Page 799 - War Conflict
Dacoit caught, maimed by Jharkhand villagers dies
Villagers caught a dacoit during a raid by a gang of criminals in Jharkhand's Giridih district, beat him up brutally and chopped off his hand, police said on Sunday. The dacoit died at a hospital on Sunday morning.
Iraq condemns German woman to death for belonging to IS
An Iraqi court said today it had condemned to death by hanging a German woman of Moroccan origin after finding her guilty of belonging to the Islamic State jihadist group. She was sentenced for providing "logistical support and helping the terrorist group to carry out crimes," said court spokesman Abdel Settar Bayraqdar. "The accused admitted during interrogations that she left Germany for Syria then Iraq to join IS with her two daughters, who married members of the terrorist organisation," he said. In September 2017, the same court sentenced to death by hanging a Russian man who was captured in Iraq's second city Mosul and found guilty of fighting for IS. Iraqi forces expelled the jihadists from Mosul in July 2017, ending three years of IS rule in the city. The same month, a German teenage girl suspected of joining IS was arrested in Mosul, according to Germany's justice department. German daily Der Spiegel reported she had been held in Baghdad with three other German ...
8 killed in Afghan roadside mine blast
At least eight people were killed in a roadside mine blast in western Afghanistan's Herat province on Saturday evening, the Tolonews reported."Eight people were killed in a roadside mine blast in Gulran district at around 10 pm. One person is also injured as well," the Tolonews quoted Herat Police Spokesperson Abdul Ahad Walizada as saying.The people were travelling in a vehicle to Herat city from Gulran town and from there to Iran.No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.This comes hours after a suicide attack had taken place in Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, where 18 people died, including three terrorists.The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack.
Jawan on duty at CM's residence accidentally shoots himself
A Bihar Military Police jawan, deployed as a night guard at the official residence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accidentally shot and injured himself with his rifle, police said today. The incident happened in Patna yesterday night, the police said. The jawan, identified as Pujan Guru, accidentally shot himself with his service rifle while he was on duty outside the chief minister's official residence at 1, Anney Marg, between 11 pm and 12 midnight, City Superintendent of Police, Central, D Amarkesh said. The bullet hit his chest, the police officer said. The jawan was admitted to the ICU of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), the city SP said, adding, that the rifle has been seized.
Intel agencies warn of infiltration bids in J-K ahead of R-Day
Security along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir was beefed up following an alert by intelligence agencies about possible infiltration attempts by Pakistan backed militants ahead of the Republic Day, police said today. A group of three to four terrorists were seen camping across the border at a village in Pakistan, near a border out post (BoP), intelligence agencies are learnt to have warned the police and security forces. The agencies claimed that Pakistan's ISI was trying to infiltrate this group of terrorists to create disturbance and target security forces' camps, according to official sources. The main reason behind ceasefire violations and Pakistan shelling is to help infiltrate militants from across the border, IG, Jammu Zone, S D Singh Jamwal said. After the inputs from intelligence agencies, police have beefed up the security in border belts and increased round- the-clock vigilance, he said. The Jammu and Kashmir Police yesterday had sounded a ...
Roadside bomb kills 12 in Afghanistan
At least 12 civilians were killed after a roadside bomb struck a civilian vehicle in Afghanistan's western Herat province on Sunday, police said.
At least 6 dead in 12-hour Taliban siege at luxury Kabul hotel
Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul and killed at least six people including a foreigner, sparking a 12-hour battle that left terrified guests scrambling to escape and parts of the building ablaze. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the six-storey Intercontinental Hotel on a hilltop overlooking the Afghan capital. People trapped at the top of the building tied bedsheets together and climbed over balconies to escape the overnight assault. One lost his grip and fell in dramatic television footage by Afghanistan's Tolo News station, which also showed black smoke and flames billowing from the top of the hotel. Special forces were lowered by helicopters during the night onto the roof of the landmark 1960s building, with Afghan security forces killing four attackers in the hours- long assault, the interior ministry said. "Five Afghans and one foreigner have been killed," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP today, adding around 150 ...
