muslim-majority country starts the holy fasting month of Ramadan from Thursday. Four attackers were shot dead at the scene Wednesday and another suspect who fled was later arrested, police said. One officer was killed by the speeding vehicle and two ...
Centre announces Ramadan ceasefire in J&K a la Vajpayee (Roundup)
The central government on Wednesday announced a ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, asking security forces to halt their operations during Ramadan to help "peace loving Muslims" observe the holy month in a peaceful environment.
Ghani apologises after Afghan air strike kills 30 children
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani apologised today to the families of civilians, mainly children, killed when the country's air force sprayed an outdoor religious gathering with rockets and machine gun fire last month. The April 2 airstrike on a ceremony attended by hundreds of men and boys in Dasht-e-Archi district -- a Taliban stronghold in the northern province of Kunduz -- left at least 36 people dead including 30 children, a United Nations investigation has shown. Seventy-one people were wounded, including 51 children, it said, adding that it had "credible information" the tolls could be even higher. Originally the government and military had said the Afghan Air Force targeted a Taliban base where senior members of the group were planning attacks. The defence ministry initially denied any civilians had been hurt, then claimed the Taliban had shot them. Today Ghani met families as well as local elders and apologised, a statement from the presidential palace said. "(T)he difference ...
Afghanistan: Top al-Qaeda leader killed in US airstrike
A top al-Qaeda terrorist leader in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was killed in a United States' led airstrike on April 23 in eastern Afghanistan, the US forces confirmed on Wednesday.According to a report by the Resolute Support Mission, the operation against Hazrat Abbas, a senior AQIS and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander was launched in Sherzad district of Nangarhar province."Abbas' integration and command of multiple organizations highlight the relationships between terrorist organisations in Afghanistan and the surrounding region, specifically how regional terrorist groups shelter and facilitate global threat networks," the report added citing TOLOnews.Abbas, who used to control fighting forces in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, was responsible for conducting a number of terrorist attacks and abductions in both the countries.
NATO 'condemns' Russia bridge to Moscow-annexed Crimea
NATO today denounced a new bridge linking mainland Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea as "another violation" of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Atlantic alliance echoed the European Union's earlier condemnation of the bridge, which Russian President Vladimir Putin drove a truck over on Tuesday. "NATO condemns Russia's construction and partial opening of the Kerch Strait bridge between Russia and Crimea," NATO deputy spokesman Piers Cazalet said. "Crimea is part of Ukraine and this bridge represents another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Cazalet said in a statement. The bridge, which limits sea traffic to Ukrainian ports on the Azov Sea, amounts to "the infringement of its navigational rights in its territorial waters," he added. "Russia continues to demonstrate a clear disregard for international law," Cazalet said, adding that NATO will not recognise Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. Russian state television showed Putin dressed in .
Encounter breaks out between security forces, militants in Shopian
An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir today, police said. The militants opened firing on an Army patrol at Jamnagri in Shopian district, the police said, adding that the Army personnel retaliated the fire which triggered the gunbattle. No casualties were reported. Earlier in the day, security forces launched a search operation in forest area of Tral in Pulwama district following a brief exchange of firing with militants, a police official said. He said the security forces launched a search operation as the ultras fled in thick vegetation of the forest.
Manchester Arena terror attack last year injured more than 800: police
Over 800 people are now known to have suffered physical and psychological injuries in the Manchester suicide bombing, British police said, days ahead of the first anniversary of the tragedy. The figure is a big increase compared to the previous police estimates that 500 people were hurt in the Manchester Arena attack on May 22, in addition to the 22 killed, British media reported. Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Libyan-origin suicide bomber detonated the powerful homemade bomb at a concert of American singer Ariana Grande. Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said the events of May 22 would be "forever" etched in the city's history. "We knew quickly 22 people had been murdered and we now know that there are over 800 people with physical and deep psychological injuries from the attack. "Their lives have been altered forever," he said. Jackson gave an insight into the size and scale of the investigation almost a year on from the suicide bombing, claimed by the ...
Mehbooba, Omar welcome Centre's decision to halt security ops during Ramzan
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today welcomed the Centre's decision to not launch any security operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan. "I wholeheartedly welcome the Ramadan ceasefire & would like to thank @narendramodi ji & @rajnathsingh ji for their personal intervention. My gratitude also to the leaders & parties who participated in the All Party Meeting & helped build consensus towards this announcement," Mehbooba said in a tweet following the Centre's announcement. She said Ramzan is a harbinger of peace and such a decision will go a long way in creating a peaceful and amicable environment for a sustained dialogue. Omar said if the militants did not respond in kind to the Centre's unilateral halt on operations during the month of Ramzan, they will be exposed as enemies of the people. "On the demand of all political parties (except the BJP, which had opposed it) the ...
280 Lankan Tamils, including 29 children, disappeared in one day: ITJP
About 280 Tamils, including 29 children, who had surrendered before the Sri Lankan Army on the final day of the war against the LTTE in 2009, had gone missing in the single largest incident of enforced disappearance in the country's history, according to a rights group report. The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) website has listed 280 names of enforced disappearances of people in Sri Lanka which included at least 29 children, a release from the ITJP said. "This is the largest single group of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka's history - hundreds of people disappearing at the same time and place with multiple eyewitnesses both inside and outside the country," ITJP executive director Yasmin Sooka was quoted as saying in the release. Calling on Sri Lanka's Office of Missing Persons to question the military commanders if it wants to recover the truth about these cases, the ITJP claimed that the commanders had even shook hands with the surrendered Liberation Tigers of ...
