Page 71 - War Conflict
Sri Lanka army denies colluding with ant-Muslim rioters
Sri Lanka's army Thursday denied allegations that its troops colluded with anti-Muslim mobs and failed to contain widespread riots that killed one man in a backlash against the Easter terror attacks. Army chief Mahesh Senanayake said CCTV footage of troops allegedly signalling a mob to attack a home in the latest wave of rioting did not show his soldiers committing any wrongdoing. "We looked at footage from three cameras and found that there was no conniving of troops with the rioters," Senanayake told reporters in Colombo. "If there was any, I would not hesitate to take action." He said the mobs included a lot of young men who were drunk. However, he did not say where the controversial CCTV footage came from. He added that soldiers had initially been outnumbered against hundreds of men armed with sticks and petrol bombs who attacked Muslim-owned businesses, homes and mosques. The military has stepped up its presence in the worst affected North-Western Province to prevent a repeat of .
Sri Lankan army probes possible additional extremist groups
Sri Lanka's army chief said Thursday that other groups of Islamic extremists could be operating in the country independent of the one that carried out Easter Sunday bomb attacks. "There could be other groups, definitely," Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said. "To what extent are they offensive, what is the equipment they carry, what is the time frame, who are their handlers, these are all matters under discussion," he told reporters. More than 250 people were killed in coordinated suicide bomb attacks at three churches and three tourist hotels on Easter Sunday that were claimed by the Islamic State group and carried out by a local radicalized Muslim group. Seven suicide bombers blew themselves up at their targets and another killed himself and two guests at a motel after his device failed to explode at a fourth tourist hotel. A ninth suicide bomber killed herself and her children as police surrounded her home. Senanayake said the military is developing a two-year plan to eliminate the new .
AAP leaders meet Delhi police commissioner over businessman's killing in Moti Nagar
Senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Sushil Gupta on Thursday met Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik in connection with the killing of a businessman, who was stabbed in West Delhi's Moti Nagar after he objected to his neighbours' alleged lewd comments on his daughter. Singh and Gupta were accompanied by Madipur legislator Girish Soni, in whose Assembly segment the incident took place. Soni said they urged the police commissioner to ensure that a religious conflict does not occur in the area. The AAP had on Tuesday alleged that some "political forces" are trying to give "religious colour" to the killing. The 51-year-old businessman was stabbed multiple times by the accused on Sunday. He succumbed to injuries the next day. The victim's 19-year-old son, who tried to rescue his father, was also stabbed and is battling for his life. "It was an unfortunate incident and religion must not be brought into it. We have requested the CP to deploy more police in the area and increase the ...
Nine militants killed in counter-terrorism operation in Pakistan
Nine militants were killed, while four Pakistani security forces were injured on Thursday in a counter-terrorism operation in Pakistan's Balochistan province, police said. Acting on a tip-off about a safe house of militants in Kabo Ko Mehran area of Balochistan's Mastung district, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel raided the area. "During the raid, there was a heavy exchange of firing between both sides in which nine suspected militants were killed, while four police commandoes were injured," a senior police official said. A huge cache of ammunition, explosives and weapons were also recovered from the hideout, he said. The raid was part of a clean-up operation launched in the trouble-hit areas of Baluchistan after a spate of terror attacks in the province this month. Earlier this month, militants killed 14 security personnel in Omara. Similarly, five people, including a Navy personal, were killed when armed militants stormed a five-star hotel in Gwadar town last week. ...
Jeweller from Punjab looted at gunpoint in Bihar's Samastipur
Gold ornaments worth Rs 35 lakh and Rs 90,000 in cash were looted at gunpoint from a Punjab-based jeweller in Bihar's Samastipur district on Thursday, officials said. The incident happened this afternoon on National Highway 28 near Aklu Chowk in Fatehpur Village under the jurisdiction of Musrigharari police station, Sadar Deputy Superintendent of Police, Pritish Kumar, said. Amarjeet Singh, of Punjab's Amritsar, was on his way to Dalsinghsarai from Tazpur when four armed men in two bikes overtook his motorcycle and stopped him, police said. They then snatched a bag containing 1.75 kg of jewellery, estimated to be worth about Rs 35 lakh, and Rs 90,000 in cash from his brother, Jagtar Singh, who was riding with him, they said. The armed men fired three rounds in the air before fleeing the spot. Police said a hunt is on to nab the accused. Following the incident, angry locals blocked the national highway for about 30 minutes, leading to disruption in traffic.
