Page 634 - War Conflict
AFP photographer killed in Kabul blast
Shah Marai, a photographer associated with Agence France Presse (AFP), has been killed in the Monday's twin suicide explosions that rocked Kabul's Shash Darak area.He died in the second blast that was targeting a group of journalists who had rushed to the scene of a suicide attack.Taking to his Twitter account, photojournalist Andrew Quility offered his condolences."Devastating news from Kabul: Eyewitnesses say longtime AFP photographer Shah Marai has been killed and other journalists injured after a bomb was detonated at the scene of an earlier attack they were covering. Thoughts with Marai's family, friends and colleagues."Another Afghan photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar also expressed his grief."Shocked and saddened to hear that Shah Marai is no more with us. He was a great freind and longtime journalist/ photographer with AFP. #RIP"A Pakistan-based journalist, Owais Tohid also offered his condolences on Marai's death.Meanwhile, the death toll increased to 21, while 27 others were ...
7 killed in Kabul twin blasts
At least seven people were killed and 20 others injured in two explosions on Monday in central Kabul which hosts the NATO headquarters and offices of several international non-profits.
2 soldiers injured in encounter with militants in J-K's Pulwama
Two soldiers were injured in an encounter with militants in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir today, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Drabgam area of Pulwama district after receiving information about presence of two to three militants in the area, a police official said. As the security forces were closing in, the militants opened indiscriminate fire on them, the official said. Two soldiers were injured in the firing, an Army official said, adding the cordon has been strengthened and an operation to flush out the militants was going on.
6 killed in suicide blasts in Kabul
At least six people died and many others were injured in the twin suicide explosions that rocked Shash Darak area here on Monday.The first explosion was followed by another in which a journalist died and two police officers were injured, local authorities were reported as saying.According to local media, Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai confirmed the explosions, saying that the first bomber was on a motorbike and the second one was on foot.He further revealed that the second attacker was among reporters who had gathered at the scene to cover the attack.No individual or terrorist group have claimed responsibility for the incident so far.Last week, 52 people were killed and more than 100 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up that hit a crowd waiting at a voter and ID registration centre in Kabul.The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.A series of deadly terrorist attacks have ravaged Afghanistan in the past few months, ...
Explosions kill at least 6, including journalist, in Kabul
Double explosions targeted central Kabul today morning, killing at least six people, including a journalist, and wounding 14, authorities said. Five people were killed by the initial blast and 11 wounded, according to Mohammad Asim, chief of the Kabul ambulance service. The first explosion was soon followed by another. Police officer Jan Agha said the journalist died in the second blast, which also wounded two police officers. Kabul chief of police Dawood Amin says the area of Kabul that was targeted includes foreign offices. Mohammad Mousa Zahir, director of Wazir Akbarkhan Hospital, said several people suffering injuries from the blast were being treated at the hospital. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. The local Islamic State group affiliate and the more firmly established Taliban carry out regular attacks around the country, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces and IS targeting the Shiite minority. Both groups want to ...
4 killed in Kabul twin blasts
At least four persons were killed and five injured after two blasts rocked the diplomatic district here on Monday, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.
Second blast hits same part of Kabul: police
A second explosion today at the site of a suicide attack in central Kabul tore through a group of reporters at the scene, police said without giving further details. The attack carried out by a suicide bomber on foot killed at least four according to an early toll with five injured, according to the Interior ministry.
UP: Three injured in clash over land dispute
Three persons in Goshar village of Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district were injured in firing over a land dispute, police said today. The incident took place yesterday when a clash broke out between two groups following a heated argument between Amit Kumar and Nitin, they said. According to police, lathi and firearms were freely used during the scuffle, in which Nitin, Amit Kumar and Shyam Lal sustained injuries. The injured were admitted to a hospital in serious condition, a police official said. A case has been registered, and police is investigating the matter for further details, he added.
Three killed in Kabul suicide attack: police
A suicide attacker on a motorcycle blew himself up near Afghanistan's spy agency today, killing at least three civilians, officials said, in the latest violence in the heart of the Afghan capital. "We have three martyred and six wounded, all civilians," Kabul police chief Dawood Amin told AFP. Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed the attack, but said four people had been killed and five wounded.
China's foreign minister to visit N Korea this week
China's foreign minister will visit North Korea this week, his office said today, becoming the highest ranking Chinese official to travel there in years as Beijing moves to further improve ties with Pyongyang days after a landmark inter-Korean summit. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a brief statement that Wang Yi will visit North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho. The two met in Beijing in early April, days after talks between President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Chinese capital -- the first meeting between the leaders since Kim inherited power from his father Kim Jong Il in 2011. Wang will be the first Chinese foreign minister to visit the North since 2007, a lapse that highlights the rough patch that relations between the Cold War-era allies has gone through in recent years. Former premier Wen Jiabao visited Pyongyang in 2009. China has backed a series of United Nations sanctions against ...
China's foreign minister to visit North Korea this week
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea this week, his office said today, days after the leaders of the two Koreas held a landmark summit. Wang will be in the neighbouring country at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart on Wednesday and Thursday, the foreign ministry said in a brief statement. He will be the first Chinese foreign minister to visit the North since 2007, a lapse that highlights the rough patch that relations between the Cold War-era allies has gone through in recent years. China has backed a series of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programme. But Beijing is likely eager to avoid being marginalised in the wave of diplomacy that has led to last Friday's historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae. Kim and Moon agreed to pursue the complete denuclearisation of the peninsula. They also agreed to pursue a peace treaty by the end of the year and hold talks with the ...