Massive BSF operation to uncover tunnel across border in Kathua-Samba sector
The BSF has launched a massive operation along International Border (IB) to uncover a tunnel through which armed infiltrators are suspected to have sneaked inside the Kathua district, a senior official said today. "An operation has been started to uncover the tunnel. It is going on," BSF's IG, Jammu Frontier, Ram Awtar, told PTI here. He said the BSF has inducted several JCB machines, a large number of troops and other types of manpower into the area and a search was going on. The terrain is like the riverine Chambal valley belt but we are at it, Awtar said. Yesterday, BSF DG KK Sharma had termed as "very serious", Pakistan's attempts to push infiltrators across including the latest instances which comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir on May 19. The BSF and Army troops have detected six cross border tunnels along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu region since 2012. These were used to infiltrate militants from the Pakistan side into Jammu and ...
New Singapore anti-terror law can order media blackout
A new law that gives the police special powers during terrorist attacks, including widely banning journalists and members of the public from reporting on the scene, took effect in Singapore today. The law gives the police the power to block all communications on-site, ranging from photographs to videos, text and audio messages, for up to a month if authorities feel security operations could be compromised. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which drafted the law, said Tuesday that the country faces a "clear and present terrorism threat, posed by home-grown radicalized individuals and foreign terrorists." "It is therefore important to equip the police with powers to ... respond swiftly and effectively to attacks of any scale and of varying tactics, and minimize the chances that their security operations are compromised," the ministry said. Individuals who flout the new law face a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of 20,000 Singapore dollars ($14,891). The ministry said the .
Four Maharashtra tribal students scale Mt Everest
Four tribal students, including a girl, of ashram schools in Maharashtra have scaled the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said here on Wednesday.
OPCW confirms chlorine use in February attack in Syria
A global arms watchdog on Wednesday confirmed that chlorine was "likely used as a chemical weapon" in a February attack on the Syrian town of Saraqeb. A fact-finding mission by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons determined that "chlorine was released from cylinders by mechanical impact in the Al Talil neighbourhood of Saraqeb" on February 4, an OPCW statement said. The team's conclusions were based on finding two cylinders "which were determined as previously containing chlorine." Environmental samples also "demonstrated the unusual presence of chlorine in the local environment," said the organisation, based in The Hague. However, in line with its mandate the watchdog did not say which side in Syria's complex seven-year civil war was responsible for using chlorine. Eleven people had to be treated for breathing difficulties on February 4 after Syrian government raids on the town of Saraqeb, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at the ...
Suspected militants decamp with rifle from guard post in J-K
Suspected militants decamped with a rifle from a guard post at the main gate of the Kashmir University in the Hazratbal area of the city, police said. "A rifle was snatched from the guard post at the Kashmir University near the Rumi Gate. The guards were deployed at the university on deputation from the Armed Police," a police official said. He said the security forces have launched searches in the area to recover the rifle even as efforts are on to identify the culprits.
Official: Government troops push back Taliban from west city in Afghanistan
Security forces pushed back an attack by Taliban insurgents today and took control of Farah city in western Afghanistan, officials said. Farah provincial Gov Abdul Basir Salangi said more than 300 Taliban fighters were killed in the gun battles in the provincial capital also called Farah. The Taliban launched attacks from multiple directions early Tuesday aiming to gain control of the city but later faced resistance from reinforced security forces. Salangi said at least 25 government troops were killed. Amin Rahman Mujadedi, an official from the provincial health department, said 28 bodies were transferred to a hospital since the start of the battle and 66 wounded received treatment. He said the majority of those were security forces. Gen Mohammad Radmanish, Defence Ministry spokesman, said Farah city was cleared of insurgents Wednesday and Afghan forces were chasing Taliban fighters outside of the city. He said Afghan forces established additional checkpoints to provide ...
54 killed in Afghanistan clashes
At least 10 Afghan soldiers and 44 Taliban militants have been killed after clashes broke out in four districts of the country's Ghazni province overnight, an Army official said on Wednesday.
5 killed in Indonesia Police HQ attack
Five people, including four militants and a policeman, were killed when eight terrorists attacked the police headquarters in Indonesia's Riau province on Wednesday.
N.Korea suspends talks with South, threatens to nix US summit (Third Lead)
North Korea abruptly announced a suspension of high-level inter-Korean talks scheduled for Wednesday, citing ongoing US-South Korean military drills and also threatened to pull out of a summit with US President Donald Trump if Washington pushes it to give up nuclear weapons.
Decline in strength of Afghan forces less sharp than thought: US watchdog
The strength of Afghanistan's security forces has declined less sharply than previously reported, a US watchdog says, citing incorrect figures given by the American military last month. The quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), released in April, had incorrectly stated that Afghan security forces had been depleted by about 10 per cent over the course of a year. Based on that figure, there were estimated to be 296,409 active military, police and intelligence personnel as of January 31. But yesterday SIGAR said corrected figures from United States Forces-Afghanistan "indicate a total ANDSF (Afghan National Defence and Security Forces) strength of 313,728 as of January 31". "The new numbers still show that overall ANDSF strength declined sharply from January 2017 to January 2018 (by 17,980 personnel), though not as sharply" as reported, the watchdog said. The confusion was "the latest in a series of problems SIGAR" has faced regarding