More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

SRINAGAR | The Nation | 07 May 2014 : :  A bomb blast near a polling booth in Kashmir injured a policeman today, amid further stone-throwing protests and a widespread boycott of India's general election in the mainly Muslim region.

Separatists have called on voters to shun the election in India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, holding staggered voting in its six parliamentary seats to allow 700,000 army troops and police to mount a mobile security operation.

That has failed to prevent a string of killings of village elders, blamed by police on militants seeking to intimidate voters. In the most serious incident, three insurgents and one army officer were killed in a clash on April 27.

The bomb exploded outside a polling station at a village in the Baramulla constituency, one of two voting today in northern Kashmir, injuring a police reservist, police said.

There were numerous reports of protesters throwing stones at police and election officials in the valley. A bomb was also thrown at a police station the Baramulla district, but no one was injured.

Only a quarter of voters have turned out in Jammu and Kashmir so far in the five-week election, in a show of passive resistance to rule from New Delhi and concern over a likely victory by Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kashmir has been a source of strife since British India was divided into independent India and Pakistan in 1947, with many Kashmiris, and Pakistan, saying the region should have been part of Muslim Pakistan, not Hindu-majority India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over Kashmir. India says Pakistan supports the separatist militants. Pakistan denies this, saying it only offers moral support to the Kashmiri people.( Courtesy : The Nation )

Jammu: 3 terrorists killed in twin terror attack.

Jammu: 3 terrorists killed in twin terror attack.

Security personnel in Dayalachak (ANI Photo)

Jammu | Hindustan Times | 28 March 2014 : : Three terrorists dressed in army uniforms on Friday struck at two places in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing a civilian and a soldier and injuring three others, not far from the spot where Lashkar-e-Taiba militants gunned down 10 security personnel last year.

A lesser-known militant outfit 'Al Shohada Brigade', believed to be a shadow outfit of Lashker-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the twin attacks.

A 'spokesperson' of the outfit called some news organisations in Srinagar and claimed the responsibility for the attack.

In the first attack at Dayalachak in Hiranagar, 60km from Jammu city, three terrorists stopped an SUV and asked the occupants to get down.

The passengers who survived the attack said the terrorists separated the driver and sprayed bullets over the rest of them, killing Ajit Ram, a Jammu resident. Three other passengers, followers of Radha Soami sect, on their way to Punjab after attending a religious function here, were injured in the firing. The body of driver was found in the evening.

The SUV, hijacked by the terrorists, was then intercepted 7km away near the camp of the army's 111 Rocket Regiment in Janglote area. In the first burst of fire, the terrorists killed a soldier, V Anthony, who was guarding the rear gate of the camp and injured another jawan.

In the gunfight that ensued and lasted about 12 hours, the three terrorists were killed.

"Three AK-47 rifles, three pistols and ammunitions were recovered from them. They were also carrying grenades and food items," said Jammu inspector general of police Rajesh Kumar.

The terrorists had probably crossed the nearby international border. Chief minister Omar Abdullah, expressing concern over infiltration, tweeted: "The ease with which militants exploited gaps in the fence to cross the international border is a matter of grave concern. The BSF needs to take a look at vulnerable areas and plug these gaps because these militants haven't given up and we can't let them succeed."

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had addressed an election rally in Hiranagar on Wednesday. The state security agencies have warned of possible militant attacks during the elections.

In September last year, three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists stormed a police station and an army camp in Hiranagar, killing six soldiers, including a colonel and five others.( Courtesy : Hindustan Times )

100 die as Iraq forces battle Al Qaeda.

Over 100 die as Iraq forces battle Al Qaeda.

Gunmen walk in the streets of the city of Falluja, 50 km
 (31 miles) west of Baghdad January 3, 2014. Sunni
Muslim tribesmen backed by Iraqi troops fought al
 Qaeda-linked militants for control of Iraq's western
 province of Anbar on Friday. — Photo by Reuters

RAMADI | AFP | Iraq | 05 Jan 2014 :: More than 100 people were killed on Friday as Iraqi police and tribesmen battled Al Qaeda-linked militants who took over parts of two Anbar provincial cities, announcing one an Islamic state.

