Page 779 - War Conflict
700 kg ganja seized, 7 held
The Special Task Force (STF) and local police today seized 700 kg of ganja worth Rs 50 lakh from a truck and arrested seven persons here in Bihar's Katihar district. Acting on a tip off, personnel of the STF and local police searched vehicles in Hajipur locality under Sahayak police station of the town and seized the contraband from a truck, Superintendent of Police Sidharth Mohan Jain said. The packets of ganja were hidden behind the driver's seat, the SP said adding that police have also seized the truck, and Rs 36,000 in cash. The drug was being transported to Vaishali district of Bihar from Tripura's capital Agartala via Katihar, he said. Of the seven arrested persons, four hailed from Vaishali district and three from Tripura.
NATO's Afghan mission backtracks after classifying Taliban
The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan admitted today it had mistakenly classified data on the Taliban that had been public, citing "a human error in labeling," and said it would no longer withhold the information. The acknowledgment came after the US government's office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published a report saying the US military had barred it from disclosing how much of Afghanistan is under Taliban control. Such a restriction would have represented a significant break from past accountability amid mounting security woes in the war-torn nation. But after the report came out, Navy Captain Tom Gresback, a spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said the intent was not to withhold or classify information which was available in prior reports. "A human error in labeling occurred," Gresback said in a statement. "The classification system, because it incorporates both a NATO and US nomenclature, can be
ISI behind Kabul terrorist attacks: Afghan Ambassador
Afghanistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mahmoud Saikal on Monday accused Pakistan's premier intelligence network, ISI of training one of the Kabul attackers on Tuesday."Abdul Qahar, the father of one of the terrorists involved in last week's attack on Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, concedes his son was trained in Balochistan province by the ISI," Saikal wrote on Twitter.The Taliban claimed responsibilities for the attack. Pakistan had denied its involvement. A mid-level diplomat at the Afghan embassy in the US alleged the attack was planned by Pakistan."A clear proof that the attack on the hotel was planned in a madrasa on Pakistan's soil. Abdul Qahar, the father of one of the suicide attackers, is an eyewitness of the story," wrote Majeed Qarar, the cultural attache at the embassy of Afghanistan on the micro-blogging site."The night vision goggles found with Taliban attackers in Maiwand's Afghan National Army (ANA) base were military grade goggles (Not sold to the
Customers & bank employees foil loot bid by armed miscreants
Customers and bank employees today foiled a loot bid by six armed miscreants who barged into a bank here, police said. The incident happened at UCO Bank's Muzaffara bazar branch and the robbers injured two employees of the bank while retreating, the police said. Begusarai Sadar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mithilesh Kumar said around half a dozen armed miscreants barged into Muzaffara bazar branch of UCO Bank under the jurisdiction of Veerpur police station area today afternoon and tried to loot cash from the branch. Customers and bank employees raised an alarm, put up a resistance and stopped the miscreants from looting the bank, the DSP said. The miscreants shot at bank's deputy manager Vijay Kumar Singh and injured another employee of the bank Sujeet Kumar by hitting him with the butt of a pistol after they failed to loot the bank, the DSP said, adding, the miscreants also damaged the hard disk of the CCTV cameras installed so that they could not be ...
Stepped up violence alternately claimed by IS and Taliban
Analysts say the Islamic State group and the Taliban are competing to take credit for a horrific spike in violence in Afghanistan over the last month. They say both insurgent groups are growing in strength as security forces wither under their relentless attacks and a feuding government struggles to win over citizens. Still, the two insurgent groups embrace different agendas and are at war with each other as well as the Afghan government. Recent large-scale attacks, which have included both suicide bombings and small weapons fire, have left nearly 200 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Afghan Security Forces seem powerless against the onslaught.
India, Lanka need to discuss fisheries issue: Envoy
Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India Chitranganee Wagiswara on Tuesday advised the governments of India and Sri Lanka discuss the fisheries issues.Wagiswara's statement comes days after Colombo said the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Bill would be detrimental to the traditional fishing rights of Indians."Fisheries issue is something for which we need to talk to each other. We have to speak to each other and have fisheries talks. Our fisheries ministers visit each other and a joint working group is discussing how to sort this issue," the Sri Lankan envoy told ANI.Meanwhile, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Tourism promotion bureau, Sutheash Balasubramanian told ANI "Fisheries issues are different we need to talk each other. Fishermen from Tamil Nadu area coming for fishing in our territory naturally our fishermen are issue over it and their livelihood as well.""Solution is to talk to each other to see how we can sort out the issue and hope we do it soon," he added.On Jan 26,
Anil Chauhan appointed as new DGMO
Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday took over as the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO).An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Lieutenant General Chauhan has succeeded AK Bhatt.Lieutenant General Chauhan was commissioned into the 11th Gorkha Rifles in 1981.He had served as the United Nations military observer in Angola and also in various capacities at Army headquarters.He has held several command, staff and instructional appointments during his career and has experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast India.