Roadside bomb kills 12 civilians in Afghanistan
An Afghan official says a roadside bomb has killed at least 12 civilians in the western Herat province. Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the provincial police chief, says a 13th person was wounded in the explosion early Sunday, which struck a vehicle in the Gulran district. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Walizada blamed Taliban insurgents, who often plant roadside bombs to target Afghan security forces.
Two soldiers injured in Pakistani firing die, death toll is 11
Two soldiers injured in Pakistani firing and shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir succumbed to their injuries on Sunday, taking the toll of people killed in border clashes in Jammu region to 11.
Kabul attack: Hotel siege ends after 13-hour gun battle
Afghanistan Ministry of Interior (MoI) has confirmed that all the three terrorists, who attacked the Intercontinental Hotel here, have been eliminated after a 13-hour stand-off, the Tolo News reported.MoI spokesperson Najib Danish confirmed that the security forces were finally able to sweep most areas of the hotel in their bid to bring the situation under control.At least five civilians died and six others were wounded, including three security force members in the attack.Earlier today, the Ministry of Interior's (MoI) spokesman Najib Danish had confirmed that the death toll stood at five.He had said that two attackers have been killed and the forces were still looking for at least one more if not two.According to the spokesman, 100 guests and staffers had been rescued, of which 16 were foreign nationals.He said all those who had died or were wounded had been Afghan nationals.Najib also dismissed the reports of a hostage situation.The gunmen stormed the hotel on Saturday evening, ...
18 pro-government militiamen killed in Afghanistan
At least 18 pro-government militiamen were killed following a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh, officials said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka police lose gun as elephants charge
Sri Lankan police who were charged by elephants as they staked out a cannabis farm dropped an automatic rifle as they ran for their lives, sparking a hunt today for the missing weapon. Policemen who had been camping out near the plantation in a bid to catch crooks turned tail and scarpered after the huge creatures started hurtling after them. "The constables dropped their weapons and fled to save their lives when the elephants charged," a statement said. Officers were now looking for the T56 automatic assault rifle in the bush at Lunugamvehera, 225 kilometres (140 miles) south of the capital Colombo. Sri Lanka has strict laws protecting elephants, which are considered sacred. However, about 200 jumbos are killed annually by farmers who say wild elephants stray onto their land and destroy their crops. About 50 people are killed in wild elephant attacks annually. Sri Lanka's elephant population has dwindled to just over 7,000, according to the latest census, down from an ...
5 killed, 6 injured in Kabul attack
At least five civilians died and six others were wounded, including three security force members, after a group of insurgents stormed the Intercontinental Hotel here.The Tolo News quoted the Ministry of Interior's (MoI) spokesman Najib Danish confirmed that the death toll in the ongoing siege stood at five.Five floors of the hotel have been cleared and only sixth floor remains to be secured, Danish revealed.He further said that two attackers have been killed and the forces were still looking for at least one more if not two.According to the spokesman, 100 guests and staffers had been rescued, of which 16 were foreign nationals.He said all those who had died or were wounded had been Afghan nationals.Najib also dismissed the reports of a hostage situation.Earlier today, the Afghan officials had confirmed that at least four gunmen had launched the attack.The gunmen stormed the hotel on Saturday evening, shooting at guests and detonating grenades.They targeted staff and guests before ...
Jawan dies, death toll in Pak firing in J-K climbs to 11
An Army jawan injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan succumbed to injuries last night, taking the death toll in the border firing in Jammu and Kashmir to 11 since Thursday, police said. Sepoy C K Roy, posted in a forward post in Mankote sector of Poonch district, was injured in Pakistani firing yesterday and succumbed to injuries at the military hospital last night, a police official said. His death raised the number of persons killed in the Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in five districts of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Poonch and Rajouri since Thursday to 11. The dead included six civilians, three armymen and two BSF personnel. While a BSF jawan and a teenaged girl were killed on Thursday, four persons two civilians and one each BSF jawan and Army jawan were killed and over 40 others, including two BSF personnel, injured in the Pakistani firing on Friday. Three civilians and an Army jawan were killed and 16 others injured .
At least five dead in Kabul hotel attack: Afghan spy agency
Gunmen killed at least five people and wounded eight others in an attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, an official said today, as the eleven hours-long siege continues. "Five are dead," an official with the Afghan spy agency told AFP, adding 100 hostages have been released.