Parts of Ramadi and Fallujah, west of Baghdad, have been held by militants for days, harkening back to the years after the 2003 US-led invasion when both cities were insurgent strongholds.

Fighting began in the Ramadi area on Monday, when security forces removed the main anti-government protest camp set up after demonstrations broke out in late 2012 against what Sunni Arabs say is the targeting of their community.

Anger at the government among the Sunni minority is seen as one of the main drivers of the worst violence to hit Iraq in five years.

Police and tribesmen fought in Ramadi and Fallujah on Friday against militants from Al Qaeda-linked group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which operates in Iraq and Syria, security officials said.

At least 32 civilians and 71 ISIL fighters died in the clashes, the officials said, adding that they did not know how many police and tribesmen were killed.

Fallujah was the target of two assaults after the 2003 US-led invasion, in which American forces saw some of their heaviest fighting since the Vietnam War.( Courtesy : Dawn )

LoC firing in Kashmir today .

Gunbattle between Army, infiltrators enters 13th day.

The Army operation against the holed up militants in Keran Sector
 along the LoC in Kashmir today entered the 13th day with
 intermittent gunfire being exchanged.

SRINAGAR | 06 Oct 2013 :: The Army operation against the holed up militants in Keran Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir today entered the 13th day with intermittent gunfire being exchanged. 

"The operation is still in progress. No fresh casualties have been reported on either side so far," defence sources said. 

Intermittent firing between the group of holed up infiltrating militants and the Army continued as security forces maintained a tight vigil over the cordoned off area, they said. 

The Army launched a massive anti-infiltration operation in Shalbhatti village in Keran Sector on September 24 after noticing a group of 30 to 40 militants trying to sneak into the Valley. 

The operation is going on in a vast area along the LoC and so far seven militants have been killed -- three in Gujjardoor village on Friday and four in Fateh Gali area of the sector yesterday. 

Earlier, the Army had said 10-12 militants were believed to have been killed in Shalbhatti village but the bodies could not be retrieved as the operation against the remaining militants was in progress. 

Five soldiers have been injured in gunbattle. The Army has termed as "absurd" the reports about capture of some posts by the infiltrators, saying the troops are in total control of the operation. 

"We are in total control of the operation. The reports of our posts being captured by theinfiltrators are absurd," General Officer Commanding of the Army's 15 Corps Lt General Gurmit Singh has said.(Courtesy:The Economic Time)

Violence claims 33 lives in Iraq.

Violence claims 33 lives in Iraq.

KIRKUK | Iraq |26 Sept 2013 :: Militants attacked local government and police buildings in northern Iraq with suicide bombings and mortar fire on Wednesday, sparking clashes that killed 14 people, among 33 deaths nationwide, officials said.

The assault came in Hawijah, a town in ethnically mixed Kirkuk province near which security forces stormed an anti-government protest camp in April, triggering Iraq's deadliest day this year.

One suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near a police station, while a second blew up another near a local administrative building.

Militants then hit both buildings and a local council office with mortar fire, and gunmen clashed with the army.

Seven civilians, three soldiers and four militants were killed and 22 people wounded, army Staff Major General Mohammed Khalaf al-Dulaimi said.

Troops were combing the area for another nine assailants who were believed to have escaped, Dulaimi added.

The Hawijah assault came a day after militants attacked two police stations and a local official's house in two towns northwest of Baghdad, killing seven police and the official's brother.

In the capital, six members of a single family were shot dead on Wednesday, officials said.

A man, his wife, their three children aged between three and six, and another woman were killed in the Shaab area of east Baghdad, officials said, while at least one person was killed and nine wounded by a bomb near a cafe in the capital.

North of Baghdad, a bomb exploded near Balad, killing five people and wounding three, while gunmen killed two farmers in the Muqdadiyah area and a soldier in Taji.

