Captain among three soldiers killed in cross-border attack

KHAR: Three security personnel, including an army captain, were killed in an attack by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban militants in Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency, official and tribal sources said on Saturday.

Sources said heavily armed militants operating from the Kunar province of Afghanistan stormed the checkpost of the security forces in Ghakhi Pass near the Pak-Afghan border.

Three soldiers were killed while two persons, including a civilian, suffered injuries in the attack.

The injured were taken to the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Khar, the administrative headquarters of Bajaur Agency, from where they were referred to a military hospital in Peshawar due to their critical condition.

The political administration and the security forces arrested 60 suspects during a search operation in the area after the attack. Such arrests are mostly made under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) against the tribesmen living in the area where the attack has taken place.

The security forces also defused two remote controlled bombs during the search.

The militants affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Kunar often attack border areas in Bajaur. However, it was the first major attack after the Pakistani forces launched a major operation against the militants in North Waziristan on June 15.

The TTP Bajaur Agency chapter claimed responsibility for the night-time attack. It spokesperson, who uses the same name, Shahidullah Shahid, as the central spokesman of the TTP, made a phone call to reporters in Khar and Peshawar using the SIM of Afghanistan’s mobile phone service, to claim responsibility for the attack. He said their men operating in the border area blew up the vehicle of the security forces supplying troops in Gakhi Pass and killed all seven soldiers on board. He claimed the Taliban fighters also seized weapons and other equipment and brought these to their bases.

Meanwhile, Yousaf Raza Mujahid, claiming to be the head of the obscure Taliban al-Qaeda group in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies, appealed to the Pakistani government and the “mujahideen” to announce a ceasefire keeping in view the prevailing security situation in the country.

In a phone call from an undisclosed location to reporters, he said the enemies of the country were benefiting from the rift between the Taliban and the government.

He urged the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to play their role in steering the country out of the prevailing crises and strengthening democracy.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan strongly condemned the terrorist attack. The governor expressed deep shock and sorrow over the loss of precious lives of security personnel.

The governor said that the immortal sacrifices of the officers and jawans of the security forces, FC and Pakistan Army for the security of the country will never go in vain and will always be remembered with great pride.

NNI adds from Islamabad: Pakistan lodged a formal protest with Afghanistan over the cross-border attack.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack on a Bajaur Scouts vehicle at Gakhi Pass in Bajaur Agency launched from across the border in Afghanistan. An officer and two soldiers embraced Shahadat in the attack, while two soldiers were critically injured,” the Foreign Office said.

It said a strong protest had been lodged with the Afghan side in Islamabad and Kabul. “It has been reiterated that Afghanistan should eliminate terrorist sanctuaries and not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan,” said the FO statement.

It said at a time when a “monumental effort” was underway through a major offensive to eliminate all terrorists and their hideouts in North Waziristan tribal region, Afghanistan’s cooperation remained essential for the success of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism endeavours.

INP adds: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif condemned the cross-border terrorist attack on a Pakistani checkpost in Bajaur Agency in which three soldiers, including a captain, embraced martyrdom.

In a statement, the prime minister said the security forces were fighting the war against terrorism to protect the future of the country and laying down their lives for the purpose.

The prime minister said the nation will always remember the sacrifices of the armed forces for the country. He said such attacks could not deter the resolve of the government to eliminate terrorism.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also condemned the attack on security forces in Bajaur.

They prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.

Twin blasts in Bajaur Agency kill two soldiers

RAWALPINDI: Twin blasts caused by roadside bombs killed two soldiers of Pakistan Army in Bajaur Agency on Saturday, Geo News reported.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), two soldiers lost their lives when improvised explosive devices fixed at two different locations went off with a blast in Bajaur Agency.

Terrorists had planted one of the bombs near a Pakistani check post at Pakistan-Afghanistan border area while the other was fixed in Kamrang area of Bara.

The security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

‘Qaeda’ gunmen kill 12 Yemen soldiers, civilian: security

ADEN: Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen killed 12 Yemeni soldiers and a civilian on Thursday in a southern province where troops have been battling the militants since late April, a security official said.

The militants attacked a checkpoint near the Shabwa province village of Bayhan with automatic rifles, also wounding a number of soldiers, the official said.

The army has been engaged in a major ground offensive against Al-Qaeda in Shabwa and neighbouring Abyan province in a bid to expel it from smaller towns and villages that escaped a previous sweep in 2012.

Seven soldiers martyred in Bajaur Agency attack

BAJAUR: At least seven security personnel were martyred and seven others injured in cross border attacks on Pakistani security check posts on Thursday, Geo News reported.

