News Story: Indian firing kills 1 Pakistani civilian: Pakistan's army

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistan's army said that at least one civilian was killed and four others injured in Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday.

"Indian troops resorted to unprovoked fire along LoC in Nikiyal Sector targeting civil population with heavy weapons including mortars and anti-tank guided missile (ATGMs)," a statement from the military said.

"Pakistan Army troops responded effectively on posts undertaking firing. Reports of casualties to Indian troops and material," the statement said.

Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC in the disputed Kashmir region and the Working Boundary in 2003. Both, however, routinely accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: At Least One Civilian Killed In Ongoing Rocket Attack In Kabul

At least one civilian has been killed and four wounded in a string of rocket attacks on the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul city center on Wednesday.

The attack started shortly after 11am (27-Sep-2017) and at least two explosions were heard at about 2.30pm followed by a much bigger one about 15 minutes.

Reports indicated that anywhere between 30 and 40 explosions had been heard in the vicinity over a three hour period.

Airport officials have said all flights into Kabul have been diverted and flights out of the city have been cancelled until further notice.

However, the officials said no damage has been caused to the runway but that it is being cleared of shrapnel.

The ministry of interior confirmed that at least one civilian has been killed.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

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• Rocket Attack On Kabul International Airport

News Story: Afghan forces kill 7 militants in eastern Laghman province & 4 killed, 3 injured in eastern Afghan attacks

Afghan forces kill 7 militants in eastern Laghman province

MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Seven militants have been killed as clash erupted between security forces and Taliban fighters in Alinegar district of the eastern Laghman province on Wednesday, spokesman for provincial government Sarhadi Zawak said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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4 killed, 3 injured in eastern Afghan attacks

ASADABAD, Afghanistan, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Four civilians were killed and three others wounded in two separate incidents in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, provincial police chief said Wednesday.

In one attack, which happened early Wednesday morning, a woman was killed and two children wounded when militants fired mortars on security checkpoints in Marawara district of Kunar province, bordering Pakistan, Gen. Juma Gul Hemmat told Xinhua.

The wounded children were shifted to a hospital in provincial capital Asadabad.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: India, Pakistan troops exchange fire on Kashmir border

by Peerzada Arshad Hamid

NEW DELHI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The troops of India and Pakistan exchanged heavy fire and shelling on Monday for the fourth-straight day on the International Border (IB) in Kashmir, officials said.

The exchange of fire was reported along the IB in Arnia area of R S Pura sector of Jammu, the winter capital city of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Pakistani troops again violated the cease-fire by firing mortars and resorting to heavy firing in Arnia sector along the IB last night. The shelling targeting Indian positions and civilian areas started around 9:00 p.m. (local time) and was intermittently going on since then," a police official said.

According to Indian officials, the border guards posted in the sector effectively retaliated to the firing and the exchange of fire continued for several hours.

No casualty was reported on the Indian side in the fresh exchange of fire, officials said.

On Saturday night a woman was killed and five others wounded in Arnia sector.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Mortar hits hotel, wounds 6 civilians on Kabul-Jalalabad highway & Roadside bomb kills district police chief, 2 bodyguard in E. Afghanistan

Mortar hits hotel, wounds 6 civilians on Kabul-Jalalabad highway

KABUL, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least six civilians were wounded, two of them critically, following an armed militants shelling on a hotel along the highway between Afghanistan's Kabul and eastern Jalalabad city on Thursday, and official said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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Roadside bomb kills district police chief, 2 bodyguard in E. Afghanistan

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A district police chief along with two of his bodyguards were killed as their vehicle ran over a land mine in Jaghato district of eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Thursday.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Pakistani forces arrest 6 terror suspects, recover arms - army

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces have arrested 6 terror suspects and seized arms during search operations in two tribal regions, the military said on Tuesday.

The security forces on Tuesday carried out search operations in parts of Mohmand tribal agency, bordering Afghanistan, on reports of terrorist hideout, a statement from the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said.

Suicide jackets, improvised explosive devices, rockets, hand grenades, detonators, huge amount of various calibre ammunition and communication equipment were also recovered, it said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Afghan police foil ammunition smuggling in northern province

Afghan Police Officer (File Photo)

SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Police seized sacks of ammunition from a truck in the northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan and arrested two persons on charge of smuggling on Wednesday, provincial police chief Rahmatullah Turkistani said.

"The smugglers placed more than 100 mortar mines in several bags inside a truck that was carrying bags of ladyfingers and melons from Kunduz to Jawzjan province onward to armed insurgents in Faryab province but fortunately police discovered and seized the contraband," Turkistani told Xinhua.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: 2 Indian troops killed in Pakistan-India skirmishes in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian army troops were killed Wednesday in skirmishes between Pakistan and India on the Line of Control (LoC), which divides Kashmir, officials said.

An Indian army spokesman said the casualties took place in Keran sector of frontier Kupwara district, some 130 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"In a cease-fire violation today two troops lost their lives in Keran sector of Kupwara," Indian military spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia told Xinhua.

