Page 620 - War Conflict
45 dead as militia, bandits clash in northern Nigeria
Fighting between armed bandits and militiamen left 45 dead in northern Nigeria, police and a local militia has said, amid escalating rural violence often involving cattle rustling, robbery and kidnappings. "The 45 bodies were found scattered in the bush. The bandits pursued residents who mobilised to defend the village after overpowering them," said a vigilante who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. "The dead included children abandoned by their parents during the attack" in the village of Gwaska, in Kaduna state. "The attackers were obviously armed bandits from neighbouring Zamfara state who have been terrorising Birnin Gwari area," he added. The Kaduna state police chief, Austin Iwar, confirmed the attack, saying: "There was violence between the militias, who are very powerful, and bandits." He could not break down the casualties, saying only: "For now all we know is that 12 people were buried yesterday and 33 today." The vigilante said the bandits struck at about 2:30 pm .
Make sure children don't embrace death: Mehbooba to Kashmir parents
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday made a passionate appeal to Kashmiri parents, urging them to make sure children don't embrace death by joining militancy because "god brought all of us into this world to live a good life".
Normal life comes to standstill in Kashmir
Normal life came to a standstill in Kashmir today on a call for shutdown by separatists to protest the killing of five civilians during clashes between protesters and security forces near the encounter site in Shopian district yesterday. Jaint Resistance Leadership (JRL), an amalgam of separatist groups, spearheaded by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, called for a complete strike to protest against the civilian killings during clashes with security forces following an encounter in which five militants, including an assistant professor from the Kashmir University, were killed. The separatists have called for a sit-in against the killings outside the Civil Secretariat, which opened today as part of the traditional 'Darbar Move' practice, here. While Geelani and Mirwaiz have been placed under house arrest, Malik has been taken into preventive custody since Saturday. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions have been closed as a ...
Taliban attack Afghan police patrol in Kandahar, killing 5
An Afghan official says that at least five police officers have been killed in a Taliban attack on their patrol in southern Kandahar province. A spokesman for the provincial chief police in Kandahar says nine other police were wounded in Sunday's attack in Marouf district near the border with Pakistan. The spokesman, Zia Durrani, says 15 Taliban fighters were killed and 11 others were wounded in the gunbattle. Durrani said Monday that the battle lasted several hours after reinforcements arrived. A spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Yussouf Ahmadi, claimed responsibility for the attack in Kandahar in a statement sent to media. The insurgent group routinely targets Afghan officials and security forces across the country, though it is more active in southern provinces.
Navalny released ahead of Putin's swearing-in
Russian opposition leader and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny was on Sunday released after he was detained during a rally against the latter a day ago.Navalny was released ahead of Putin's swearing-in as the president for the fourth time, scheduled to be held on Monday.Following his release on Sunday, Navalny wrote on Twitter, "They wrote up two protocols on me: organizing a rally and disobeying police, but at half past midnight they chose to release me pending trial."During Saturday's protest, police in riot gear waded into the crowd on Moscow's Pushkin Square and were seen grabbing some demonstrators and leading them away, Euronews reported.A video showed police carrying a struggling Navalny out of the square, holding him by the legs and arms, RadioFreeEurope Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.Crowds shouted slogans like "Down with the Tsar!" and "Russia without Putin".On the whole, 1,029 people were arrested in 19 different cities across the country, the group
Afghan journalist attacked in Kabul
An Afghan freelance journalist was attacked by unidentified miscreants and sustained wounds here on Sunday.The journalist, Nematullah Tanin was quoted by TOLO news as saying that he was attacked by the assailants when he came out of the house in Kabul's PD5 in Afshar area and was going somewhere for work.The journalist added that a bullet whizzed past his head and he suffered a shrapnel injury as a result.The miscreants fled after the attack.On a related note, two suicide bombers killed almost 30 people in the double bombing in Shash Darak area of Kabul city. Nine journalists were also killed in the incident, who were covering the first attack at that time.The second attacker impersonated as a member of the media fraternity.Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali on Friday dwelled upon the killing of nine journalists saying, "This was the bloodiest year for Afghan media. This was an attack on global media. More importantly, this attack was on Afghan youth."According to the ..