Six terrorists eliminated in 2 encounters in J&K; soldier, civilian also killed
Six militants were killed Thursday in encounters in with security forces in Shopian and Pulwama districts of Jammu and Kashmir while a civilian and a soldier also lost their lives, police said. While three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, a civilian and a soldier were killed in the encounter in Pulwama, three militants were eliminated during a gun battle with security forces in Shopian district, a police spokesman said. "On a credible input, a cordon and search operation was launched this morning by police and security forces at Delipora area in district Pulwama," the spokesman said. He said as the security forces were evacuating the target house, the hiding militants started firing indiscriminately. "One army jawan Sepoy Sandeep attained martyrdom and one civilian Rayees Dar also lost his life," the spokesman said. In the retaliatory action, three terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved, he said. "They were identified as Naseer Pandith of Kareemabad Pulwama, Umar ..
J-K encounter: 3 terrorists killed in Shopian
Three terrorists were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir police said."On a credible input, a cordon and search operation was launched today by police and security forces at Handew area in District Shopian," state police said in a statement."During the search operation, the terrorists who were in hiding, fired on the search party. In the initial exchange of fire one Army jawan identified as Sepoy Rohit also sustained injuries. He has been hospitalised and is undergoing treatment. The firing was retaliated leading to an encounter," police added.In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists were killed and their bodies have been retrieved from the site of encounter.The security forces have also recovered incriminating material including arms and ammunition from the site of encounter.The Jammu and Kashmir police has requested citizens "not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray ...
Close aide of Easter bombers arrested: SL police
A close associate of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers has been arrested in Sri Lanka with several passports, police said.
Turkey ends ban on lawyer visits to Kurd rebel chief Ocalan
Turkey has lifted a ban on lawyer visits to imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, the justice minister said on Thursday. "The ruling that prevents meetings has been lifted and the opportunity to meet with him has been allowed," Abdulhamit Gul told reporters in Ankara. Ocalan, imprisoned on Imrali island near Istanbul, met his lawyers for the first time in eight years on May 2. Gul said those convicted had the right to see their lawyers but this could be limited when there were concerns over security risks. After the meeting earlier this month, his lawyers read out a message from Ocalan in which he said "Turkey's sensitivities" should be taken into account in Syria where a US-backed Kurdish YPG militia has spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State extremist group. Ocalan remains a key figure for Kurdish separatists in Turkey and also Syria. Turkey says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) co-founded by Ocalan and which has ...
Indonesia hunts scores of inmates after jailbreak
At least 100 prisoners are on the run from an Indonesian jail, authorities said Thursday, after the Southeast Asian nation's second mass prison escape in less than a week. Prisoners fled the from the jail for narcotics convicts in North Sumatra province Thursday after starting a fire in response to complaints about the treatment of a fellow prisoner, authorities said. "They were angry and burned prison officers' motorbikes," said Solden, a local resident who like many Indonesians goes by one name. Hundreds of inmates intially escaped from the detention centre, but most were soon recaptured. At least 100 others are still at large. "They should surrender and serve the remainder of their sentences," North Sumatra police chief Agus Andrianto said. "Running away won't solve the problem -- it will only create more problems," he added. Thursday's jailbreak comes after more than 100 inmates escaped Saturday from another jail in Sumatra following a riot that broke out after guards beat several
South Sudan sacks 40 overseas diplomats for going
South Sudan said Thursday it had sacked 40 overseas diplomats for not showing up for work, some of them for years. The foreign ministry in Juba said it had tried in vain "to engage with these diplomats who went Absent Without Appointed Leave (AWOL) over the past few months and years", including some posted to embassies in the United States and United Kingdom. None had replied or returned home after finishing their postings -- prompting their mass firing in a terse memo issued by the foreign ministry. "Unfortunately the ministry was left with no choice but to let these diplomats go, following fruitless attempts to convince these diplomats to return to work in Juba," the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Foreign ministry spokesman Mawien Makol told AFP Thursday that the whereabouts of the absconding emissaries -- whose full names were printed in a table entitled "Dismissed/Terminated Diplomat" -- remained unclear. Those listed have been removed from the payroll and formally ...
