Page 741 - War Conflict
Three held for robbing trader at gun-point in Ghaziabad
Police arrested three people for robbing a trader last year at gun-point and recovered part of the loot, officials said here today. Narendra Kumar and his wife Malti were held hostage at their residence in Nehru Nagar colony of the city on the night of December 18, and robbed of Rs 7 lakh cash, ornaments worth Rs 20 lakh, a licensed pistol, an SUV and mobile phones, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) H N Singh said. The trader's driver, Ashok, a resident of Gautama Budh Nagar, and his accomplices, Dharampal and Mahavir, residents of Surana village of Muradnagar town in the district, were arrested in connection with the case, he said, adding that ornaments worth over Rs 5 lakh and the firearm were recovered from them. A search was underway to nab three others involved in the robbery, the SSP added.
18 dead after 2 blasts, gunfire rock Somalia's capital
Two car bomb blasts rocked Somalia's capital this evening, followed by gunfire, police said, and an ambulance service said at least 18 people had been killed. The explosions shattered a months-long period of calm in Mogadishu, which is often the target of attacks by the al-Shabab extremist group. They also came a day after Somalia's interior minister warned of an explosives-laden vehicle somewhere in the capital. The first blast, apparently caused by a suicide car bomber, occurred near Somalia's intelligence headquarters, police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press. He said the second blast occurred near parliament's headquarters, where security forces were engaged with gunmen thought to be trying to attack the presidential palace. The vehicle had tried to speed through a checkpoint close to parliament headquarters, Hussein said. The Aamin Ambulance service ferried 18 bodies and another 20 injured people after the blasts, director Abdirahman Abdulqadir told The Associated ..
Nine Naxals cadres held in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district
Nine lower-rung Naxals were today arrested from separate places in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district, police said. Three cadres each were arrested from the Chintagufa, Kukanar and Dornapal police station limits by separate teams of security forces, a local police official told PTI. Personnels of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and local police were involved in the operations, he said. The arrested Naxals were active members of Maoists' militia, village committees and the Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangthan (DAKMS), a front organisation, and were involved in incidents of firing on police teams, planting of IEDs and murders, the official said.
Delhi Court extends police remand of Indian Mujahideen operative
A Delhi Court on Friday extended police remand of Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Abdul Subhan Qureshi by five days.He was arrested last month for his involvement in the 2008 serial blasts in Gujarat and Delhi.Qureshi alias Tauqueer is considered to be the mastermind behind the blasts in Ahmedabad and Surat on July 26, 2008 that killed 56 people and injured over 200 others.Dubbed as India's Osama bin Laden, Qureshi was also wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection to terror attacks in Delhi, Bengaluru and the 2006 Mumbai local train bombings.
Army motivates J&K youths to join forces
The Army today reached out to the rural youths motivating them to join the armed forces and serve the country. A defence spokesman said the Army conducted motivational lectures in Keri belt of Rajouri district with an aim to inspire young boys and girls to join the forces. The lectures were attended by a large number of students of various villages in Keri belt, the spokesman said. Leaflets containing information about selection procedures and requirements, pay and allowances, recruitment schedule and rallies were also distributed. Unemployment being the biggest challenge, this initiative received warm response from the rural youth," he said.
Three dead, 7 hurt as armed groups clash in C Africa flashpoint
Three people were killed and at least seven others wounded in clashes which erupted overnight between armed groups in a flashpoint district of Bangui, Central African Republic's capital, medical sources said. An AFP correspondent saw two bodies at the mosque in PK5, the last Muslim enclave in Bangui, while another eight injured people were taken to two different hospitals in the capital, medical workers said, adding that one had later died of injuries. Once a Muslim rebel bastion, PK5 is now home to several armed groups that have taken advantage of the weakness of the state since the end of a sectarian conflict pitting mainly Muslim rebels against nominally Christian militias. Speaking to AFP, one local resident said rebels loyal to a militia chief called "Force" had clashed with fighters from a former militia whose members were now working as security guards at a local market. "Force's men tried to close the market, which caused the others to react," he explained, speaking on ...
Punjab Regiment, ITBP receive R-Day parade best marching trophies
The Punjab Regiment and the ITBP were today presented the Republic Day best marching contingent trophies by the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here. The trophies were received by Punjab Regiment's Brigadier Sanjeev Soni, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General RK Pachnanda at a simple function held at the South Block. Congratulating the winners, Sitharaman said the marching contingents on Rajpath on the occasion of the Republic Day inspire the people. Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra attended the function. The Punjab Regiment, one of the oldest formations of the Indian Army, bagged the best marching contingent trophy in the armed forces category after a gap of 25 years. The last time it won the trophy was in 1993. "Winning this prestigious trophy is a great moment for us. The contingent ...
Israeli army says tear gas, not beating, killed Palestinian
The Israel military says an initial inquiry suggests that a Palestinian whose beating by soldiers was caught on video may have died from tear gas inhalation. Today's statement came ahead of an autopsy and did not elaborate. The incident took place early Thursday during a raid in the West Bank town of Jericho. In the video, several soldiers are seen kicking and beating the man with rifles while he is on the ground. The army says soldiers used force to subdue him after he tried to attack them with an iron bar and grab a gun. The statement added that his condition only deteriorated when he was later exposed to tear gas fired by soldiers trying to disperse Palestinian protesters.
UNSC to vote on 30-day ceasefire in Syria
A day after Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the situation in Syria's conflicting region of Eastern Ghouta, the council will on Friday vote on the decree calling for a 30-day ceasefire in the war-torn nation, and allowing humanitarian aids be supplied to the area exhausted by five years of siege.The resolution proposed by Kuwait and Sweden was on Thursday opposed by Russia, which offered amendments to it.While Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia described civilian testimonies from Eastern Ghouta as "mass psychosis", Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the council Mark Lowcock said the situation in the region was "hell on earth".A spokesperson for the council said around 40,000 civilians were trapped in the rebel-held area under constant bombardment and needed humanitarian relief and medical evacuations.According to local doctors and monitoring groups, over 350 people have been killed in the battered suburb since February .