Taliban threatens more violence after US rejects talks
The Taliban on Tuesday threatened the US with more violence and bloodshed after Washington ruled out peace talks with the rebels for unleashing a wave of carnage on Afghanistan.
Landmine blast kills 8 family members in Pakistan
A landmine explosion today ripped through a car killing at least eight members of a family, including two minor girls, near northwest Pakistan's restive tribal Kurram agency bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The family was travelling from Muqbal area near the border to attend a funeral when their vehicle hit the landmine killing three women, two minor girls and three men on the spot. The car was completely destroyed in the blast, hospital sources were quoted as saying by the Express Tribune. One person was also injured in the blast. The injured was shifted to a District Hospital in Parachinar for medical assistance. The security officials have cordoned off the area and started search operation. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Kurram is one of the seven districts along the Afghan border in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which have long been home to local and foreign Islamist militants. Islamic militants operate in the ...
Rajnath appreciates Punjab govt's success against gangsters
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today congratulated the Punjab government for cracking down on criminals, recent being the wanted gangster Vick Gounder. Notably, Punjab Police had last week eliminated two gangsters-the most wanted Vicky Gounder, his associate Prema Lahoria, and one unidentified man in an encounter conducted at village Pakki in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. Gounder was one of the six prisoners who had escaped from high security Nabha jail along with five other prisoners in November 2016. Rajnath extended his appreciation during a luncheon meeting with Punjab Governor V P S Badnore and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, an official spokesman said. The meeting focused on matters related to internal security, with thrust in cooperation between the Centre and the state in maintaining peace and stability in the region, the spokesman added. The home minister lauded the efforts of the Punjab Police and intelligence agencies in cracking down on criminals .
Education-linked initiative by TDI International welcome: BSF chief
Border Security Force (BSF) Director General, K.K. Sharma has lauded TDI International, Haryana, for its gesture to provide free education to four children of BSF martyrs annually.The offer was made by TDI International Managing Director Ravinder Taneja during a meeting with K.K.Sharma recently.Taneja said TDI is planning to start schools of international standards in Gurgaon, Panipat and Mohali. Special attention will be given to the children of armed forces personnel, he added.He said similar offers will be made for children of martyrs of Haryana Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Nine killed in Kasai clashes in DR Congo
Two days of unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo's southern opposition stronghold of Kasai have left nine people dead, local sources said today. The anti-government Kamwina Nsapu militia "killed four people yesterday in the village of Bata Ishama" in Kasai province, local administrator Jacopo Pembe Longo told AFP. The same militia, wearing red headbands and armed with rifles and machetes, on Tuesday "killed five other people in Kakenge", a village some 12 kilometres (seven miles) from Bata Ishama, Longo said. Local priest Wilfrid Imboyo told AFP the fighters had also "set fire to a hospital and more than 30 houses". He added local people sought refuge inside the church during the clashes. Violence broke out in Kasai in September 2016 following the killing by soldiers of tribal chieftain Kamwina Nsapu, the figurehead of a rebellion against the central government in Kinshasa over moves by President Joseph Kabila to prolong his stay in power. More than 3,000 people ...