India delivers a pair of Mi-24 choppers to Kabul
India on Thursday delivered the first pair of Mi-24 attack helicopters as replacement to the Afghan Air Force to help bolster the war-torn country's capability in counter insurgency and fight against terrorism.
One militant gunned down in encounter with security forces in Shopian
One militant has been neutralized in an encounter which broke out between terrorists and security forces in Handew village of Shopian on Thursday.The gun battle is underway between the two sides, in the third such incident to be reported in the state today.Earlier in the day, a cordon and search operation was launched by security forces in Dalipora area of Pulwama district, in which three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists and an Indian Army jawan were killed.
6 militants, soldier among 8 killed in three Valley gunfights (Intro Roundup)
Six militants, including a top Jaish-e-Mohammad commander, as well as a soldier and a civilian were killed and four others injured in three gunfights between security forces and militants across the Kashmir Valley on Thursday.
47 suspected militants, 5 troops killed in Egypt's Sinai: Army
Egypt's army on Thursday said 47 militants and five of its troops were killed as part of its military offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where it is fighting the Islamic State group. The suspected militants had "guns of different makes, ammunition, explosive devices in northern and central Sinai" in their possession, according to a slickly produced video statement posted on the armed forces' social media accounts. As part of the wide-ranging operation to secure Egypt's borders, 158 "criminal elements" were arrested. The armed forces also neutralised 385 explosive devices that insurgents planted targeting security forces. The army did not specify when the deaths and arrests took place, saying only that they happened as part of "recent efforts" against jihadists. The Sinai Peninsula, in the north-east of the country, is the epicentre of a hardened Islamist insurgency spearheaded by IS. In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide operation against militants, focusing mainly ..
Yemen airstrikes: 6 killed, 2 Russian women among injured
As many as six people lost their lives while several others, including two Russian women, were wounded in airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in a residential area here on Thursday.The coalition warplanes which hit the residential area at the intersection of Rabat and Rakas streets in Sanaa were being controlled by the Houthis, Sputnik reported.The air strikes came after the Houthis, backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil installations on Tuesday.The Saudi-led coalition issued a statement informing Yemen about the start of an operation against the Houthi militia targets in Sanaa. The coalition has also urged civilians to avoid places where Houthis' facilities are located.On May 14, the Houthis claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, calling it the "largest military operation" conducted by militants since the start of the armed conflict in Yemen in 2015.The attack caused a fire and minor damage to one of the pumps ..
India supplies two helicopter gunships to Afghanistan
As part of its assistance to Afghanistan, India on Thursday handed over two Mi-24 attack helicopters to Kabul to battle terrorism.
Global cybercrime gang that stole USD 100 mln busted: Europol
US and European police said Thursday they have smashed a huge international cybercrime network that used Russian malware to steal 100 million dollars from tens of thousands of victims worldwide. Prosecutions have been launched in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the United States over the scam, while five Russians charged in the US remain on the run, the EU police agency Europol said.
Deven Bharati takes charges as Maharashtra ATS chief
Additional Director General of Police Deven Bharati on Thursday took charge as the chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).Maharashtra government had on Wednesday appointed the senior IPS officer as chief of ATS.Bharati, a 1994-batch Indian Police Service officer, was promoted to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) from Mumbai Police's Joint Commissioner Police.In April 2015, Bharti became the city's joint commissioner of police (law and order)and was the longest serving officer on the post.Bharti had investigated several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and journalist J Dey's killing. He is also credited for breaking the backbone of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen in the state.
4 militants, soldier among 6 killed in three Valley gunfights (Roundup)
Four militants, including a top Jaish-e-Mohammad commander, as well as a soldier and a civilian were killed and four others injured in three gunfights between security forces and militants across the Kashmir Valley on Thursday.