35 militants killed in joint US-Afghan ops
At least 35 militants have been killed and 40 others wounded during the joint operations conducted by the Afghan and US forces in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province.The US forces carried out airstrikes on Taliban positions during the Walid-5 operations in support of the Afghan armed forces, Khaama Press, reported citing the Afghan Military, as saying.The operations were conducted in Chahar Bolak ditrict of Balkh province and the militants were targeted in Arzankar village.According to the report the village has been fully cleared from the presence of the Taliban militants.A week ago an operation was launched to get rid of the Taliban establishments in the area to maintain the security of vulnerable areas in Chahar Bolak district, according to the reports.No comments have been received by the anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban militants in connection with this report by far.
10 miners killed by gang in northern Nigeria: police
At least 10 gold miners were killed by armed men suspected to belong to a kidnapping and cattle rustling gang in the northern Nigeria state of Kaduna, police said today. The bandits opened fire on a group of gold miners at a small-scale mine in Mahanga village on Saturday, Kaduna police commissioner Austin Iwar told reporters. "Nine miners were killed on the spot and 13 others critically injured," Iwar said, "one of the 13 injured persons died today, which raised the death toll to 10." Locals reported a higher death toll of 14. "We buried 14 people between yesterday and today from the attack," said Abdu Gajere, community leader in Mahanga who attended the burial. Kidnappers and cattle thieves are common in the area and belong to a wider network of criminal gangs that operate in Kaduna and neighbouring Katsina and Zamfara states. Zamfara, where many of the gangs are based, has suffered the bulk of the attacks but other areas have been hit hard too, notably Birnin Gwari in Kaduna. In ...
Sri Lankan President grants amnesty to 432 prisoners
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena granted amnesty to 432 prisoners on Sunday in view of Vesak festival celebrated by the Buddhists in the country, a spokesman here said on Sunday.
Afghanistan: Security forces kill 18 Taliban militants
The security forces gunned down around 18 Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Baghlan province on Sunday.33 others were also wounded in the clashes.According to Tolo News, the clashes started on Saturday after Taliban militants launched an offensive at several security check posts around the province."The clashes continued for several hours in which dozens of Taliban insurgents were killed and injured," Tolo news quoted Provincial police chief, Ikramuddin Sare as saying.Earlier in the day, US air strikes killed 35 Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Balkh province.
Iraq sentences 19 Russian women for joining IS
An Iraq court has sentenced 19 women from Russia to life imprisonment after they were found "joining and supporting" the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.According to Iraq's Al Sumaria broadcaster, the ruling was issued by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq, Sputnik reported.As per media reports, over 60 Russian women, who were held, are awaiting trial in Iraq for their alleged ties to the dreaded militant group.On April 17, three women, including two Russian citizens and one French national, were sentenced to life imprisonment for their alleged ties with the IS.According to experts, there are nearly 20,000 people, who are behind bars for their alleged involvement with the terror group. However, the Iraq government has not released official figures yet.Thousands of foreigners have fought on behalf of the IS in Iraq and Syria since 2014. Many foreign women came or were brought from overseas to join the militants.In December, Iraq declared victory over the IS, which had seized control
Dantewada: CoBRA jawan injured in IED blast
A Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) jawan sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Sunday.The jawan was admitted to a hospital for treatment.Similar attacks were carried out by Naxals on March 25 in Sukma's Sirsatti when four district reserve guard jawans were injured.On March 13, nine CRPF jawans of the 212 Battalion were killed and two severely injured in another IED blast.
Deciding easy if Kim made strategic decision to give up his nuclear program: Bolton
Deciding on a place and date for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong un should be fairly easy if the latter has taken a strategic decision to give up his entire nuclear weapons program, a top presidential advisor said Sunday. In his first television interview in this capacity, which US National Security Advisor, John Bolton, assumed less than a month ago, he said the president sees the is a potential here for a historic agreement: a breakthrough that nobody could have imagined even a few months ago. "We need to agree on a place and that remains an issue, but if, in fact, Kim has made a strategic decision to give up his entire nuclear weapons program, then I think deciding on the place and the date should be fairly easy," Bolton was quoted as saying by Fox News. "That potential is there. But as he says repeatedly, the potential for no deal at all is also there. And we're not going to know until we actually have the meeting and see what Kim ...
Iraq signs contract with PowerChina, Norinco to build Fao oil refinery
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq has signed a contract with two Chinese companies, PowerChina and Norinco International, to build an oil refinery at the port of Fao on the Gulf, an Iraqi oil official said on Sunday.
Political activist shot at by militants in J&K
Two suspected militants shot at and injured a political activist here this evening, just days after the killing of a local leader in Pulwama, police said. The motorcycle-borne assailants shot at Zubair Parray outside his shop in Aloochi Bagh area of the city, an official said. Sources said Parray was a political activist reportedly affiliated with the BJP. The official said Parray sustained bullet injuries to his stomach and was undergoing treatment at a hospital here. Earlier on April 25, a political activist, Ghulam Nabi Patail, was killed and two policemen injured in a militant attack in Rajpora Chowk area in south Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, officials said.