And a bomb killed three people and wounded 25 in Mosul, while one person was also shot dead in the northern city.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Eight people, including seven policemen, were killed
 on Tuesday during attacks on two police stations
 and a local official's house northwest of
 Baghdad. — File photo

BAGHDAD | 24 Sep 2013 ::  Violence, including fighting between security forces and militants, killed 25 people in Iraq on Tuesday, as the UN warned that sectarian attacks threaten to force more Iraqis from their homes.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

Militants attacked two police stations and a local official's house in the towns of Rawa and Aana near the highway to Syria in Anbar province, killing seven police and the official's brother, officers and doctors said.

Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi told journalists a large group of militants had attacked Aana, seeking to take control of security positions.

Security forces killed six of the militants, Assadi said, adding that SWAT units were deployed to the area.

Separately, soldiers battled militants in the Hamreen area north of Baghdad, killing four, while two soldiers were killed and nine wounded, officers said.

A helicopter pilot was wounded by gunfire in the operation, during which two militants were arrested and weapons seized, army Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi told AFP.

Two officers said a helicopter had been shot down, but Zaidi insisted that it was able to return to base.

Militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target security forces and other government employees, and security forces have carried out major operations against them in recent months.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Kenya mall hostage crisis continues, toll 59 .

Kenya mall hostage crisis continues, toll 59 .

New Delhi | Nairobi | 22 Sep 2013 :: Kenyan troops were locked in a fierce gunfight with Somali militants inside an upmarket Nairobi shopping mall on Sunday, in a final push to end a siege that has left 59 killed and 200 wounded with an unknown number of hostages still being held. Israeli forces joined Kenyan efforts to end adeadly siege by Somali militants at the mall, a security source told AFP.

"The Israelis have just entered and they are rescuing the hostages and the injured," the source said on condition he not be named.

The intervention came 26 hours after gunmen walked into the complex, tossing grenades and spraying gunfire at shoppers and staff.

Fifty-nine people are confirmed dead in an attack by Somali Islamist militants on a Nairobi shopping mall, Kenya's interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said on Sunday.

Some 10 to 15 gunmen are still battling security forces inside Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, he said.

"A number of attackers are still in the building, and range between ten to fifteen gunmen," he said.

"We believe there are some innocent people in the building, that is why the operation is delicate."

Somalia's Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels said the carnage at the part Israeli-owned complex mall was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists. Timeline: al Shabab attacks in Somalia, other nations

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation late Saturday that he had "personally lost family members in the Westgate attack".(Courtesy:Hindustan times)

Iraq mosque blasts kill 16 people.

Iraq mosque blasts kill 16 people.

According to the Associated Press, violent attacks in Iraq have
 killed more than 3,000 people since April. (File photo: AFP)

Iraq | AFP | 21 Sep 2013 :: Two bombs exploded in a Sunni mosque in Iraq as worshippers entered for prayers on Friday, killing 16 people, police and a doctor said.

The bombs, which hit the Musab bin Omair mosque near Samarra, north of Baghdad, also wounded 15 people, the sources said.

Militants have carried out numerous attacks on both Sunni and Shiite mosques this year, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict, which peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people.

The February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra itself sparked the wave of brutal violence.

The blasts came a day after the bodies of 10 young men who had been shot dead were found in Baghdad, another reminder of the sectarian conflict in Iraq, during which militants frequently carried out summary executions.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, killing more than 4,200 people since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP toll based on security and medical sources.(Al Arabiya )

Egypt military helicopters hit Sinai militants: Security.

Egypt military helicopters hit Sinai militants: Security.

The wreckage of a burnt car is seen after assaults on militant
 targets by the Egyptian Army, in a village on the outskirts of
 Sheikh Zuweid, near the city of el-Arish in Egypt's Sinai peninsula
 September 10, 2013. (Reuters)

Cairo | AFP | 13 Sep 2013 :: Egyptian military helicopters on Friday carried out air strikes on Islamist militant positions in Sinai, two days after suicide bombers killed six soldiers in the restive peninsula, security sources said.

Apache helicopters targeted hideouts and vehicles used by the militants near the town of Sheikh Zuwayid in northern Sinai, the sources said.