Chattisgarh: Huge cache of arms recovered in joint CRPF-Police op
A large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered in a joint operation conducted by the District Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Friday at Dhamtari in Chattisgarh.In addition to the weapons, the police have seized four Naxal uniforms, various medical kits and blankets from the location.The Naxals managed to flee from the location.Further search is being conducted.
New Zealand defence forces chief meets top Navy official
Chief of Defence Forces of New Zealand Lt Gen Timothy Keating today met Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, and senior Navy officers here today. Lt Gen Keating, accompanied by a nine-member delegation, is on a visit to Mumbai from February 22 to 24, a Defence spokesperson said here. The delegation also visited the Naval Dockyard, the Dockyard Heritage Hall and stealth frigate INS Tarkash, the spokesperson said. Earlier, Lt Gen Keating held talks with chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces and discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries. He had met Army chief General Bipin Rawat, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra in Delhi. "India and New Zealand have come a long way in strengthening their defence relationship. Over the years, the two navies have built up high levels of interoperability through various types of interactions. This visit would ...
Pro-independence activists chained to Catalan court arrested
A dozen activists who had chained themselves to a court in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia to protest the imprisonment of pro-independence figures were on Friday arrested.
China orders 2 detained for posing in Japanese army uniforms
Chinese police have ordered two men detained for 15 days after they posted pictures on the internet of themselves wearing Japanese World War II army uniforms at the site of one of the war's worst atrocities. Nanjing police said the sentences were imposed following widespread outrage online, underscoring the enduring sensitivity among Chinese over Japan's invasion and occupation of much of the country in the 1930s and 1940s. The men, aged 22 and 25, were ruled guilty on the broadly defined charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and sentenced to administrative detention, a punishment short of jailing for which no trial is required. "Individual actions of citizens should not challenge the dignity of the nation and its people," police said in a statement. "No behaviour in public settings or in cyberspace can cross the bottom line of the law." One of the two had been tracked to the southwestern province of Sichuan. The statement, dated Tuesday, didn't say how they were ...
CoBRA commando injured in Naxal encounter in C'garh's Sukma
A jawan of an elite anti-Naxal commando unit was today injured in an exchange of fire with Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district. A senior police official said that the jawan, part of the CRPF's elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) 208th battalion, took bullets in his leg during the firefight in the interiors of Kistaram today morning. The incident happened after security personnel, from Palodi camp, and Naxals came face to face near Komalpad forests when the forces were cordoning off the region as part of an anti-Naxal combing operation, officials said. He added that the Naxals opened indiscriminate fire which injured the CoBRA jawan. The rebels managed to flee even as the paramilitary personnel fired back, said officials. Reinforcements had been rushed in and the jawan had been brought back to Palodi camp, officials informed.
Army repulses BAT attack near LoC in J-K
The Army has repulsed an attack by the Border Action Team (BAT), a mix of Pakistani regulars and militants, near the Line of Control in the Tangdhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, officials said today. No casualty was reported in the incident that took place last night, they said. A BAT team attacked Indian troops near the LoC in the Tangdhar sector, prompting the Army to retaliate. The exchange of fire continued for nearly an hour and the attack was effectively repulsed, an Army official said.
UN wants prosecutions for South Sudan war crimes
A UN rights commission in South Sudan said today there was sufficient evidence to charge at least 41 senior officers and officials with war crimes and crimes against humanity. South Sudan's four-year-old civil war has been characterised by extreme brutality and attacks on civilians. But no high-ranking officials have been held to account, despite African Union (AU) promises to establish a special court to try alleged crimes. "The court could be set up straight away and the prosecutor could begin working on indictments," said Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. "Under the peace agreement, those indicted can no longer hold or stand for office. Ultimately this is the only way to stop the rampant devastation of millions of human lives by South Sudan's leaders," she said. The commission said it had forwarded a confidential list of suspects to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. Those named include three state ...
PLA troops along India border get US army-style combat gear: Report
The WesternTheatre Command looks after the security along the 3,488 km-longLine of Actual Control (LAC) with India
 "PLA troops along India border get US army-style combat gear: Report")
French army says several jihadis killed in Mali operation
France's armed forces spokesman says that French soldiers killed "around 10" jihadis last week in Mali during an operation near the Niger border. In comments to the AP Friday, Colonel Eric Steiger said the operation that took place on Saturday against "armed terrorists" in the northeast of the country came three days after another operation in Mali near the Algerian border killed several "enemy combatants" from "a different terrorist group." Two members of a French counterterrorism force in Mali were killed Wednesday after their armored vehicle was hit by an explosive device. Today, the European Union pledged an additional 50 million euros ($61 million) to a joint counterterror force in West Africa's vast Sahel region which includes Mali that has fallen prey to extremists.
Largest joint military drills in SE Asia conclude
The largest military exercises in Southeast Asia concluded on Friday in Thailand, after 11 days of drills, social and humanitarian projects and traditional jungle training.
Sukma: Encounter underway between CoBRA commando, naxals
Encounter is underway between CoBRA commando and naxals at 10 km north of Kistaram in Sukma district of Chattisgarh on Friday.One cobra jawan got injured.Earlier, as many as 20 naxals were reportedly killed in an operation by the troops of the 202nd battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action on Sunday.The operation also claimed life of two security personnel and six others getting injured. A civilian also died in the encounter.