Page 644 - War Conflict
Security personnel killed in encounter in Pulwama
A security force personnel was today killed while another was injured in an encounter with militants in a forest area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched an anti-militancy operation in Laam forest of Tral area in Pulwama district following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. He said a gunbattle broke out between militants and security forces when the ultras opened fire. Two security force personnel -- an Army soldier and a policeman -- were injured in the encounter while the operation is still in progress, the official said. He said the injured soldier later succumbed to injuries.
Two security personnel killed in Pulwama encounter
Two security force personnel and a militant were today killed in an encounter in a forest area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched an anti-militancy operation in Laam forest of Tral area in Pulwama district following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. He said a gunbattle broke out between militants and security forces when the ultras opened fire. In the fierce exchange of fire, an Army soldier and a policeman sustained injuries. They were evacuated to hospitals here but succumbed to injuries, the official said. The slain security force personnel have been identified as Sepoy Ajay and Constable Lateed Gujri. A militant was also killed in the gunbattle, the official said adding search operation was still going on in the forest area.
Soldier injured in J&K forest shootout, succumbs
An Indian Army soldier injured earlier on Tuesday in a shootout between militants and security personnel in Jammu and Kashmirs' Tral forest area, has succumbed, police said.
Soldier injured in J&K forest shootout
An Indian Army soldier was injured on Tuesday in a shootout between hiding militants and the security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs' Tral forest area.
Afghan official: Taliban attack in east kills 4 policemen
An Afghan official says a Taliban attack today killed four local policemen and wounded seven in eastern Ghazni province. Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor, says the attack took place today when the insurgents targeted a security post belonging to the local polce force in the district of Jaghatu. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Noori said the gunbattle lasted several hours and that the Taliban used artillery and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. It has been a particularly deadly week in Afghanistan. A suicide bombing by the Islamic State group targeted a voter registration center in Kabul on Sunday, killing 57, and on Monday, Taliban attacks in western Afghanistan killed 18 soldiers and policemen, underscoring the struggles the government faces to rein in militant assaults.
Army launches hunt for dreaded NDFB(S) leaders
The Army has launched a massive hunt engaging helicopters and deploying over 1000 security personnel to catch two senior NDFB(S) militant leaders in Chirang district and the Manas Reserve Forest, defence sources said. Based on specific input about the presence of dreaded NDFB(S) militants G Bidai and Batha, who have several police cases against them, Army units from Kokrajhar and Chirang districts in association with SSB jointly launched the massive operation in Chirang district and the Manas Reserve Forest along the Indo-Bhutan border since Sunday, the sources said last evening. Stating that the Army also engaged tracker dogs to trace out the insurgents, the sources said more than 1000 security personnel had been deployed in the area for carrying out extensive search operations and cordoned off the area.
Security personnel injured in encounter
A security force personnel was today injured in an encounter with militants in a forest area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched an anti-militancy operation in Laam forest of Tral area in Pulwama district following information about presence of militants there, a police official said. He said a gun battle broke out between militants and the security forces when the ultras opened fire. A security force personnel has been injured while the operation is still in progress, the official said.
Kabul: 16 security personnel killed in separate Taliban attack
16 security officers were killed in two separate incidents of terror attacks in Afghanistan's western Badghis province.Taliban insurgents attacked a check post in Qala-i-Naw city earlier on Monday which led to the death of nine soldiers, as reported by the Tolo news.In another incident, seven policemen were killed in another Taliban attack on a police check post in Qads district.None of the local officials have commented upon the attacks.
11 more dead Maoists found in Maharashtra river; toll reaches 33
The security forces have recovered at least 11 more bodies of suspected Maoists from the Indravati River here early on Tuesday, official sources said.
Australia and France remember key WWI battle, a century on
The prime ministers of Australia and France will today inaugurate a high-tech museum casting light on the role of Australian troops in World War I, as they mark a century since a key battle in the conflict. The Sir John Monash Centre, in the Somme region of northern France which became synonymous with slaughter during the 1914-18 war, uses lifesize videos of soldiers and a 360-degree cinema to bring the role of Australian troops to life. "It's designed for visitors to leave with a better understanding of the role of Australians on the Western Front, right here where they fought," said its director Caroline Bartlett. Australian premier Malcolm Turnbull and France's Edouard Philippe will officially open the museum at the Australian National Memorial, 100 years to the day since the Battle of nearby Villers-Bretonneux. On Wednesday -- Anzac Day, Australia's national day of remembrance -- Britain's Prince Charles will join the two leaders and nearly 8,000 other people at a solemn dawn ...
21 dead in NE Nigeria Boko Haram attacks
Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 21 people in separate attacks in a remote northeastern region of Nigeria, security officials and a witness have told AFP. The jihadists shot dead 18 forest workers who had been collecting firewood in Borno state, close to the town of Gamboru, on the border with Cameroon on Sunday, according to a member of a local anti-militant militia in the area. "The bodies were scattered over several hundred metres, and they were mostly shot in the head or the back," another militiaman told AFP yesterday. Also on Sunday, a vehicle carrying civilians travelling in a nearby army convoy hit a mine planted by the insurgents, killing three people near the village of Wumbi, a militia member said. "Three people including the driver were killed and 11 passengers were wounded," he said. A local resident confirmed the toll, adding that the victims were buried on Sunday. The Boko Haram insurgency which broke out in 2009, has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced ...