On Wednesday, two car bombs targeting the military intelligence headquarters in the town of Rafah and a nearby checkpoint killed six soldiers and the two militants who drove the vehicles.

A little known jihadist group in Sinai claimed responsibility for the attacks in the town bordering the Gaza Strip.

Jund al-Islam, or Islam’s Soldiers in English, made the claim in a statement posted on militant Islamist forums.

The group accused the Egyptian military of targeting “unarmed Muslims” in its campaign to quell an Islamist militant insurgency in north Sinai.

The military has poured troops and armour into Sinai to crush the insurgency which surged after the army overthrew Egypt’s Islamist president Mohammad Mursi on July 3.

A subsequent crackdown on Islamists left hundreds killed and more than 2,000 arrested across the country.(Courtesy:Al Arabiya)

Egyptian soldiers kill 9 militants in Sinai operation.

Egyptian soldiers kill 9 militants in Sinai operation.

File photo shows Egyptian soldiers in military vehicles
 proceedin toward the al-Jura district in el-Arish in northern Sinai.

Press Tv | 11 Sep 2013 ::The Egyptian military has killed nine militants in the Sinai Peninsula, where the army has launched a major clearing operation against extremist insurgents.

The strike was carried out by army troops, who backed by helicopter gunships, attacked militant hideouts in the restive area, a military source said, on condition of anonymity, on Tuesday. 

Ten others were also arrested in the raids, he added. 

On Monday, the army also discovered explosives, weapons and ammunition during its operation in the villages of el-Mahdiya and Naga Shabana. 

Egypt launched a major military offensive against extremists in Sinai on September 7, after months of clashes with militants. 

The army has described the campaign as "the largest military operation to purge Sinai of terrorism." 

Nearly 30 militants have been killed in the operations over the past three days. 

Violence in Sinai has intensified since Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military in early July, with militants launching near-daily attacks on security forces. (Courtesy:PressTv)

Egyptian army bombards Sinai militants.

Egyptian army bombards Sinai militants.

BBC News | 07 Sep 2013 :: The Egyptian army has attacked militants in the Sinai peninsula using tanks and helicopters, killing or injuring at least 30 people.

Tanks, armoured vehicles and troops were deployed in towns along the border with the Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses say.

The operation is said to be the biggest of its kind in recent years in Sinai.

Elsewhere, soldiers discovered mortars and other explosives on a railway line near the Suez Canal, the state news agency reports.

There have been frequent attacks on pipelines and security forces since the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

On Thursday a powerful explosion targeted Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim as he left his Cairo house for work. He survived unscathed, but officials say another person died.(Courtesy:BBC News)Read More>>>

Shelling near Syrian capital kills 16, activists say.

Shelling near Syrian capital kills 16, activists say.

Fatalities include mostly rebel fighters, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad take their
 position during clashes against Syrian rebels, in Aleppo,
 Syria,Sunday, May 26, 2013 (photo credit: AP Photo/SANA)

BEIRUT | 07 Sep 2013 ::  Syrian anti-regime activists say government shelling has killed 16 people, mostly rebels, near Damascus.

The attack near the Syrian capital comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry lobbies European allies to back Washington’s proposed military action against the Syrian regime.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says President Bashar Assad’s troops fired mortars and artillery early Saturday at opposition fighters’ positions near Moldokhiya, an agricultural area south of Damascus, killing 14 rebels. Two civilians also died in the shelling, the Observatory said.

The group also reported heavy fighting between rebels and Assad troops around the Christian village of Maaloula. The attack, which started Monday, was reportedly spearheaded by al-Qaida-linked fighters and has added to fears of Syrian religious minorities over the role of Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks.(Courtesy:The Times Of Israel)

Militants, police clash in Karachi’s Mauripur; three killed.

Militants, police clash in Karachi’s Mauripur; three killed.

KARACHI | 05 Sep 2013 :: Three suspected militants were killed on Thursday during an exchange of fire with personnel from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Karachi’s Mauripur area, DawnNews reported.

