Page 608 - War Conflict
Maha ATS nabs Pak-trained man planning to carry out assassinations
A 32-year-old man, who was planning to assassinate some important personalities, has been arrested by Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad from the city's western suburbs, ATS officials said today. Officials said that the man, who was arrested by the anti-terror agency's Juhu unit on May 11, had been to Pakistan, via Sharjah and Dubai, for training at a camp operated by a terror outfit. Police said the accused got training in handling explosives, sophisticated firearms as well as suicide bombings at a Karachi-based camp run by a terror organisation. "He was called to Pakistan by a person who is wanted in for terrorist activities in Mumbai. The arrested man first went to Sharjah to meet this wanted person where the latter provided him logistics support," an official said. "After spending some time in Sharjah, he was sent to Dubai and from there to Karachi. He then attended a training camp there run by a terror outfit," the official said, adding that it has been learnt that this outfit ...
Indonesian church suicide bombers from same family: police chief
A family of six, including two young girls, were responsible for Islamic State-claimed suicide attacks that killed at least 11 and injured dozens during Sunday church services in Indonesia, national police chief Tito Karnavian said. The family -- a mother and father, two daughters aged 9 and 12, and two sons aged 16 and 18 -- were linked to local extremist network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, which supports IS, Karnavian said. Indonesian president Joko Widodo slammed the attacks, telling reporters: "We must unite against terrorism." "The state will not tolerate this act of cowardice," he added.
11 killed in Indonesia church bombings
At least 11 people, including a suicide bomber, were killed and 41 injured on Sunday in bomb attacks on three churches in the Indonesian city of Surabaya, police said.
7 killed as blasts, gunfire rock Jalalabad
At least seven people, including an assailant, were killed and 20 others wounded after two blasts and ensuing gunshots rocked Jalalabad city on Sunday.
Islamic State group claims deadly Indonesia church attacks
The Islamic State group was responsible for suicide attacks against three churches in Indonesia that killed at least 11 people today, it said via its propaganda agency Amaq. "Three martyrdom attacks killed 11 and wounded at least 41 among church guards and Christians," it said via the Telegram messaging app. Alongside the 11 dead, dozens were wounded in seemingly coordinated attacks against the three churches in the city of Surabaya at around 7.30am local time, police said.
At least nine dead as bomb, gun battle rages in Afghan city
At least nine people were killed and more than 30 injured when militants detonated bombs and stormed a government building today in a continuing attack in an eastern Afghan city, officials said. A thick column of smoke rose into the sky after two explosions near Jalalabad's directorate of finance, the Nangarhar provincial governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that "a number of attackers" had entered the building. "Security forces are in the area chasing and fighting them," he said, adding that one attacker "is down" and the clearing operation was continuing. "Around noon a big boom shook our building," Qaisar told AFP from a Jalalabad hospital. "I then saw at least two armed attackers entering the building. My friends ran to hide and I jumped from a window. "I have broken my leg and arm but was able to get out of the building. Some of my friends are still stuck there." The body of a policeman and eight civilians, along with 36 wounded people had been brought to ...
French police seek clues after Russian-born knifeman strikes
Investigators today were probing the background of a 20-year-old Frenchman born in Russia who killed one man and wounded four other people during a stabbing spree, with sources close to the case saying he had been on a watchlist of suspected extremists. The yesterday night attack in a lively area of theatres and restaurants near the main opera house was the latest in a series of suspected jihadist strikes in France that have killed some 245 people since 2015. He was shot and killed by police after an officer unsuccessfully tried to stop him with a Taser. Judicial sources said the man was born in Chechnya, a Muslim-dominated Russian republic which has been the scene of two bloody separatist wars since the 1990s. Hundreds of Islamic militants from Chechnya have left to join terror groups in the Middle East, North Africa and other regions in recent years. Russian news reports said the Russian embassy in Paris was pressing French officials for more information on the knifeman, whose ...
