Page 627 - War Conflict
3 security personnel injured in IED explosion in Pakistan
Three security personnel were injured today in an IED blast in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal region, officials said. The security personnel were on a patrol duty when their vehicle hit the improvised explosive device (IED) in Jani Khel area of Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, they said. According to the officials, the IED was being operated by the militants through a remote control device. The injured were hospitalised. Security forces have cordoned off the area and initiated operation to trace the attackers, the officials said.
2 Assam militants killed in factional fight
Two militants of Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) were killed in a clash between two factions of the group in central Assam's Dima Hasao district, Assam Rifles sources said today. The fight between the two factions of ZUF took place yesterday in the jungle area of Khamnang and Douban village under the jurisdiction of Mahur police station, the sources said. One of the ZUF factions is led by its chairman Kamson and the other group by its 'commander-in-chief' Jinchui. Assam Rifles personnel and police reached the spot after getting information about the factional fight, the sources added.
29 militants killed in Afghanistan
As many as 29 militants affiliated to terror outfit the Taliban have been killed and 32 wounded in separate operations and clashes in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province.At least 14 militants were killed and 25 others sustained injuries during the operations in Mangal village in Tashkan district and 15 militants were killed and 7 others were wounded during a separate operation in Kohistan district, Khaama Press reported, citing, the Afghan Military, as saying.According to the report, key Taliban group leaders identified as Abdul Bari, Mawlavi Ataullah, and Mawlavi Hedayatullah were also among those killed.No comments have been received from the anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban militants in connection with this report by far.
Gunmen kidnap German nurse in Somalia capital
Armed men abducted a German nurse working for the International Committee of the Red Cross from a compound in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in what the government said today was believed to be an inside job. The Red Cross said the attack happened around 8.00 PM local time (2230 IST) yesterday evening when unidentified armed men entered its compound, adding it was "in contact with various authorities to try and secure her release". "We are deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," said Daniel O'Malley, ICRC's deputy Somalia head. "She is a nurse who was working every day to save lives and improve the health of some of Somalia's most vulnerable people." Red Cross staff in Somalia told AFP the gunmen appeared to have evaded the compound's security guards and snuck the nurse out through a back entrance into a waiting vehicle. Security ministry spokesman Abdiaziz Ali Ibrahim said initial investigations showed "one of the security guards of the compound was involved in the ...
13 killed as cattle rustlers attack Nigerian village
Thirteen people were killed in prolonged clashes between cattle thieves and local civilian militia in northern Nigeria's Zamfara state, police said today. The militia and cattle thieves fought a gun battle Tuesday through Wednesday in the remote village of Fankashi in the Maru district of the state, police spokesman Mohammed Shehu told AFP. "Our men recovered 13 dead bodies from the criminal gang and the vigilantes from the village after the fight," he added. The village was attacked by the bandits, resulting in the fight with the militia, who were armed with locally made, single-shot muskets. Police reinforcements were later sent to the area, said Shehu. Rural communities in Zamfara have been under siege for several years from cattle rustlers and kidnapping gangs, who have raided herding communities, killing, looting and burning homes. Villages formed self-defence forces in response but they, too, are often accused of killing suspected cattle thieves, prompting reprisal attacks. It ..
Red Cross says female staffer abducted in Somali capital
Armed gunmen stormed into the International Committee of the Red Cross compound in Somalia's capital and abducted a German nurse on its staff, the aid group said. The kidnapping of the woman in Mogadishu was the latest in a series of targeted attacks on aid workers in the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation. It came a day after a Somali employee with the World Health Organization was shot dead by two men who approached her in a busy market in the capital. She was abducted despite the presence of several security guards, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press. He said the guards had been arrested. "We are deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," Daniel O'Malley, the deputy head of the Red Cross delegation in Somalia, said in a statement. "She is a nurse who was working every day to save lives and improve the health of some of Somalia's most vulnerable people." "We call for her immediate and unconditional release," he added. The Red Cross said it was in ...