Maj Gen Sanjeev Narain takes over as GOC KTK-KER Sub-Area
Major General Sanjeev Narain took over as the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area here today. A recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Major General Narain is a 1982 batch Infantry Officer from The Rajput Regiment. Before the current assignment, he was Major General General Staff (MGGS) at Headquarters Army Training Command in Shimla. He has a vast experience of command and administration, having commanded an Operational Infantry Division in Jammu & Kashmir besides having tenanted numerous important Instructor and Staff assignments, an official release said. It said he has also served as a Military Observer with the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission after the first Gulf War. Major General Narain took charge from Major General KS Nijjar, the outgoing GOC. Pointing out that Major General Nijjar had taken over as the GOC on December 5, 2015, the release said and under his stewardship, a number of issues pertaining to welfare of serving
Saudi-led coalition calls for immediate ceasefire in Aden
The Saudi-led Arab coalition today called for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen's interim capital of Aden where heavy fighting has erupted between government troops and the southern separatists. "The coalition renews its call to all parties to ceasefire immediately and end all forms of armed conflict," the coalition said in a statement cited by the Saudi SPA agency. "The coalition affirms that it will take all necessary measures to restore security and stability in Aden," the statement said. The coalition said it regretted that the warring sides did not respond to its earlier calls for restraint and calm. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said late yesterday that at least 36 people have been killed and 185 others wounded in two days of fighting in Aden. Fighting intensified yesterday after the warring sides began using tank and artillery firepower as the port city remained paralysed. Separatists' forces late yesterday advanced on the presidential palace .
Three militants killed in Afghanistan
At least three militants belonging to the terror outfits Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban were killed in separate operations in the East of Afghanistan.At least two IS insurgents were killed in a drone strike of the US forces in Achin district, reported Khaama Press, citing the Afghan Military, as saying.In the meantime, the officials added that one Taliban insurgent was killed during the clashes which broke out between the insurgents and the Afghan forces during an operation in Laghman province.No comments have been received from either the IS or the Taliban by far.This comes as counter-terrorism operations, including airstrikes, are underway in some restive districts of Nangarhar province.Laghman, however, has been among the relatively calm provinces in the East, the report said.
'Turkey detains 8 members of medical association over Syria
Authorities today detained eight members of the Turkish Medical Association's (TTB) central council who had denounced Ankara's military operation against a Syrian Kurdish militia, state media reported. Authorities issued 11 arrest warrants for council's members, eight of whom were detained, including the association's head Rasit Tukel, state-run news agency Anadolu said. Ankara prosecutors began a probe into the TTB council today after it issued a statement last week saying "war is a man-made public health problem". The TTB also said that conflicts lead to "irreparable problems". The comments led to angry remarks Friday by Erdogan about the "so-called Turkish Medical Association" whose members he described as "terrorist-lovers". The association's head office received a "large number of threats of violence by email and phone calls", rights group Amnesty International said after the public outcry. Erdogan again hit out at the group on Sunday: "They are not intellectuals, ..
11 dead in Yemen suicide attack
A suicide attack on a military checkpoint in southeastern Yemen has left at least 11 people dead.The residents reportedly stated that gunmen opened fire on the check point after a suspect drove his explosives-laden car into the checkpoint, located northeast of Ataq, the capital of the Yemeni province of Shabwa, according to several media reports.More details are awaited.
Trump rules out talks with Taliban after string of attacks
US President Donald Trump has ruled out talks with the Taliban and vowed to "finish" them following a wave of deadly attacks in Afghanistan. Meeting a delegation of UN Security Council ambassadors at the White House yesterday, he said, "We do not want to talk with the Taliban. There may be a time, but it's going to be a long time." The luncheon meeting with the members of the UNSC was taking place in the backdrop of two deadly terrorist attacks by the Taliban in Kabul recently, including the use of an ambulance by a suicide bomber that killed more than 100 people. "They are killing people left and right. Innocent people are being killed left and right, bombing in the middle of children, in the middle of families, bombing, killing all over Afghanistan, Trump said. Trump did not specify what he has in mind, but suggested that a stronger military response is imminent. "What nobody else has been able to finish were going to be able to do it," he said. The militants have ...
Infiltration bid on LoC foiled in J&K
An infiltration bid by militants has been foiled on the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.
US military working to 'refine policies' post revelation of its army bases
The United States military is involved in the process to refine its privacy policy and procedures after it was reported that a fitness tracking app that maps people's exercise habits possibly poses security risks for the armed forces around the world, said the US Central Command.In an apparent security oversight, sensitive information about the location and staffing of military bases and spy outposts around the world has been revealed by a fitness tracking company.A spokesperson for the US Central Command, in a statement to CNN, stated that it is constantly working to "refine policies and procedures to address such challenges."US Defense Secretary James Mattis has been made aware of the issue and the Department of Defence is reviewing policy regarding smartphones and wearable devices, Pentagon spokesman Col Rob Manning said.The details were released by the San Francisco-based Strava in a data visualisation map that shows all the activity tracked by users of its app, which allows ...