At least six dead as bomb, gun battle rages in Afghan city
At least six civilians were killed when militants detonated bombs and stormed a government building today in an ongoing assault in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said, underscoring deteriorating security in the country. There were two explosions near the city's directorate of finance, the Nangarhar provincial governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that "a number of attackers" had entered the building. "Security forces are in the area chasing and fighting them," he said. "So far six civilians (have been) killed and 33 wounded. One attacker is also down. The clearing operation is ongoing." "Around noon a big boom shook our building," Qaisar, an employee, told AFP from a Jalalabad hospital. "I then saw at least two armed attackers entering the building. My friends ran to hide and I jumped from a window. "I have broken my leg and arm but was able to get out of the building. Some of my friends are still stuck there." There was no immediate claim of ...
Six killed, 20 others injured in Jalalabad suicide attack
At least six people were killed and nearly 20 others were wounded in a suicide attack in Afghanistan's Jalalabad city near the gate of the finance department.The suicide attack took place on Sunday afternoon, said a source from the Nangarhar's Health Department, reported Tolo News.The suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a customs office before other insurgents stormed the building, said officials.An eyewitness said four explosions have been heard in the area.Till now, no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.
China border: ITBP to get major manpower, infra boost
Making the final policy push, the government has decided to sanction a major manpower and infrastructure boost to the ITBP in the form of nine new battalions, a strategic sector headquarter on the front, a dozen patrol camps and 47 new BoPs to be raised along the China border over the next few years. As per an official note accessed by PTI, the Union Home Ministry last month held a meeting for the creation of a number of operational border security requirements for the force that is mandated to guard the 3,488-km long Sino-India frontier. As per the proposal, the Home Ministry has accorded an in-principle approval to raise 9 new battalions (comprising about 9,000 personnel), a sector headquarter on the China border in a north east state, 47 new border outposts (BoPs), 12 'staging camps' and augmenting the troops' strength at 18 BoPs in the Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh region. PTI had first reported in January that the government is planning to raise15 new battalions in the country's ..
At least six dead as blasts, gunfire rock Afghan city: officials
At least six civilians were killed when militants detonated bombs and stormed a government building today in an ongoing assault in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said. There were two explosions near the city's directorate of finance, the Nangarhar provincial governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that "a number of attackers" had entered the building. "Security forces are in the area chasing and fighting them," he said. "So far six civilians (have been) killed and 33 wounded. One attacker is also down. The clearing operation is ongoing." Earlier, health department officials in the city said hospitals had received at least four dead bodies and 20 wounded people. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Jalalabad is the capital of restive Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan. Some areas of the province are a stronghold of the Islamic State group but Taliban fighters are also active there. It was the latest deadly violence to strike ...
Govt forms committee for air cargo terminal security plan against terror, sabotage acts
The government has constituted a special committee to suggest ways for better securing airport cargo terminals in the country against terror threats as it has a bearing on the overall safety of adjoining passenger terminals. A senior official in the security establishment told PTI that a committee under its special secretary (internal security) has been formed by the Home Ministry. It will chalk out an anti-sabotage and counter-terror plan that can be deployed at the un-guarded air cargo terminals and enhance such systems at those which have an armed cover of central paramilitary CISF. The committee will have representatives from the Home Ministry, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Intelligence Bureau and few other cargo handling agencies. At present, nine air cargo terminals at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Nagpur, Calicut and Trivandrum have CISF protection while 28 other major such facilities are ...
President, Bishops call for peace as Nicaragua clashes escalate
The death toll in ongoing anti-government protests in Nicaragua climbed to more than 50 with two new deaths reported from Masaya, prompting an appeal for peace from the Episcopal conference of Nicaragua (ECN) and the President.
At least four dead as blasts, gunfire rock Afghan city: officials
At least four people were killed when militants detonated bombs and stormed a government building today in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said. There were two explosions near the city's directorate of finance, Nangarhar provincial governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that "a number of attackers" had entered the building. "Security forces are in the area chasing and fighting them," he said. Four bodies and about 20 wounded people had been brought to Jalalabad hospitals so far, said Dr Najibullah Kamawal, director of the city's health department. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Jalalabad is the capital of restive Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan. Some areas of the province are a stronghold of the Islamic State group but Taliban fighters are also active there. It was the latest deadly violence to strike Afghanistan as militant groups step up attacks and US-backed Afghan forces intensify air strikes and ground ...
