Page 852 - War Conflict

Two NDFB militants killed in encounter with security forces

Two National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants were killed in an encounter with security forces and a kidnapped person rescued in Assam's Dima Hasao district today, police said. Acting on specific information, an operation was launched in a forest area in Umrangso along the Assam- Meghalaya border and an encounter followed in which two NDFB militants were injured. They succumbed to their injuries on way to the hospital, Dima Hasao Superintendent of Police, Ankur Jain said. A 9 mm pistol was recovered from the encounter site. The police rescued the manager of a coal quarry, Mahendra Rai who was kidnapped by the militants on December four last from an area under Muriap police outpost area of Meghalaya. Jain said that search operations were continuing in the area as they suspected that there were more militants who managed to escape.

1971 war hero Khetrapal remembered on Vijay Diwas

On the occasion of Vijay Divas, a solemn ceremony was held at Chandimandir cantonment here today in the memory of Param Vir Chakra awardee second Lt Arun Khetrapal. He laid down his life on this day in the Battle of Basantar during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, a defence spokesman said. A fierce tank fight was fought between the Poona Horse Regiment of Indian Army and 13 Lancers of Pakistani Army on the banks of Basantar river. 2Lt Arun Khetarpal was severally wounded during the action and was asked to abandon his tank. He refused to do so and gallantly fought destroying several enemy tanks. At this stage his tank received a direct hit which resulted in the death of this gallant hero. 2Lt Khetrapal was awarded highest gallantry decoration in the country the Param Vir Chakra. The ceremony was attended by a galaxy of people associated with 2Lt Arun Khetrapal including his brother Mukesh Khetrapal and his course mates from the three services as well as serving and veteran .

Indian armed forces mark Vijay Diwas in Jammu & Kashmir

The Indian armed forces today celebrated Vijay Diwas, which marks India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, with traditional enthusiasm in Jammu and Kashmir. Several wreath-laying ceremonies were organised by the Indian Army to mark the 46th anniversary of the victory over Pakistan in the war, that led to the liberation of Bangladesh. At Dhruva Shahid Smarak at the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur, 65kms from here, the Indian Army organised a wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to the soldiers who fought in the war, a defence spokesperson said. "The supreme sacrifices and undeterred grit of the valiant soldiers of the Indian Army has changed the course of history. Their indomitable courage, unflagging zeal and dogged determination will always be a greatest source of inspiration for all ranks of the Indian Army," General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command, Lt. Gen. D Anbu said. General-officer-Commanding of the elite White Knight ...

Woman among four suspected Naxals held in Chhattisgarh

Four suspected Naxals, including a woman, were arrested in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district today, police said. A joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district police force arrested them during a search operation in a forest near Karkadora-Beltipadar villages under Bhairamgarh police station limits. The arrested rebels were identified as Pidoram Poyam (35), Chinna Bhaskar (44), Sukhram Bhaskar (25) and a woman named Sukhmati Hemla (25). They were allegedly involved in a recent incident of torching of a road construction vehicle in the area.

Hardcore NSCN(IM) militant held in Arunachal

Security forces have arrested a hardcore NSCN(IM) militant during an operation at Khonsa, headquarters of Tirap district, a defence spokesman said today. Acting on a tip off, the Khonsa battalion of the Assam Rifles apprehended the cadre who is a self-styled major of the militant organisation. A pistol along with ammunition, 30 gram of opium, some cash and documents were recovered from his possession, Kohima-based Defence spokesman Col Chiranjeet Konwer said. During interrogation, the militant revealed that he had joined NSCN(K) in 1999 and defected to NSCN(R) in 2015 and again shifted his allegiance to NSCN(IM) last year.

Nigeria troops arrest 400-plus Boko Haram fighters, families

Military authorities say Nigerian soldiers have arrested more than 400 people associated with the Boko Haram extremist group hiding on the islands of Lake Chad, including fighters, wives and children. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu says the two-week operation netted the largest number of arrests of Boko Haram fighters in recent months in northeast Nigeria. It included air and ground offensives targeting insurgents' locations. Nwachukwu says the military arrested 167 Boko Haram fighters, 67 women and 173 children who were family members of the insurgents. The women and children will be handed over to authorities of displacement camps after investigations. Nwachukwu says another 57 insurgents were arrested during a separate operation in another part of the troubled region. Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 20,000 deaths during its eight-year insurgency.