"The incident took place at around 2:20 p.m. local time."

On Saturday, two people including a woman were killed in Poonch sector, while as five civilians were killed on Pakistani side in a similar exchange of fire.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: 14 civilians injured in mortar shelling attack in eastern Afghanistan

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen civilians were injured in a mortar shelling attack in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Thursday, a local official said.

"A mortar shell fired by militants struck a populated area in Ghani Khel district early Thursday morning, wounding 14 innocent civilians," provincial government spokesman Attahullah Khogyani told Xinhua.

Six of the injured, who suffered serious wounds, were shifted by security forces to a regional hospital in provincial capital Jalalabad to receive intensive medical treatment, the spokesman added.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Retaking Marawi - Snipers, mortars, bombs

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

MANILA, Philippines - Sprawled on the boarded-up balcony of a two-story house, the barrel of his rifle poked into a hole cut in the wood, an Army sniper calls for quiet before taking his shot.

“Firing,” he says evenly, before the .50 caliber shot rings out, sending tremors through the house. He was firing at a home less than a kilometer away, believed to be a stronghold of Islamist Maute group of militants who have been holed up in Marawi City for over five weeks.

A spotter sat next to him, with his scope set into another hole. The two spoke quietly to each other as the sniper took three more shots across the Agus River into the militant-held commercial district of Marawi, now a battleground strewn with debris from ruined buildings.

Scores of bodies are rotting in the area, and the stench mixes with the smell of gunpowder.

Thousands of soldiers are battling to retake Marawi, where gunmen of the Maute group loyal to Islamic State (IS) launched a lightning strike on May 23.

Southern Philippines has been marred for decades by insurgency and banditry. But the intensity of the battle in Marawi and the presence of foreign fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia, Yemen and Chechnya fighting alongside local militants had raised concerns that the region may be becoming a Southeast Asian hub for IS as it loses ground in Iraq and Syria.

As troops poured in to contain the siege, few were expecting a slow, difficult and unfamiliar urban war.

“We are used to insurgencies... but a deployment of this magnitude, this kind of conflict is a challenge for our troops,” said Lt Col Christopher Tampus, one of the officers commanding ground operations in Marawi.

He said progress in clearing the city has been hindered by militant fire and booby traps like gas tanks rigged with grenades.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Residents on Kashmir LoC flee to safer places in wake of skirmishes

by Peerzada Arshad Hamid

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 15 (Xinhua) -- As troops of India and Pakistan resort to heavy firing and mortar shelling on Line of Control (LoC) which divides Kashmir.

Hundreds of families residing along frontier areas were affected and have fled their homes, officials said Monday.

The migrations are going on in Noushera sector of frontier Rajouri district, about 220 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

While some people have gone to live with relatives, the majority of the residents have taken shelter in government buildings (mainly schools) earmarked by authorities as temporary accommodation for affected residents.

"More than 2694 families comprised of 10,042 persons have been affected in shelling killing two and wounding six others. The shelling has also perished livestock and damaged standing crops besides damaging 45 houses," a government spokesman said. "Out of 64 villages along LoC in Rajouri 23 are located in Noushera sub-division, where eight villages are badly affected and remaining 15 villages suffered partial damages."

Local authorities have set up relief camps and more than 25 buildings have been earmarked to meet the eventuality.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Five children killed in mortar shelling attack in Afghan province

MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Five children were killed and two others wounded after a mortar shell struck a residential area in Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman on Sunday, the provincial government said.

"One mortar round fired by armed opponents landed in Omarzai locality in provincial capital Mehtarlam city roughly at mid-day. The blast killed five innocent children on the spot and injured two other kids," it said in a statement.

The wounded were shifted to a hospital in the city some 90 km east of Afghan capital Kabul.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Pakistan army says Indian firing injures 4 civilians

ISLAMABAD, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistan army said that at least four civilians were injured in an Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region.

The Indian troops "committed ceasefire violation and targeted civilians with mortars" in village Thruti in Nikiyal sector at LoC, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement late Saturday.

"Pakistani troops effectively responded to silent Indian firing," the statement added.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Pakistani forces recover huge cache of arms in tribal areas - army

ISLAMABAD, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan army said on Sunday that the security forces have recovered huge cache of arms in two tribal regions that were used for terrorist activities in the country.

The army and other law enforcement agencies are currently engaged in intelligence-based operations across the country to target the hideouts of the militants and their facilitators.

The military announced on Feb. 22 the start of the operation codenamed "Radd-ul-Fasaad," or "Reject Discord" in English, after a series of terrorist attacks that killed over 100 people in the country.

"Security forces recover huge cache of arms and ammunition including rockets, prepared IEDs, explosive, grenades, mortar bombs, different types of weapons and communication equipment" from Kalaya area in Orakzai tribal agency and Parachinar in Kurram tribal agency, the army said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: 5 civilians killed in northern Afghan shelling - police

TALUQAN, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Five civilians were killed and three others wounded overnight as a result of Taliban militants' shelling in the northern province of Takhar, police said Thursday.