South African photographer of iconic protest image dies
Tributes are being paid following the death of Sam Nzima, the South African photographer who took the iconic image of a black high school student carrying a fatally wounded fellow student away from the gunfire of apartheid police in the Soweto student riots of 1976. Nzima, 83, died last night in the northwestern city of Nelspruit, according to South Africa's state broadcaster, the SABC. His son, Thulani Nzima, said the photographer collapsed on Thursday and was taken to a hospital but did not recover. Nzima's photograph of the Soweto student uprising galvanized international public opinion against apartheid, South Africa's system of racial discrimination that ended in 1994. Nzima's photo "caused the world to come to terms with the brutality and evil of the apartheid system," said South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress, in a statement. "This came at a price to Nzima who was subjected to countless acts of intimidation." Harassed by the apartheid regime, Nzima left ...
Paris knife attacker was on extremist watchlist
The knifeman who killed one man and wounded four other people Saturday night in Paris had been on an anti-terror watchlist of suspected extremists, sources close to the inquiry told AFP today. The Frenchman, born in 1997 in the Russian republic of Chechnya, was on the so-called "S file" of people suspected of radicalised views who could pose security risks, the sources said, though he did not have a criminal record. Police shot and killed the man shortly after being alerted to the attack on the Rue Monsigny, a lively neighbourhood of theatres and restaurants near the main opera house in Paris. Witnesses said they heard the man yelling "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as people fled the scene. His parents have been taken into custody. Investigators have not yet said when the man arrived in France. Many but not all of the people on France's S file (the 'S' stands for security) have been involved in the series of deadly jihadist attacks that have killed some 245 people across the country
Afghan forces kill over 100 Taliban militants
Afghan forces on Saturday forestalled multiple coordinated assaults on the security checkpoints in Afghanistan, killing over 100 Taliban militants.According to a ministry statement, 45 militants were killed in a bid to overrun Farah city bordering Iran and sixteen security personnel were killed in the clashes.20 Taliban militants were killed in northern Farah province bordering Uzbekistan, 15 in northeastern Badakhshan province, 19 in eastern Ghazni province and 11 in Paktika province bordering Pakistan's restive tribal belt in the past 24 hours, Anadolu Agency reported.23 Daesh militants were also killed in northeastern Nangarhar province.The Taliban has claimed to have killed 27 security personnel, destroyed and seized a large cache of arms and vehicles in Farah.The Taliban managed to enter Shahrak district. However, efforts are underway to reclaim the area.The exact figures of casualties are yet to be ascertained.
Taliban attack in Afghanistan repulsed, 16 killed
A Taliban offensive on Dasht-e-Archi district in northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province has been repulsed, leaving 10 militants and six security personnel dead, officials said on Sunday.
11 dead, 41 hurt as suicide bombers hit Indonesian churches
Suicide bombers on motorcycles and including a woman with children targeted today Mass congregations in three churches in Indonesia's second largest city, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens in one of the worst attacks on the Christian minority, police said. The first attack struck the Santa Maria Roman Catholic Church in Surabaya, killing four people, including one or more bombers, police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told reporters at the scene. He said two police officers were among a total of 41 wounded. The blast was followed by a second explosion minutes later at the Christian Church of Diponegoro and a third at the city's Pantekosta Church, Mangera said. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo arrived in Surabaya, the East Java provincial capital, in the aftermath of the attacks, Mangera said. The bombings were the worst since a series of attacks on churches on Christmas Eve in 2000 killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100. Religious minorities, especially Christians, have ...
Riot-hit Aurangabad limps back to normalcy; curbs still on
An uneasy calm today prevailed in this central Maharashtra city where two persons were killed in clashes between groups of two communities over illegal water connections as police kept a tight vigil to avoid any untoward incident. The situation in the riot-hit city in the Marathwada region, about 350 km from Mumbai, has been brought under control, but certain restrictions remain in place, police officials said. Internet services remained suspended and prohibitory orders clamped under the CrPC section 144, banning assembly of people, were in force in the city, where a large number of police personnel were deployed, a senior police official said. The last rites of the 17-year-old boy, who was killed allegedly in police firing, was performed today in the city where the situation is normal, Inspector General of Police (Aurangabad) Milind Bharambe told PTI. "We have deployed adequate police force in the area to avoid any untoward situation. To curb rumour mongering through social media, we