Page 700 - War Conflict
US rules out hot pursuit of militants who flee to Pakistan
The US forces in Afghanistan have no plans to cross the international border to take out the Taliban and other militants who flee to Pakistan after conducting attacks inside the war-torn country, according to a top Pentagon official. Afghanistan has witnessed some of the worst terrorist attacks killing scores of people. It has blamed Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban for these attacks. "To be clear, US military authorities are within the borders of Afghanistan only. We have no authority to go into Pakistan. If there is a way to get that authority, but that would certainly be the exception and not the norm and would not be," Lt Col Mike Andrews, a spokesperson of the Department of Defence, said yesterday after his return from Afghanistan where he accompanied US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. "Say, for example, we have troops in contact and then the Taliban militants go across the border. They are clearly inside Pakistan then. There's no ...
Kabul blast: Death toll rises to 29
The death toll in the suicide bombing, which occurred in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul on Wednesday, has risen to 29.According to Tolo News, the Ministry of Public Health has confirmed the death toll and said 52 others were wounded in the blast.The Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) had earlier confirmed that a suicide bomber detonated his explosives close to the Ali Abad Hospital and Kabul University in PD3.The injured were rushed to a hospital for medical assistance.Istiqlal Hospital's chief, Saber Naseeb said five victims were in critical condition.Terrorist organisation Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide bombing.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, according to a statement issued by the Presidential Palace.
Death toll from market attack in Syrian capital rises to 44
The death toll from an insurgent mortar assault on a Damascus market has risen to 44, state media said today, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the capital since the start of Syria's seven-year civil war. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll from yesterday's attack at 43, including 11 pro-government fighters. Videos of the aftermath posted online showed scenes of chaos, with people screaming and bodies and mannequins strewn across the ground. The government blamed the attack on rebels in the eastern Ghouta suburbs, where Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes have been waging a major offensive over the past month that has killed hundreds of people. Hospital director Mohammed Haitham al-Husseini told Al-Ikhbariya TV that 35 others were wounded in the mortar attack, with six in intensive care. He said most of the casualties were women and children. Witnesses told state-run TV that the mortar fell during rush hour in the popular market on ...
Austin serial bomber kills himself with explosive device: police
A 24-year-old suspected "serial bomber" who terrorised the US state of Texas, especially its capital Austin, for nearly three weeks with parcel bombs is dead after he blew himself up in his car as authorities closed in, police said today. Austin has been on edge amid the attacks, which have led to the deployment of hundreds of police officers to the city. Since the bombings started on March 2, investigators frantically searched for clues, calling the attacks the work of a "serial bomber" who increasingly changed tactics. Two people were killed and six others injured in five bombings, terrorising the Texan capital with fear for 19 days. The suspect, identified only as a 24-year-old white man, was killed after detonating a device when officers approached his car off a highway in the city of Round Rock, north of the state capital. The incident follows four bomb attacks in Austin, the state capital, and one in Schertz, 104km south. After using the Google search engine to gather ...
Militant, four security personnel killed in J&K gunfight
A militant and four security personnel were killed on Wednesday in an ongoing gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, police said. Four militants were killed on Tuesday.
Scotland Yard's Indian-origin chief launches new anti-terror campaign
Scotland Yard's newly appointed Indian-origin counter-terrorism chief, Neil Basu, has launched a new campaign to urge the public to help in the fight against terrorism. The Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations revealed that last year more than a fifth of reports from the public produced intelligence which is helpful to police. "Since the beginning of 2017, we have foiled 10 Islamist and four right-wing terror plots, and there is no doubt in my mind that would have been impossible to do without relevant information from the public," Basu said at the launch of Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign in London yesterday. "We have been saying for some time now that communities defeat terrorism, and these figures demonstrate just how important members of the public are in the fight to keep our country safe," he noted. According to the police data, of the nearly 31,000 public reports to the Met Police's Counter Terrorism (CT) Policing unit during 2017, more ..