According to SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam, police launched a search operation in the Mauripur graveyard upon receiving a tip-off on the suspects’ whereabouts, following which the suspected men opened fire.

As a result, three suspects were killed in the clash with police personnel.

According to Aslam, the deceased men belonged to banned militant organisation Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Rangers personnel carried out targeted operations in several parts of Karachi overnight as the federal government approved action against lawlessness and terrorism in Sindh’s provincial capital.

The entry and exit points of Karachi’s Sharafi Goth and Paposh Nagar areas were sealed and various suspects were taken into custody. Moreover, houses in the said localities were also raided.

Earlier, Director General Sindh Rangers Rizwan Akhtar took a round of various areas of Karachi. He also visited the command and control centre in order to assess the situation.(Courtesy:Dawn)

U.S. building coalition for Syria strikes, Kerry says.

U.S. building coalition for Syria strikes, 

Kerry says.

A protester raises the national flag of Syria during a demonstration
 against possible U.S. military intervention in Syria in front of the
 U.S. embassy in Rio de Janeiro, September 4, 2013. (Reuters)

Al Arabia | 05 Sep 2013 :: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that an international coalition set to take action against the Syrian regime is growing, adding that Arab countries are being approached to participate.

“We are building support with ... other countries, among them the Arab League,” Kerry said, as the U.S. administration tries to sell its plan for military action to Congress.

The move against the government of President Bashar al-Assad was triggered by a suspected chemical weapons attack on a suburb of the Syrian capital last month, which Washington says has killed at least 1,400 people.

“Specific countries that have talked in terms of acting” include Turkey and France, as well as some Arab states, Kerry said in a statement carried by AFP.

Kerry said the United States had reached out to more than 100 countries in efforts to form a coalition that supports military intervention in Syria.

The news comes as a resolution authorizing a military strike on Syria was approved on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)Read More>>>

Egypt’s Sinai emerges as new theater for jihad.

Egypt’s Sinai emerges as new theater for jihad.

Peninsula becoming a hotbed for terror groups since the ouster of Islamist president Morsi

Egyptian Army personnel supervise the destruction of tunnels
between Egypt and the Gaza Strip at the border, near the town
 of Rafah, northern Sinai, Egypt, Tuesday Sept. 3, 2013
 (photo credit: AP/AP Television)

CAIRO  | AP | 04 Sep 2013 ::  An Egyptian doctor once close to Osama bin Laden is bringing together multiple al-Qaida-inspired militant groups in Egypt’s Sinai to fight the country’s military, as the lawless peninsula emerges as a new theater for jihad, according to Egyptian intelligence and security officials.

There have been other signs of a dangerous shift in the longtime turmoil in the peninsula bordering Israel and Gaza since the military’s July 3 ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, the officials say. With the shifts, Sinai’s instability is becoming more regionalized and threatens to turn into an outright insurgency.

Sinai has seen an influx of foreign fighters the past two months, including several hundred Yemenis. Several militant groups that long operated in the area to establish an Islamic Caliphate and attack their traditional enemy Israel have joined others in declaring formally that their objective now is to battle Egypt’s military.

Also, Sinai has become the focus of attention among major regional jihadi groups. Al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq last weekend called on Egyptians to fight the military, as did al-Qaida’s top leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. The militant considered the most dangerous man in the Sahara — one-eyed terror leader Moktar Belmoktar, a former member of al-Qaida’s North Africa branch — joined forces with a Mali-based jihadi group last month and vowed attacks in Egypt.

Topping the most wanted list in Sinai is Ramzi Mawafi, a doctor who joined al-Qaida in Afghanistan in the 1990s. Mawafi, 61, escaped from an Egyptian prison in 2011 in a massive jailbreak that also sprung free Morsi and more than a dozen Muslim Brotherhood members during the chaos of the uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak.(Courtesy: Times of Israel)

Israel confirms testing missile jointly with US.

Israel confirms testing missile jointly with US.