"The insurgents fired several rounds of mortar shell on security checkpoints in Lalah Guzar locality, Khwaja Bahawuddin district last night," Mahfozullah Akbari, police spokesman of the 808 Spin Zaar Police Zone based in the region, told Xinhua.

"But the shelling struck the nearby houses and as a result, five innocent civilians were martyred and three others wounded," he said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: US State Department OKs mortar rounds sale to Singapore

Image: Wiki Commons

By: Mike Yeo

MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale to Singapore for 120mm guided mortar rounds worth $66 million. 

According to a release from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Southeast Asian island nation requested a sale of 2,000 Orbital ATK XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative rounds. 

Responding to a request from Defense News for comment, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence confirmed it's looking to acquire 120mm guided mortar munitions, although it added that “the acquisition process is in the preliminary stage, and the Singapore Armed Forces is considering several options.” 

According to Orbital ATK, the XM395 combines GPS guidance and computer-controlled directional control surfaces onto existing 120mm mortar rounds, replacing the standard fuzes and transforming them into precision-guided munitions that are compatible with all 120mm smoothbore mortar systems.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Gunfight breaks out in Indian-controlled Kashmir & 2 militants, policeman killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

Gunfight breaks out in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A fierce gunfight between militants and Indian troops broke out Saturday in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The gunfight erupted at a Tral village in Pulwama district, about 42 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"This evening a gunfight broke out at village Hafoo-Nazneenpora of Tral," a police official told Xinhua.

"The gunfight broke out after contingents of India troops and police encircled a house on the intelligence information suggesting presence of militants in the area."

No sooner the news about the gunfight broke out, locals took to roads and clashed with police and paramilitary apparently in a bid to break cordon and help militants to escape.

Reports said during the clashes, youth snatched a rifle from a paramilitary trooper.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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2 militants, policeman killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Two militants and an Indian policeman were killed and three others wounded Sunday in a fierce gunfight between militants and Indian troops in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight erupted on Saturday evening at a Tral village in Pulwama district, about 42 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Two militants were killed in the gunfight at Tral today. One of them is a local Hizb commander, and another is a foreigner," region's Police Chief Shesh Paul Vaid told media in Srinagar. "Unfortunately, we have lost one policemen fighting these militants."

Vaid was attending wreath laying ceremony of the slain policeman at police headquarters in Srinagar.

The gunfight lasted for more than 16 hours.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Abu Sayyaf death toll hits 10 in Sulu offensive

By Roel Pareño

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – The military confirmed at least 10 militants were killed in the offensive Friday against the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu.

The firefight however left 17 soldiers injured, officials said.

Col. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS), said the troops clashed with about 150 militants from the combined groups of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron and Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan.

Sobejana said they have confirmed 10 Abu Sayyaf killed so far and several others wounded.

“The number of killed enemies could be even more but the fleeing Abu Sayyaf members managed to retrieve their casualties,” Sobejana said.

He said some of those killed have already been identified as well six of the wounded bandits.

 The fierce fighting initially erupted about 9 a.m. when troops from the 32nd Infantry Battalion encountered the Abu Sayyaf at Barangay Taglibi.

The firefight lasted for over an hour with government troops utilizing crew-served weapons, supported by airstrike and ground artillery.

The heavy fighting left an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf casualties and at least 14 soldiers wounded, mostly from barrages of grenade launchers from the militants.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Heavy Shelling by Pakistan Causing Avalanches in Kashmir - Indian Army Chief

Both countries have been engaged in heavy shelling with mortars on the border for the last one year. Both armies have lost dozens of soldiers in close firing at the Line of Control, the de-facto border between India and Pakistan.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – The death toll from avalanches in the Himalayan region of Kashmir has risen to 20 over the last week after five more Indian soldiers succumbed to their injuries on Monday. All these five soldiers were rescued from heavy snow in the Machhil sector on Saturday.

“The five Army soldiers, who had been trapped under the snow in Machhil sector on January 28 and subsequently rescued after grueling daylong mission, were today evacuated to Srinagar, despite persistent poor weather conditions, for specialist medical care. Unfortunately, all five brave hearts have succumbed to their injuries,” reads a release sent by Indian Army’s Northern Command.

News Report: India Considers More Active Military Role in Afghanistan

An Afghan Air Force AN-32 (Image: Wiki Commons)

India has assessed requirement of spare parts to restore dozens of Russian made military helicopters and transport aircraft. India remains non-committal to supply military spare parts to Afghanistan despite having unique agreement with Russia since year 2014.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India may be willing to play a more active military role in Afpak theatre as New Delhi might seek support from Moscow to restore Afghan Government's Soviet-era idle helicopters and military equipment.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could discuss the issue with leaders of Afghanistan and Russia during the sixth ‘Heart of Asia' conference to be held this week-end in the border town of Amritsar. 

Afghanistan had presented a wish list of spare parts for refurbishing over four dozen helicopters and some An-32 medium lift aircraft. Afghanistan has also requested brand new T-72 tanks, 105 mm howitzers and AN-32 transport planes.