Myanmar soldiers jailed for killing civilians in rare trial
A Myanmar military tribunal has sentenced six soldiers to 10 years in prison with hard labour for killing three civilians in war-torn Kachin state, officials said, in a move welcomed by rights groups. The Kachin state police office said the tribunal handed down the sentence Friday after finding the soldiers guilty of killing three ethnic Kachin civilians in September. The prosecution came after an internal investigation by the military. Min Zaw, a Kachin state police officer, said that during the hearing the six confessed that they were responsible for the killings. Kachin state is home to an ethnic rebel army that has been fighting the Myanmar military for more than seven years. More than 100,000 people have fled the fighting and live in refugee camps. Calls to the military information office rang unanswered yesterday. The three civilians were among a group of five detained by soldiers last May while they were heading back to their refugee camp after gathering firewood
Ten killed in Turkish attack on Kurd-held Syrian region
Turkish attacks in the Afrin region of northern Syria killed ten people, mostly civilians, a spokesman for the Kurdish militia which controls the area said. "Seven civilians were killed, including a child, as well as two female fighters and one male fighter," said Birusk Hasakeh, spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, adding that the child was an eight-year-old boy. The YPG's political branch, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said earlier yesterday that 25 civilians had been wounded in the Turkish bombing. Ankara also said were casualties but were all Kurdish militants. Afrin, a hilly region that falls in Syria's northern Aleppo province, is home to more than a million people including displaced families. Turkey and allied Syrian rebels yesterday began an air and ground operation, dubbed operation "Olive Branch", aimed at ousting the YPG from the Kurdish-majority pocket. The launch came despite warnings that the operation could be ...
Attack under way on Kabul luxury hotel: officials
At least four gunmen attacked Kabul's landmark Intercontinental Hotel in a night-time raid today and started shooting at guests, officials said, in an assault that is ongoing. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack in the Afghan capital that followed a series of security warnings in recent days to avoid hotels and other locations frequented by foreigners. "Four attackers are inside the building," an official at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) spy agency told AFP. They are "shooting at guests", he said. A guest hiding in a room told AFP he could hear gunfire inside the 1960s hotel. "I don't know if the attackers are inside the hotel but I can hear gunfire from somewhere near the first floor," he said by telephone without giving his name. "We are hiding in our rooms. I beg the security forces to rescue us as soon as possible before they reach and kill us." His phone was switched off when AFP tried to contact him again. Another ...
13 Syrians have died of cold fleeing to Lebanon, UN says
The number of Syrians who have died trying to flee their war-torn country into neighbouring Lebanon during a snowstorm has risen to at least 13, the United Nations said today. A group of Syrians, including children, had tried to enter neighbouring Lebanon late on Thursday through a smuggling route but were caught in a fierce storm. The Lebanese army and civil defence said yesterday they had retrieved the bodies of 10 Syrians, including two children and six women. But the toll has since increased. Lisa Abou Khaled, a spokeswoman for the UN's refugee agency, said at least 13 Syrians were confirmed to have died in the incident. "The victims were trying to cross an arduous and rugged passage in freezing temperatures," the UNHCR said in a statement. "Others in the group, including a pregnant woman, were discovered in time and assisted by nearby residents and the Lebanese Armed Forces and Civil Defence to reach hospitals before they froze to death." A Lebanese army source told
Attack under way on Kabul luxury hotel: official
Four gunmen attacked Kabul's landmark Intercontinental Hotel today and started shooting at guests, officials said, in an assault that is still under way. "Four attackers are inside the building," an official at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) spy agency told AFP. They are "shooting at guests", he said. Another official said the attackers were armed with small weapons and rocket-propelled grenades when they entered the hotel, which often hosts weddings, conferences and political gatherings. "They are now on the third and fourth floors fighting with our forces. We don't know the details of casualties yet but they set the kitchen on fire," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP. The fourth floor of the hotel is also on fire, the NDS official said. Ministry of interior spokesman Najib Danish confirmed that several attackers have entered the hotel. "We don't know the details yet but our forces are in the area to bring them down," Danish said. There was ..