Press Tv | 03 Sep 2013 :: Israel says it has successfully conducted a joint missile test with the United States in the Mediterranean Sea, amid high tensions in the region over a possible attack on Syria.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Military Affairs, an Ankor-type radar missile was launched on Tuesday in the joint test with the US. 

Israeli media say the missile was fired to simulate ballistic missiles such as Shahab and Scud. 

This is while the US Navy says it has fired no missiles. 

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had detected two “ballistic targets” fired toward the eastern part of the Mediterranean from the sea’s central part. 

The launch of the ballistic objects was detected at 10:16 Moscow time (06:16 GMT) by a radar system in the southern Russian city of Armavir, a Defense Ministry spokesman was quoted by Russia’s Ria Novosti as saying. 

Tensions are running high as Washington is pushing for military action against Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21. 

Damascus has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the chemical attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation. 

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - are supporting the militants operating inside Syria. 

On July 25, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since the outbreak of the foreign-sponsored militancy in the country. (Courtesy:Press Tv)

Seven million displaced in Syrian conflict.

Seven million displaced in Syrian conflict.

a group of Free Syrian Army fighters carry
a woundedcomrade to cover in the town
 of Harem, Syria - File Photo/AP

DAMASCUS | AP | 03 Sep 2013 ::  The United Nations (UN) estimates that five million Syrians have been displaced inside the country due to the ongoing civil war. Another two million have fled to neighboring countries, bringing the total up to seven million, which is nearly one-third of Syria’s population.

Before the outbreak of the conflict, Syria had a population of about 23 million people.

Tarik Kurdi, the representative of the refugee agency in Syria, said that the funding gaps for those displaced remain wide. Donor countries spend less than one-third the amount required to help.

More than 100,000 lives have been lost in Syria’s two-and-a-half-year-old conflict, including the hundreds who were recently killed by an alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21.

While the Syrian government has denied involvement, no proof has so far been submitted to back up the allegations.

In Washington, President Barack Obama was lobbying Congress to support a military strike to punish the Assad regime for its alleged chemical weapons use.

While Obama initially seemed poised to launch military action, the president recently decided to seek congressional approval before deciding on a course of action.

A vote is expected after Congress returns from summer recess on September 7.

On Capitol Hill, senior administration officials briefed lawmakers in private on Sunday to explain why the U.S. was compelled to act against Assad. Further meetings were planned from Monday to Wednesday.

The Arab League, meanwhile, stopped short of endorsing military action.

In an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday, it called on the United Nations and the international community to take ''deterrent'' measures under international law to stop the Syrian regime's crimes.(Courtesy:Dawn)Read More>>>

Indian army kills five near Kashmir border.

Indian army kills five near Kashmir border.

The incident comes a day after Indian police and
 troops claimed to have killed five other suspected
militants in a forested area of Kangan, near Srinagar.
—Reuters Photo

SRINAGAR | AFP | 31 Aug 2013 ::  The Indian army said Saturday it killed five suspected militants in northern Kashmir near the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan territory between India and Pakistan.

An Indian army spokesman claimed the alleged militants were infiltrating from Pakistan-administered Kashmir into Tangdhar on the Indian side, 180 kilometres northwest of the region’s main city of Srinagar, when they were killed.

Indian “soldiers fired upon a group of militants who were seen moving in the area during the night. Five bodies and six automatic rifles were recovered from there after firing from the militants stopped,” Col Rajesh Pandey told news agency AFP.

AFP said the incident could not be independently verified.

According to the Pakistani state-run news agency APP, Indian troops killed at least four men in a siege and search operation in Tangdhar area of Kupwara district.

The incident comes a day after Indian police and troops claimed to have killed five other suspected militants in a forested area of Kangan, near Srinagar.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Iraq market car bomb kills 16.

Iraq market car bomb kills 16.

SAMARRA  | 30 Aug 2013 :: A car bomb ripped through a popular fruit and vegetable market north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 16 people as Iraqis searched for cut-price groceries.

The blast, which also wounded 25 people, struck in the predominantly Sunni Arab city of Samarra at about 6:45 pm (1545 GMT). It came a day after a wave of nationwide violence – including a spate of bombings in the Iraqi capital – killed at least 75 people. The attack was the latest in a surge of unrest, with more than 3,700 people killed so far this year.