According to military sources, two soldiers were martyred in cross-border firing by terrorists at Mano Zangal and Makha Top check posts at the Pak-Afghan border. Four other security men including an officer were also injured in the firing.

Later in the afternoon, the terrorists attacked the check post at Makha Top again that killed two more soldiers. Four security personnel were also injured when a blast occurred in the evening.

In the retaliatory action by the military, several terrorists were killed.

The military sources further told that the recent attack is the third incident of cross border assault since May 25.

Militants storm checkposts in Bajaur from Afghanistan Four soldiers killed

 

KHAR: Four soldiers were killed and four others sustained injuries when Afghanistan-based militants attacked the security forces checkposts in the Mamond Tehsil of Bajaur Agency, official sources said on Wednesday.
The sources said the militants attacked the security forces checkposts in Manro Zangal and Makha Top in Mamond Tehsil with heavy weaponry at 4am.

“Two soldiers were killed and three others sustained injuries in the attack in Manro Zangal while two soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries in an attack on a checkpost in Makha Top,” an official said.

The official sources claimed several militants were killed in the retaliatory fire by the soldiers manning the checkposts.However, the claim could not be confirmed from independent sources due to the inaccessibility of the area for journalists.

Local sources said the exchange of fire continued for several hours. The security forces sources said the militants escaped from the area after the forces returned the fire.It was the third such attack in Mamond Tehsil during the last two weeks. The sources said security forces had beefed up the security in the border villages.

Around 19 militants were killed and five Frontier Corps soldiers were injured in clashes between the security forces and militants on May 25 and 31.

APP adds: Pakistan condemned the unprovoked attacks from the Afghan side and the matter was raised with the Afghan government in Kabul and with their embassy in Islamabad.

The Foreign Office spokesperson, in a statement, said early Wednesday morning, two Pakistani border posts — Manro Zangal and Makha Tops in Bajaur Agency — were attacked by terrorists from Afghanistan.

The spokesperson said as a result of this unprovoked firing, two Pakistani soldiers were martyred and three others, including one officer, were injured.Pakistan said it was the third incident of cross-border attack in the last 10 days.

The spokesperson said it had been emphasized that Afghanistan must take concrete steps to stop the use of its territory against Pakistan. For its part, Pakistan remains committed to supporting all efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan, said the spokesperson.

Six soldiers killed in Mohmand IED explosion

GHALLANAI: Six soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Pandyalai tehsil in Mohmand Agency on Saturday, official and tribal sources said.

The sources said unidentified miscreants blew up the Government Middle School at Malik Sher Killay in Utmanzai Shatai Kandao area in Pandyalai late Friday night and the personnel of the Khushal Scouts, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC), were on the way to the spot to carry out a search operation when their vehicle hit an IED planted on the road.

Four soldiers, including Habib Khan, Wajid Khan, Sabir and Hazrat Noor were killed on the spot and three others were injured in the explosion. The injured soldiers, including Sohail, Hameed Khan and another one whose name could not be known, were being shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Peshawar by a helicopter, but two of them succumbed to their injuries.

The third injured soldier was also stated to be in a critical condition. The vehicle was destroyed in the blast.

The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mohmand Agency chapter’s spokesman Umar Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to journalists in Ghallanai from an undisclosed location.

Most members of this group are based across the border in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. Its head is Abdul Wali, who calls himself Omar Khalid Khurasani and has been living in Goshta district in the neighbouring Nangarhar province.

Meanwhile, a previously unheard of militant group, Lashkar-e-Jarrar, also claimed responsibility for the attack in Mohmand Agency. Its spokesman, Mohammadullah, phoned reporters in Kohat and other places to claim that their men had launched the attack to take revenge for the incident in Mir Ali in North Waziristan. He apparently referred to recent airstrikes in North Waziristan in which reportedly militants and civilians were killed. “We are an independent group and our attacks would continue until we kill 100 of our enemies to equal the death toll in the ongoing airstrikes in North Waziristan,” Mohammadullah stressed.

Soon after the attack, the security forces and the political administration in a joint search operation arrested 31 suspects, including the watchman of the bombed school under the collective responsibility section of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. Sniffer dogs were also used in the search operation.

The recent bombing raised the number of destroyed schools in Mohmand Agency to 126.

Meanwhile, the political administration imposed an indefinite curfew in Khwezai, Safi and Haleemzai tehsils for an indefinite period. The main road from Nahaqi in Mohmand to Bajaur Agency and the one from Hapah to Bhai Daag were put under curfew.

The curfew caused gridlock on the Peshawar-Bajaur road, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded. The local people remained indoors due to the curfew. They were concerned that the indefinite curfew could cause shortage of food items in the areas placed under curfew.