40 killed in armed bandit attack in northwest Nigeria
Armed bandits attacked a village in Nigeria's northwest Kaduna state, killing at least 40 people, residents and officials said. Police Inspector General Ibrahim Idris confirmed the bandits invaded the village of Gwaska yesterday, fighting local defense forces protecting the Birnin Gwari local government area, a community of about 3,000 people. He said 200 policemen and 10 patrol vehicles were deployed to the scene. A resident who helped fight the bandits said at least 40 people were killed and the toll will likely climb. He spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. He said the attackers were from Zamfara state, and that they shot at children and torched houses as residents fled. The attack came about a week after other unidentified gunmen attacked a nearby village. The Kaduna State government confirmed the attack but didn't give a casualty figure. In a statement, the local government said it is concerned by the incessant banditry attacks in the region and has been engaging
JK: 5 Hizbul terrorists killed in encounter; 5 protesters die in clashes
Five Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists including its top commander Saddam Padder and a fresh recruit, an assistant professor from the Kashmir University, were killed in an encounter today in militancy-infested Shopian area in south Kashmir even as five civilians died during clashes between protesters and security forces near the encounter site, the police said. The five slain terrorists were identified as Saddam Hussain Padder, Bilal Ahmad Mohand, Adil Ahmed Malik, Tauseed Ahmad Sheikh and Mohammed Rafi Bhat, a PhD scholar and an assistant professor in the Kashmir University, they said. Padder, who hailed from Heff in Shopian region, was active since September 2014, while Malik was active since 2014 and Sheikh from 2013. Mohand was active since 2016 and the Kashmir University assistant professor had joined the terror group last Friday, officials said. With Padder's killing, all 10 militants, who appeared for the first time together along with Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani in ..
France expresses 'firm disapproval' of Trump's gun law comments
France has strongly criticized US President Donald Trump's remarks suggesting more flexible arms rules in the country could have helped prevent deadly terrorist attacks in 2015.
7 Indian engineers abducted in Afghanistan by Taliban gunmen
Seven Indian engineers of an RPG group company working in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province were abducted today by Taliban gunmen who apparently mistook them for government employees, media reports said. The External Affairs Ministry said in New Delhi it is in touch with authorities in Afghanistan and is ascertaining the details of the incident. The Taliban militants abducted the Indians, working for Maharashtra-based company KEC, and their Afghan driver early this morning in Bagh-e-Shamal area of the provincial capital Pul-e-Khomre, TOLOnews reported, citing officials. According to the Associated Press, the seven Indian nationals were electrical engineers. The company employees were abducted while they were travelling to the area where KEC has a contract to operate an electricity sub-station, the Afghan news channel reported. Baghlan Governor Abdulhai Nemati said the Taliban group took the engineers hostage and moved them to the Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khumri city, ...
Egypt's last surviving 1952 revolutionary leaders dies
An Egyptian leftist opposition leader, who helped the overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy in the 1952 revolution, has died at a Cairo hospital. Khaled Mohieddin was 95. Mohieddin suffered age-related health problems and was taken to a military hospital several days ago. He died today. President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi has mourned as "symbol of national political action" and offered his condolences to the family of the late leftist leader, according to a statement by the presidency. Born to a wealthy family in Qalyubia province, north of Cairo in 1922, Mohieddin was one of the military major leaders of the Free Officers Movement. He was the last surviving member of the Revolutionary Command Council, an executive body that controlled the state after the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952.