21 dead in NE Nigeria Boko Haram attacks
Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 21 people in separate attacks in a remote northeastern region of Nigeria, security officials and a witness have told AFP. The jihadists shot dead 18 forest workers who had been collecting firewood in Borno state, close to the town of Gamboru, on the border with Cameroon on Sunday, according to a member of a local anti-militant militia in the area. "The bodies were scattered over several hundred metres, and they were mostly shot in the head or the back," another militiaman told AFP yesterday. Also on Sunday, a vehicle carrying civilians travelling in a nearby army convoy hit a mine planted by the insurgents, killing three people near the village of Wumbi, a militia member said. "Three people including the driver were killed and 11 passengers were wounded," he said. A local resident confirmed the toll, adding that the victims were buried on Sunday. The Boko Haram insurgency which broke out in 2009, has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced ...
Nepalese peacekeepers accused of child rape in South Sudan
UN peacekeepers from Nepal are facing allegations of child rape in South Sudan, the UN spokesman said today, describing the case as "especially heinous". The United Nations has asked Nepal to send investigators to work with its own office of internal oversight on the case and is awaiting a response by Wednesday. "Any act of sexual abuse is horrendous," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "One involving a child is especially heinous." The allegations were received this month and involve Nepalese troops serving in the UN mission in South Sudan. No details were released on the number of troops involved or the victims. The United Nations has deployed 14,800 troops and police in South Sudan, with a mandate to protect civilians caught up in a brutal war between President Salva Kiir's forces and rebels. In February, 46 UN peacekeepers from Ghana were recalled from their base in northwestern South Sudan after the mission received allegations of sexual exploitation of women. UN ...
Six Maoists killed in fresh Maharashtra gun-battle
At least six Maoists were gunned down in a fresh gunfight in Gadchiroli district, barely 24 hours after Sunday's encounter which left 16 rebels dead, official sources said.
Yemen rebels accuse Saudi-led coalition of killing political head
Yemen's Huthi rebels today accused the Saudi-led coalition of killing their political leader, Saleh al-Sammad, in an air strike last week. Sammad, head of the Huthis' supreme political council, was "martyred" in the eastern province of Hodeida on Thursday, the Iran-allied rebels said in a statement published via their Saba news agency. His death comes as a major blow to the Shiite rebels who since March 2015 have been fighting pro-government forces backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. "This crime won't go unanswered," warned the Huthis' overall leader, Abdul Malek al-Huthi. The news came hours after officials in Yemen said dozens of people were killed and wounded in an air raid on a wedding party in the country on Sunday, in another attack the Huthis blamed on the coalition. Medical sources and local officials put the number of dead between 22 and 33, with at least 40 to 50 wounded, while the exact circumstances of the raid remained unclear. Doctors Without Borders ...
At least 4 Naxals killed in encounter in Gadchiroli
A day after eliminating 16 Naxals in Karnasur jungle, the police in Gadchiroli district of eastern Maharashtra killed at least four rebels in a fresh encounter this evening, a top official said. The gun-battle took place in Rajaram Khandla jungle in Jimalgatta area of the district, said Inspector General of Police (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sharad Shelar. The elite C-60 commandos of district police were involved in the operation, said another senior police official. Shelar told PTI that the exact number of slain Naxals was being confirmed, but at least four rebels have been eliminated. Shelar also said that police expected to retrieve bodies of many more Naxals from the site of yesterday's encounter, as the combing operation had been made difficult by the heavy rains in the area. As of now, police have found 16 bodies, and identified 11 of them. The encounter took place between the Naxals and a team of police commandos and the CRPF in Kasansur forest in Bhamragad yesterday ...
AFSPA removed from Assam, Meghalaya and parts of Arunachal
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been removed from Assam, Meghalaya and parts of Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre said on Monday.The decision to remove AFSPA has been taken due to significant improvement of security situation in the two states.Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju said, "The revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act by Home Ministry from Assam, Meghalaya and most areas of Arunachal Pradesh is due to significant improvement of security scenario in North-East India in last 4 years."In Arunachal Pradesh, the AFSPA will remain enforced under eight police station limits -- from 16 areas earlier- near the border with Assam, and in three districts -- Tirap, Changlang and Longding - near the border with Myanmar.The AFSPA has been in force in Nagaland, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir for several decades, and since the early 1990s in Assam.The AFSPA grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in 'disturbed areas.According to The Disturbed ...
President presents gallantry awards to valiant soldiers
President Ram Nath Kovind today presented the Kirti Chakra posthumously to CRPF Commandant Pramod Kumar and Army havildar Giris Gurung, who laid down their lives in the line of duty. Kumar, from the 49 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force, succumbed to the injuries he received while fighting militants in Srinagar in August 2016. Gurung, from the 4th Battalion of the Gorkha Rifles, also succumbed to his injuries while fighting terrorists in Kupwada district of Jammu and Kashmir. During the defence investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president also presented the Shaurya Chakra posthumously to Major Kunal Gosavi of the Regiment of Artillery, and Lance Naik Raghubeer Singh of the Mahar Regiment, who made the supreme sacrifice in separate operations in November 2016 and February 2017, respectively. Kovind presented the Kirti Chakra to Major Preetam Singh Kunwar of the Garhwal Rifles also. Shaurya Chakra were presented to Lance Naik Kashmir Singh, Subedar Shabir ...
UAE donates $70 million to support Palestinians
Abu Dhabi, April 23 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has donated AED 258 million ($70 million) to support the Palestinian people on the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
BSF hands over two Pakistani nationals to Pak Rangers
The Border Security Force (BSF) today handed over two Pakistani nationals, who had inadvertently crossed over into the Indian territory on Saturday, to Pakistan Rangers, an official said. The BSF official said that on Saturday, at about 1:45 pm, troops deputed at Border Out Post ( BOP), Rana, belonging to 2nd battalion in Abohar Sector apprehended two Pakistani nationals identified as Mohammad Waqas (23), resident of Village Kanganpur in Kasur district and Faizan (19 ), resident of Village Nishtar of Lahore district, who had accidentally crossed international boundary. Pakistan Rangers were contacted today and the two were handed over, an official said.