Online adds from Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday strongly condemned the Mohmand Agency blast.

In his message, the prime minister expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the blast.

He prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.

Car bomb kills 2 soldiers in Libya's Benghazi

BENGHAZI: A car bomb targeting a Libyan special forces barracks in the restive eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday killed two soldiers and wounded another two, medical and military officials said.

The attack, which took place at the entrance to the barracks on road to the airport, appeared to have been carried out by a suicide car bomber, an army officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 uprising that ended Moamer Kadhafi´s four-decade rule and has since been plagued by violence that has killed dozens of members of the security forces, judges and foreigners.

According to the army officer, the blast killed two soldiers and wounded two more. An official at Benghazi´s Al-Jala hospital confirmed a death toll of two.

The government has struggled to consolidate control in the vast and mostly desert country, which is effectively ruled by a patchwork of local militias and awash in heavy weapons looted from Kadhafi´s arsenals.

On December 22, a suicide car bomb targeting a security post 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Benghazi left 13 people dead.

Militants have also attacked foreign missions in Benghazi, including a September 2012 assault on the US consulate in the Mediterranean city that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.

Three soldiers killed in IED blast

MIRANSHAH: Three Pakistan army soldiers, including an officer, were killed and three others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on their vehicle in the area between the South Waziristan and North Waziristan tribal regions on Sunday evening.
Military officials said a military double-cabin pickup truck carrying the soldiers to a post was hit by an IED in the mountainous area between the two tribal regions.The vehicle was damaged in the blast and three soldiers, including an officer, were killed on the spot while three others suffered critical injuries.The injured soldiers were later in the night shifted to the military hospital in a medical ambulance helicopter of the Pakistan Army.

Gunmen attack Iraq military base, kill 10 soldiers

BAGHDAD: Militants launched a brazen attack on a military base in a restive area in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 10 soldiers and wounding 12, officials said.

The morning attack at the base outside the city of Mosul, about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, started with a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives-laden truck at the gates of the facility, an army officer and a police officer said.

A group of gunmen then opened fire from apparently commandeered military Humvees and a shootout ensued. At least 10 troops were killed and 12 were wounded, the officials said.

Eight militants were also killed in the fighting.

A medical official confirmed the causality figures.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media. (AP)

 

Soldiers from India, China celebrate Bihu at border

Guwahati: In a show of brotherhood, soldiers of Indian Army and Peoples Liberation Army of China celebrated Bihu festival at the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to an official release, the forward troops stationed in the remote areas near Bumla post celebrated the occasion on Monday by inviting PLA soldiers deployed on the other side of the border to play friendly matches of volleyball, tug of war and archery. 

The tunes of military band, followed by a cultural show which included Bihu and Bhangra dances, mesmerised all present on the occasion. 

"The guests from Peoples Liberation Army of China thanked their hosts and appreciated the Indians for their initiative, which will go a long way in creating a feeling of bonhomie, peace and tranquillity," the release said.

Both sides hoped that this initiative would go to the strategic level and take it to new heights as well as at the ground level, it said. The festivities came to an end with both the armies paying respect to their National Flags while the National Anthem was played.

Four abducted soldiers back in Iran

TEHRAN: Four Iranian soldiers abducted by extremists have returned home after being held for two months, state media on Sunday cited the intelligence ministry as saying.

The ministry did not address the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, a fifth soldier abducted along with his fellow border guards on February 6. The Jaishul Adl (Army of Justice) rebel group said Danayifar was executed in late March.

“Four of the abducted border guards returned to the homeland,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB’s website.Reports on Friday said the four, along with Danayifar´s body, had been handed over to Iranian officials after being released. No details were immediately available where the soldiers had been held while prisoner, or how Iran secured their freedom.

The five were abducted in the restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, while serving their 24-month mandatory military service near the border with Pakistan.The news that Danayifar had been “executed” drew international condemnation, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling it an “appalling act”. A US State Department spokesman called for the “swift release” of the Iranian conscripts.

Jaishul Adl had warned of further killings if Tehran refused to “release their prisoners”. — AFPOnline adds: Four Iranian freed border guards have been received by some Sunni and Baloch influential men and security officials at a frontier point near the provincial capital Zahedan, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

According to the reporter of ‘SunniOnline’, the Iranian hostages have been released after continuous efforts made by prominent religious and tribal elders under the supervision of Islamic Sunni scholar, Mawlana Abdol-Hamid.

The outlawed armed group, Jaish al-Adl, claimed the responsibility of abducting five Iranian border guards on February 8, this year. The spokesman of the group told Iranian news agencies that they released four of the guards to respect the appeal of the tribal and religious elders; however, one of the hostages had been shot dead two weeks ago.