Pakistan reopens its third major trade route with Afghanistan
Pakistan has reopened a major trade route with Afghanistan, the Ghulam Khan pass after four years.Authorities had closed Ghulam Khan border crossing in 2014, after the launch of military operation in North Waziristan. The military launched its Zarbe Azb operation against the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).A political administration officer said that the route was opened in April on a trial basis. It will be operational for trade from Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported."All the militants' hideouts have been destroyed and now the area is completely secured," he added.Pakistan's army claims that 95 percent of the area is now militant-free.On Monday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa travelled to North Waziristan agency. They ordered the formal resumption of trade activities on the route.The decision was taken last month, when Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met in Kabul to discuss various issues including the fall in ...
Stand united against insurgency: Afghan's CEO
Afghanistan's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah said insurgents continued to commit crimes against the fellow countrymen despite the National Unity Government's (NUG) repeated calls for peace.Speaking at an event to mark World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, he said, "In fact the Taliban is a criminal group and despite NUG's repeated demands for peace and negotiation, they refuse, and with the continuation of the crimes, it became possible for other terrorist groups to be placed in Afghanistan and to be able to commit such crimes," said Abdullah, as quoted by Tolo News.Early this year, the Afghan government made a peace offer, without preconditions, to the Taliban. But the Taliban hasn't responded to the offer till now.On April 30, Daesh militants carried out two suicide bombings in Kabul, killing 29 people including nine journalists.The Afghanistan Federation of Journalists (AFJ) also issued a joint statement condemning the explosions and noted, "this terrorist attack ..
DRI seizes 194 kg of gold worth Rs 57.73 Cr in FY17-18
Gold weighing 194 kilograms worth Rs 57.53 crore has been seized in the last financial year, a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) official said. A majority of the yellow metal confiscated was smuggled from the neighbouring Sri Lanka, the official added. Smuggling of gold was a recurrent issue in the southern region and Tamil Nadu with vast coastal area was "prone" to it, he said. "In the last financial year (2017-18) alone, DRI Chennai seized 194 kilograms of gold worth Rs 57.73 crore," the official said. The bulk of the gold was seized from the coastal regions, he said, adding that the "most vulnerable areas were the stretches between Tiruchendur and Rameswaram and Rameswaram and Vedaranyam". Gold smuggling was normally carried out using country and small fishing boats, he said. Referring to the latest recoveries made by the agency, he said the officers in three separate incidents had seized a total of 32.24 kg of gold of foreign-origin smuggled into the country by sea from .
Sudan to close 13 diplomatic missions, 4 consular missions
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has announced closure of 13 diplomatic missions and four consular missions abroad due to a financial crisis.
Peacekeeping missions like UNMOGIP valuable: UN official
A senior UN peacekeeping official has rejected assertion that missions such as the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) are doing nothing, saying they are valuable and performing on the basis of ground realities in "frozen conflict" areas. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bintou Keita was asked during a press briefing here about "frozen conflicts" where peacekeeping missions stay forever. She was asked about missions such as UNMOGIP, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golaan Heights and that these missions are "sitting there doing nothing". Keita was asked how these frozen conflicts can be addressed and mandates reactivated to achieve results. The question that should be asked is "if they were not there, what would happen," Keita said. She said the "rhetoric that because there is no peace process moving then they are ..
Chinese Foreign Minister in Pyongyang
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is here in North Korea and has met his counterpart Ri Yong-ho. They have discussed the current situation on the peninsula following the inter-Korean summit, media reports said on Thursday.
Gunmen kidnap German nurse in Somalia capital: aid group
Armed men abducted a German nurse working for the International Committee of the Red Cross last evening from a compound in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, the aid group said today. "We are deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," said Daniel O'Malley, ICRC's deputy Somalia head. "She is a nurse who was working every day to save lives and improve the health of some of Somalia's most vulnerable people." The Red Cross said the attack happened around 8 pm local time when unidentified armed men entered its compound in Mogadishu. The organisation said it is "in contact with various authorities to try and secure her release". Somalia, which collapsed into civil war in 1991 and has been the site of an al-Qaeda linked Islamist insurgency since 2005, is one of the most dangerous countries for aid workers, but abductions remain relatively rare.
Robbery bid in jewellery shop foiled
Two employees of a jewellery shop in southeast Delhi's Tigri foiled a robbery bid, police said today. The incident, that happened on April 30, was captured on a CCTV installed in the shop. In the footage, it was seen that the accused sprayed something on the employees in an attempt to loot jewellery from the shop, but they fight him back, the police said. The accused is yet to be arrested, they said.