Separatist call for strike against killings in JK's Sophian
Separatists today called for a strike and a protest march to the Civil Secretariat here tomorrow over the death of civilians in a clash between protestors and security forces after an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Sophian district. The secretariat in the state's summer capital opens tomorrow after the bi-annual shifting of capitals between Jammu and Srinagar. "The strike will continue across Kashmir tomorrow against the killings in Shopian," a statement issued by the separatists, under the banner of the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), said here. Five Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including a top commander and a fresh recruit -- a university professor -- were killed in the encounter today, even as five civilians died during clashes between protesters and law enforcing agencies near the encounter site in Sophian, the police said. The JRL comprises Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik. It asked people to march peacefully to the Civil Secretariat where
Five militants, five civilians killed in Kashmir (Roundup)
Security forces on Sunday killed five militants, including an assistant professor of Kashmir University who had joined their ranks, leading to major street protests that claimed another five civilian lives, officials said.
6 Indians abducted by Taliban in Afghanistan
Six Indians working in a power company in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province were allegedly abducted today by Taliban gunmen who apparently mistook them for government employees, Afghan media reports said. External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said it was in touch with Afghan authorities and was ascertaining the details of the incident. The Taliban militants abducted the six Indian staff members and one Afghan employee of Indian company KEC early this morning in Bagh-e-Shamal area of the provincial capital Pul-e-Khomre, TOLOnews reported, citing officials. The employees were abducted while they were travelling to the area where the company owns an electricity sub-station contract, the report said. Baghlan governor Abdulhai Nemati said the Taliban group abducted the employees and moved them to the Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khumri city, according to the report. It quoted Nemati as saying that the Afghan authorities spoke with the Taliban via local people and the terror ...
Separatists to march against J&K killings
Separatist leaders on Sunday called for a protest march and a sit-in outside the Civil Secretariat against the killings of five civilians and as many militants in the Valley.
Six Indians abducted in Afghanistan, Taliban blamed
Militants abducted seven people, including six Indians, on Sunday in Afghanistan's Baghlan province, officials said, adding that talks were on to get them freed.
Afghanistan: Casualties feared in Khost city blast
A mighty explosion on Sunday targeted a mosque in Afghanistan's Khost city, the capital of war-torn country's eastern Khost province.Casualties are feared, reported Khaama Press.Neither the type nor the reason for the explosion is known as of now.The injured have been shifted to the hospital.No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.
6 Indians abducted in Afghanistan, MEA in touch with authorities
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is in touch with the Afghanistan authorities to locate the whereabouts of the six Indians who were abducted by unknown armed men in war-torn country's Baghlan province."We are aware of the abduction of Indian nationals from Baghlan province in Afghanistan. We are in contact with the Afghan authorities and further details are being ascertained," MEA official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.Earlier in the day, Afghan officials confirmed that seven staff members, including six Indians, of Indian company KEC International Limited, were abducted.All seven of them were abducted in Bagh-e-Shamal village of the Pul-e-Khomri city capital of Baghlan province, reported Afghan's TOLO News.According to the report, the incident took place when they were going to the village, where the company is said to own an electricity sub-station contract.The Baghlan provincial council linked the incident to the Taliban. However, the terror outfit has not commented so far.
Dozens of casualties in blast at Afghan voter registration centre: officials
A blast at a voter registration centre in Afghanistan's restive east today killed or wounded at least 30 people, officials said, capping a bloody week in the war-torn country. The bomb had been placed in a tent being used to register voters on the grounds of a mosque, Khost provincial police chief Abdul Hanan Zadran told AFP. "A crowd of people who had come out of the mosque had gathered to register" when the blast took place, he said, putting the casualty toll at "about 30". But provincial deputy director of public health Gul Mohammad Mangal told AFP at least 12 people had been killed and 33 wounded in the explosion. Mangal warned the toll could rise, with several of the wounded in a critical condition. "Ambulances are still bringing more people," he added. It was the latest attack on election preparations and comes almost a week after 25 people were killed in a double bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul. Nine journalists including AFP chief photographer Shah Marai were among the ...
Explosion kills 15 in Afghanistan
At least 15 people were killed and dozens more injured on Sunday after an explosion ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan's Khost city.