Required 4,700 EVMs reached Tripura

Tripura's Chief Electoral Officer Sriram Taranikanti has said the required number of 4,700 Electronic Voting Machines have arrived in the state where assembly election is due early next year. Taranikanti said 260 companies of central paramilitary forces were used in Tripura in the last assembly election in 2013 and the Centre was requested for more forces this year. "A total of 4700 EVMs have reached Tripura. That is the required number of EVMs for the assembly election," Taranikanti told reporters here yesterday evening. He said 4,080 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were also dispatched to the state for use along with the EVM units. But the state election authorities have sought 800 more VVPAT units from the Election Commission, he said. Technical personnel from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited would soon visit Tripura to test the EVMs and VVPATs. Taranikanti said the election authorities here have urged the Centre for more than 260 ...

Indian Army's White Knight Corps commemorate Vijay Diwas

Indian Army's elite White Knight Corps today commemorated the 'Vijay Diwas', which marks the victory of Indian armed forces over Pakistan in the 1971 war. General-officer-Commanding of White Knight Corps, Lt Gen Saranjit Singh, laid wreath at the Ashwamedh Shaurya Sthal war memorial at Nagrota to mark the 46th anniversary of India's victory over Pakistan. Officers and jawans of White Knight Corps paid their homage, a defence spokesman said. On December 16 in 1971, nearly 93,000 troops of the Pakistan Army surrendered before the Indian Army. The Indian victory was followed by the 'liberation' of Bangladesh. Lt Gen Singh said the Indian Army has always stood tall and met the challenges faced by the country in an exemplary manner. He urged the troops of the Indian Army to always be ready to face any challenge that the adversary may pose, with grit, determination and valour. The White Knight Corps, also known as the 16 Corps, was raised on June 1, 1972 on the banks of Tawi ...

2018 will be less challenging; 'Operation all-out' to

Jammu and Kashmir DGP S P Vaid today said 2018 would be less troublesome as the situation in the Valley was fast limping back to normal. He said 'Operation all-out', an offensive launched by the security forces to flush out militants, would continue till there was complete peace in the state. The top cop was replying to a query on the possible impact on the state after the killing of over 200 militants under the operation last year. "The people of Kashmir will feel peace very soon," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. "The credit for the success (in killing over 200 militants this year) goes to the jawans and officers of the security forces who worked hard during the operation, especially those who sacrificed their lives," the DGP said. In reply to another question, Vaid said, "I do not think the next year will be challenging like this one. The next year will be better". On a proposal to install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras for surveillance ..

CG-NAXAL-SURRENDER (CORRECTED)

Five Naxals, including a woman, surrendered before police in Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon district expressing disillusionment with the violent movement, a senior official said today. The cadres gave themselves up before senior police officials at the district headquarters yesterday, Kondagaon Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Nag told PTI over phone. They were identified as Sonsai Korram (26), Hirala Netam (29), Beersai Korram (24), Pilluram Kashyap (26) and the woman, Somari alias Sonbati Kashyap (26), he said. The rebels hail from interiors villages under the Mardapal police station area in the district, around 200km from the state capital, he added. In a statement, the ultras expressed disillusionment with the "hollow" ideology of the Naxal movement and said they were impressed with the provisions ofsurrenderand rehabilitation policy of the state government, the ASP said. They will be provided facilities as per the policy, the police officer added.

Islamic State: What happened to all the foreign fighters?

An estimated 40,000 people traveled from around the world to take up arms for the Islamic State group as it occupied territory in Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014. A few hundred are believed to still be fighting as IS struggles to survive, having lost most of its territory to campaigns by Western-backed Syrian and Iraqi coalition armies. But what happened to the rest? Many thousands were certainly killed in the intense fighting, but US experts believe many have survived, posing a formidable threat going ahead. "The issue is: how many have died? How many are still there and willing to fight? How many have gone elsewhere to fight?" said Seth Jones, director of the International Security and Defense Policy Centre at the Rand Corporation. "How many have given up? I don't think we have a good answer." International counter-terror groups are putting huge efforts into answering those questions, working hard to name, count and track IS foreign fighters. In France, .

Masked robbers loot house

A group of masked robbers allegedly struck a house in nearby Thrippunithura and made away with valuables, including jewellery and cash, after locking the family members in separate rooms, police said today. The robbers, suspected to be from other states, looted the home after locking the five family members in separate rooms late last night, they said. Initial information suggests that 50 sovereigns of gold ornaments, Rs 20,000 and mobile phones were taken away by robbers.

American army commander says US committed to NATO, Europe

The outgoing US Army Europe commander says America's continued commitment to European security in the face of Russian aggression is in Washington's interest. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said yesterday in Wiesbaden that the US wants Russia to be "once again part of the international democratic community," according to prepared remarks. But, he says Russia "must abide by its agreements and international law and norms and respect the sovereignty of European nations." He emphasised the importance of NATO's Eastern European deterrence missions. Hodges says America's commitment to NATO "remains unshakable and as firm as it always has been," and that "stability and security in Europe directly affect stability, security and economic prosperity in the United States." Hodges' deputy, Maj. Gen. Timothy McGuire, becomes acting commander until a permanent replacement is confirmed.