American mother in Syria's Ghouta urges Trump to 'do something'
In the US, her children could have "played under the sun". But trapped in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, Michigan native Deana Lynn and her eight children are living out a nightmare underground. At 44, US-born Lynn has spent nearly half of her life in Douma, a sprawling town at the heart of the now-infamous Ghouta suburbs, east of the Syrian capital. Air raids and rocket and artillery fire have pounded Ghouta for more than a month as Syrian troops, their Russian ally and loyalist militia battle to capture the last rebel bastion on the doorstep of Damascus. Douma, where Lynn lives with her Syrian husband, children, and grandchildren, has been hit hard. "Now, we're living under bombardment daily, every day. My children are in a state of hysteria," she tells AFP in her living room, where thick green curtains block out sunlight and the boom of bombardment can be heard. "The children are screaming. The parents are screaming. When the bomb comes close, it's just terrible," says Lynn, in a ...
J-K: Two policemen killed in ongoing encounter in Kupwara
Two Jammu and Kashmir policemen were killed in an ongoing encounter in Kupwara's Halmatpora on Wednesday.Search operation is still underway, while four terrorists have been killed during an encounter last night."These militants sneaked into the Valley recently and were waiting for an opportunity to cross into Lolab or Vilgam areas of Kupwara district," according to media reports.The encounter site is around 8 km from Kupwara town and Halmathpora is the last village before the LoC, which is 20-25 km away from the spot.More details are awaited.
Austin bombing suspect dies after detonating explosive
A suspect in a wave of bombing attacks in Texas capital city of Austin killed himself inside his car with an explosive device on Wednesday as authorities closed in on him, police said.
Two policemen killed in JK gunfight
Two policemen were killed on Wednesday in the ongoing gunfight between security forces and the militants in forested area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district in which four militants have been killed, police said.
163 Army personnel died in Siachen in last 10 yrs:Govt
The Army lost 163 personnel deployed at the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield, during the last 10 years, according to details provided by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Six officers were among the army personnel who lost their lives while guarding the glacier which is at an altitude of above 20,000 ft. Sitharaman gave year-wise details on the deaths in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winter and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius India and Pakistan started deploying troops at the strategically key glacier in 1984. Sitharaman said nine army men lost their lives in 2008 followed by 13 in 2009, 50 in 2010 and 24 in 2011. Twelve army men had died in 2012, 11 in 2013 and eight in 2014. The number of deaths in ...
2 policemen killed in fresh firing between security forces, militants in J&K's Kupwara
Two policemen lost their lives and another was injured in a fresh exchange of fire between militants and security forces in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir where four militants were killed in an encounter yesterday. Two policemen lost their lives and another was injured in the gunfight. The wounded personnel is undergoing treatment at a hospital. His condition is stated to be stable, a police spokesperson said. An encounter broke out in the Arampora area of the district yesterday after security forces launched an operation in the wake of militants opening fire at an Army patrol party. The spokesperson said the anti-militancy operation, which continued overnight, was going on when reports last came in. Four unidentified militants were killed in the operation yesterday.
Bhima-Koregaon violence: Prime accused sent to 14-days judicial custody
Bhima-Koregaon violence prime accused Milind Ekbote was sent to a 14-day judicial custody by a sessions court in Pune on Wednesday.Hindutva leader Ekbote was arrested by the Maharashtra Police on March 14, after the Supreme Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea.Ekbote is facing charges of inciting violence, attempt to murder and atrocities against Dalits in the Koregaon Bhima violence that erupted in Pune on January 1 and left one dead and several others injured including 10 policemen.Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of the 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Year's Day.Dalit leaders and workers at the village had alleged that Hindutva activists Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide instigated the violence.Two FIRs were registered against Ekbote for his alleged role in the violence at a time when Dalits in huge numbers had gathered at Perne village on the Pune-Ahmednagar Road to mark .
Cadre, overground worker of NSCN(K) arrested in Arunachal
The Assam Rifles on Tuesday apprehended a cadre and a overground worker of NSCN(K) in two separate operations, defence sources said. Based on intelligence inputs, the Khonsa battalion of the Assam Rifles launched an operation in Chop village of Tirap district and apprehended Private Khajam Pansa, a self-styled member of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), Kohima-based Defence Spokesman Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer said. During interrogation, Pansa admitted he had links with the banned outfit, Konwer said, adding that a pistol and ammunition were seized from him. In another operation in Tirap Colliery of the district, the Lekhapani battalion of the force nabbed Nisto Sema, an overground worker of the outfit, and recovered Rs 5 lakh from him, the defence spokesman said. Sema, a resident of Lalpahar village, was also apprehended in 2005 for aiding the NSCN (K), the spokesman added.