It follows security operations targeting militants in Baghdad and to the north and west, though the government has faced charges of not dealing with the root causes of the country’s worst violence since 2008.

Thursday evening’s attack struck the Samarra market, locally known as the Mraydi, at a time when struggling Iraqis typically frequent it in order to take advantage of reduced prices as surplus stock is sold before closing.

In all, 16 people were killed, including three women and two children, and 25 people were wounded, a police officer and a doctor said.

The market, the city’s biggest grocery shopping area, lies in the Jiberia neighbourhood of eastern Samarra.

Attacks elsewhere in Iraq left three others dead — a soldier, a civilian and a militant who was shot dead as he was trying to plant a roadside bomb.

On Wednesday, at least 75 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in a wave of shootings and bombings across Iraq, with the violence mostly targeting the country’s Shiite Muslim majority.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest bloodshed.

Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda frequently trigger car bombs in the middle of crowded areas packed with civilians, ostensibly in a bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led authorities and security forces.

Iraq has seen a marked rise in the level of violence this year, coinciding with demonstrations by the Sunni Arab minority against alleged ill treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces.

More than 600 people have already been killed so far this month, according to an AFP tally.

Though diplomats and analysts have urged broad-reaching moves to tackle Sunni frustrations, which they say give militant groups room to recruit and carry out attacks, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has vowed to press on with an anti-militant campaign.

Officials say security forces have dismantled militant training camps and bomb-making sites, arrested hundreds of alleged insurgents and killed dozens of others in recent weeks.(Courtesy:The Nation)

Attacks kill 17 people in Iraq.

Attacks kill 17 people in Iraq.

Bloodshed washing over country since April has left more than 3,000 people dead

BAGHDAD | AP | 25 Jul 2013 ::  Insurgents assaulted a police headquarters in northern Iraq early Wednesday, killing nine policemen, part of a series of attacks that left at least 17 dead in a growing surge of violence.

The attackers struck the town of Bashmaya outside the city of Mosul, one of the major flashpoints in a wave of bloodshed that has washed over the country since April and left more than 3,000 people dead. The scale of the violence is intensifying fears of a return to the widespread sectarian killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 US-led invasion.

A police official said nine policemen were killed and two wounded in the initial attack. An ambulance rushing to the scene was hit by a roadside bomb, wounding the driver and his assistant, the official said.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to brief reporters.

Insurgents this year have frequently attacked security forces in Mosul, a longtime militant stronghold.

On Monday, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into an army convoy in Mosul, killing at least 13 people — including 10 soldiers. Police found the bodies of four off-duty policemen Tuesday on a road with bullet wounds in their heads. Gunmen in a speeding car also shot dead two other off-duty policemen as they were walking down a street.

Also Wednesday, a car bomb exploded as an army patrol passed by outside the northern city of Kirkuk, killing an officer and a solider, police Lt. Col. Abbas Qadir said. Five soldiers were wounded, he said. Kirkuk is 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad.

And in Baghdad, police found three bullet-ridden corpses, police and medical officials said on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief reporters. They also reported that a bomb exploded in the evening in the religiously mixed northern neighborhood of Qahira, killing three and wounding 11.

In the northern city of Tuz Khormato, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Baghdad, a bomb hidden in a motorized cart exploded in a residential area, wounding 35 people and damaging several houses, police Col. Hussein Ali Rasheed said.

The security situation in Iraq began to deteriorate sharply after security forces cracked down in April on a protest camp in the northern city of Hawija, sparking clashes in which 44 civilians and one member of the security forces were killed, according to estimates by the United Nations.

Overall levels of violence have since escalated and insurgent attacks have become more audacious, including raids this week against two high-security prisons near Baghdad that killed dozens and set free hundreds of inmates, including al-Qaeda-linked militants.

On Tuesday, al-Qaeda’s Iraqi branch claimed responsibility for the attack.(Courtesy:The Times of Israel)