UN gives green light on Russia arms to C. Africa

Russia has been authorised to provide the Central African Republic's armed forces with light arms, under an exemption to an arms embargo on the country granted by the UN, diplomatic sources have said. "It's clear," an official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. London, Paris and Washington had asked that the request be put on hold as they sought additional information on the shipments. They also called on Russia to strengthen measures related to the storage of the weapons in the Central African Republic, which has been under an arms embargo since 2013. "Our only request was that the Russian delegation submit additional information on the serial numbers of the weapons... so that we can track weapons going into CAR," said a US official. "We think it is a reasonable request and underscores the importance of coordinating the physical protection, control, safe storage and management of transferred arms and ammunition." The Central African Republic's leaders asked ...

Dutch police open fire on man with knife at Schiphol airport

Dutch military police today shot and wounded a man armed with a knife, who burst into their office at Amsterdam's busy Schiphol airport, police said. "This afternoon a man came into the office of the Marechaussee (military police) here at Schiphol and threatened my colleagues with a knife," said police spokesman Dennis Muller. "He was shot in the leg and taken to hospital in Amsterdam." The incident triggered panic on the airport's vast plaza, which is criss-crossed by thousands of people every day making their way to and from the departures and arrivals halls. A worker at a fast food shop told AFP she saw a man "waving a knife around" before hearing a single shot. "It was a scary thing to see him waving his knife around," said the worker, who refused to be identified. Schiphol airport is one of Europe's top five busiest air hubs, handling a record 63.6 million passengers in 2016, up from 58 million in 2015. Muller told AFP the military police did not know the man or ...

We are also helping those Pandits who stayed back: J&K CM

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed today said her government was also helping the Kashmiri Pandits who did not migrate, so that they don't feel as if they paid a price for staying back. She was speaking about her government's efforts to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits who migrated on a large scale after the insurgency began in the state. Mufti attended 'India Ideas Conclave 2017' organized by India Foundation here. "My father, in the year 2002, started building transit accommodations for Kashmiri pandits. Now we are trying to add more accommodations to those places," she said, responding to a question during an interaction. "As far as Kashmiri Pandits are concerned, I have met many of them and they feel more comfortable in the places where they have started living in last five to ten years," she said. "So we are already on the job, and we are not only getting back Kashmiri Pandits but we are also trying to rehabilitate the people who are already staying

Strikes, clashes kill 51 in Yemen

Saudi-led air strikes have killed 28 Huthi rebels around Yemen's west coast, medics and security sources close to the insurgents said today, as government forces reported deadly clashes in the south. The security sources said air strikes yesterday and today hit five towns controlled by the Huthis around 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Hodeida. Medical sources said 28 Huthis were killed and 17 wounded in the attacks. Yemeni government forces retook Beihan district in Shabwa province from the Huthis, their last stronghold in the oil- rich southern province, a senior officer said today. The capture of Beihan came during clashes that killed 14 rebels and nine pro-government troops, the officer said. There has been no let-up in the air campaign against the rebels that a Saudi-led coalition has been waging since March 2015. The air strikes have intensified since the December 4 killing of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh at the hands of the Huthis after his alliance with the ...

Third Palestinian shot dead in clashes northeast of Jerusalem:

A third Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire today, the health ministry in Ramallah said, after a man was shot dead in clashes northeast of Jerusalem. The Palestinian ministry said Bassel Ibrahim, 24, was shot dead by Israeli forces in Anata, a town between the West Bank and Jerusalem, in protests against Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Earlier, two Palestinians died in clashes along the Gaza border, with seven killed in total since Trump's shock announcement last week.

Two persons booked for posting inside pictures of Jagannath

Odisha Police today registered cases against two persons on the charge of posting inside pictures of Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri in the social media. Akash Madake of Pune in Maharashtra and Jugal Kishore Vaishnav of Raipur in Chhattisgarh were booked under different sections of Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 and Information Technology (IT) Act of 2000, police said. Singhdwar Police Station registered the cases on the basis of an FIR lodged by Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). The duo had separately taken the photographs inside the 12th Century Temple with the help of their mobile camera during a visit to the temple with family members a few months ago. The SJTA had already banned still cameras, video recording devices and mobile phones inside the temple in view of the security. "There is clear writings on the entry gates of the temple on the ban on carrying mobile phones inside the temple," said SJTA spokesman Laxmidhar Pujapanda adding that the security ...

Russia 'could cut UK's undersea internet cables', warns defence chief

Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach says cutting or disrupting the cables could have a 'potentially catastrophic' economic effect