Suspect in Austin bombings has blown himself up: police
A man being sought over the Austin parcel bombings blew himself up today inside his car as police moved in to arrest him, police said. "The suspect is deceased," Austin police chief Brian Manley told a news conference. Manley said the suspect is believed to be responsible for all five bomb explosions that have killed two and wounded several more and put people on edge in the Texas capital since March 2. Police traced the man's car to a hotel outside Austin. As authorities waited for tactical teams to arrive, the man started to drive away. And as police moved to stop and arrest him the man detonated a bomb inside his car and was killed, Manley said. The suspect's motive is not known, he added. Manley said the suspect was a 24-year-old white man.
Periyar statue vandalised: CRPF personnel placed under suspension
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, who was arrested for vandalising Periyar's statue in Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai, was placed under suspension on Wednesday."He is under treatment for Schizophrenia and was on a 30-day leave when the incident happened," the CRPF said.Yesterday, the head of the statue of Dravidian movement icon was found severed in the village, which led to tension in the area.Following this incident, a petrol bomb was hurled on the car of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district secretary in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Kidnapped Nigeria schoolgirls released
A group of schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria by terror group Boko Haram were released and returned to their hometown of Dapchi, the Nigerian government announced on Wednesday.
Abducted Nigeria schoolgirls 'brought back' by Boko Haram: parents
Boko Haram Islamists who kidnapped more than 100 schoolgirls in Dapchi, northeast Nigeria, just over a month ago have returned the students to the town, two parents said today. A senior government source in Abuja and police in Yobe state also confirmed the girls' return although it was not immediately clear how many of the 110 students had been freed. The Dapchi kidnapping on February 19 brought back painful memories of a similar abduction in Chibok in April 2014, when more than 200 girls were taken. Bashir Manzo, who heads a parents' support group in Dapchi, said: "The girls have been brought back. They were brought in nine vehicles and dropped outside the school at about 8:00 am. "I have the list of the missing girls with me, so I am now heading to the school to take a roll call of the returned girls to determine if any of them is still missing. "These girls were not accompanied by any security personnel. Their abductors brought them, dropped them outside the school and left, ...
Jawan arrested for damaging Periyar statue undergoing psychiatric treatment: CRPF
The CRPF today said its jawan arrested for allegedly vandalising a statue of rationalist leader Periyar in Tamil Nadu was undergoing psychiatric treatment since February, and has been suspended after the incident came to light. The paramilitary, in a statement issued here, said Head Constable S Senthil Kumar was under treatment at a force hospital in Hyderabad since February 12 for "schizophrenia." "He was on 30 days leave at his native place in Tamil Nadu from March 14," the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said. "The individual has been placed under suspension, pending enquiry in the case," it said. After the opposition DMK raised the vandalisation issue in the state assembly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said today the jawan was posted in Chhatisgarh and had come to his native Viduthi village on leave. He was held after examination of the CCTV footage from the area, the CM said. The statue of EV Ramasamy, also known as 'Periyar', in Viduthi village in that district ...
Suicide bomber kills 26 in Kabul attack: interior ministry
A suicide bomber today killed at least 26 people, many of them teenagers, in front of Kabul University, officials said, as Afghans took to the streets to celebrate the Persian new year holiday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the deadly attack -- the fifth suicide bombing in the Afghan capital in recent weeks -- but the Taliban denied involvement on Twitter. Another 18 people were wounded in the blast, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said, "all of them civilians". A suicide attacker on foot detonated himself in front of a hospital, Rahimi said. The hospital is opposite Kabul University. The bomber was less than 200 metres from Karte Sakhi shrine where many Afghans gather every year to mark Nawrooz, which is the traditional Persian new year holiday. The same shrine was attacked in October 2016 when Islamic State gunmen killed 18 people gathered to mark Ashura, an important date for many Muslims, especially Shiites. A man who was standing metres from where ..