Indian Army contingent trained to pitch bivouac
Indian Army contingent has been trained to pitch bivouac under the ongoing Harimau Shakti 2018 exercise.On May 1, there were heavy rains but despite the inclement weather condition, the Indian contingent had hands-on experience to pitch bivouac in such conditions at Wardieburn Camp.This training is essential for jungle survival as part of any operations in jungle terrain. The class was conducted by Major Hafizul, the training officer of 12 Brigade. He used natural resources available within the camp to pitch the bivouac.Fieldcraft and battle craft are one of the most essentials of any fighting fit army in the world.On May 1, as part of the cross training phase, practical training in various forms of field craft and battle craft was conducted at the Wardieburn Camp by the instructor staff from the Army Combat Training centre.Major Magen Raj instructor from this prestigious training centre, now posted with the 1 Royal Ranger Regiment, conducted the training of Indian Army contingent.The
Maoists behead villager in Jharkhand
Suspected Maoists today beheaded a villager near Ubsal village in the forests of Tamar in Ranchi district, police said. Suspecting him to be a police informer, the Maoists kidnapped Abraham Tigga yesterday and beheaded him today, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vikash Chandra Srivastav said. The extremists left a leaflet saying those who would help the police would be treated the same way. Srivastav said search operation against the Maoists has begun.
86 killed in NE Nigeria suicide blasts: gravediggers
Gravediggers today said they buried 86 people from a double suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria, nearly three times more than the official toll. Two blasts ripped through a mosque and market yesterday in the town of Mubi, Adamawa state, in an attack that bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram jihadists. The official death toll today rose to at least 29 but local residents, a hospital source and rescue worker told AFP that many more died. One worker at Mubi's only cemetery said they were "shocked" to hear about the lower toll. "We worked up to 9:00 pm burying bodies. By the time we closed, we had 76 graves. We buried 76 people yesterday," he said, asking to remain anonymous. "Today, as at 3:00 pm (local time), 10 more bodies were brought in and buried. These people died overnight from injuries, obviously." Another gravedigger, who also asked for his name not to be used, supported the account. "We hope we are done with the burials," he added. Imam Garki, head of operations for Adamawa ...
Centre accepts Amarinder's plea to revoke cap on educational concession
The Centre has accepted Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's request to revoke cap on educational concession provided to children of Armed Forces officers/personnel below officer ranks, an official statement said. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has written to the chief minister to convey the Union government's decision to continue the said concession without capping it at Rs 10,000 per month, according to a release from the CM's Office here. Singh has welcomed the decision to reverse the cap, saying it would go a long way towards boosting the morale of the armed forces and their families, particularly the children of slain and disabled soldiers, to whom the nation owed its security and sovereignty. The Defence Minister's communication is in response to Singh's letter dated December 1, 2017, urging her to revoke the decision to put a cap of Rs 10,000 per month on the combined amount of tuition fee and hostel charges under the scheme of educational concession to such ...
Militants attack Libyan election commission, 14 Killed
Islamic State suicide bombers attacked Libya's election commission in the capital today, killing at least 14 people in the worst such attack in years that aimed to disrupt a nation-wide vote planned for later this year. The two bombers infiltrated the building in central Tripoli and fired on people inside, then detonated their explosives when their ammunition ran out, IS said in a statement circulated by its affiliated Amaq news agency. The Health Ministry earlier said the attack also set fire to the building, which could be seen in online videos showing thick black smoke billowing upward and security forces engaging in a gun battle. IS and other Islamic extremists in Libya oppose democratic elections, which the United Nations and Libya's foreign backers are urging to take place this year despite security problems in the oil-rich North African country. Militants have often targeted elections in other countries, and IS has called for attacks on voting infrastructure in Libya. "(It) is .
1 killed, 4 injured in clashes with security forces in J-K
One person was killed and four others were injured during clashes with security forces who were engaged in an encounter with militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said today. The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Turkwangam village of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, the official said. He said a gunfight broke out between the ultras and the security forces, which was going on when the reports last came in. Meanwhile, a group of youngsters assembled near the encounter site and started pelting stones at the security forces, the official said. He said five people were injured when the security forces opened fire to chase away the stone pelters. One of the injured, 17-year-old Umar Kumhar, later succumbed to injuries, he added. Locals, however, claimed that more than a dozen youngsters were injured in the security forces action.