News Story: 3 militants killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir gunfight

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Three militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with Indian army near Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, officials said Monday.

The gunfight according to Indian army officials broke out in forest area at Kalghe village of frontier Uri town, about 117 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Three militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with army at Kalghe of Uri," a police spokesman said. "The gunfight that started early on Sunday morning ended during the night."

The operation in the area was launched following specific information about presence of militants in the area, police said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Philippine troops kill 9 leftist rebels in firefight

New People's Army (NPA)

MANILA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Nine local communist rebels were killed on Wednesday in an exchange of gunfire with government forces in northern Philippines, an army spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Northern Luzon Command, said a clash broke out between army troops and some 15 New People's Army (NPA) at around 7:25 a.m. local time in a village in Carranglan town in Nueva Ecija province.

NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which was founded in 1968 and has been fighting a guerrilla war against the government ever since.

Nato said an army soldier was also wounded in the right leg during the firefight that lasted more than two hours.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Suspects arrested, heavy ammunition recovered in SW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Several suspects were arrested and a heavy cache of arms and ammunition were recovered by Pakistani security forces during last four days in an ongoing operation in different areas in the country's southwest province of Balochistan, local media reported on Saturday.

The intelligence based search and hunt operation in the province is part of the ongoing Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad.

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was launched by the Pakistani army in support of local law enforcement agencies to de-weaponize the society and to eliminate the hidden terrorist sleeper cells across the country on Feb. 22 this year after a series of lethal terrorist attacks.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: 3 arrested as police clash with NPAs

New People’s Army (NPA)

By Emmanuel Tupas

MANILA, Philippines - Policemen clashed with suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Taytay, Palawan last Friday, but no casualties were reported.

Supt. Imelda Tolentinno, spokesperson of the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) police, said the encounter happened at around 10:20 a.m. in Barangay Alacalian.

Elements from the police Regional Public Safety Battalion were conducting patrol operations when they spotted a group of around 20 armed men inside a nipa hut.

A woman was said to be conducting a lecture before the armed men, who opened fire at the policemen, triggering a shootout.

Members of the 212 Marines Company arrived and reinforced the policemen.

There were no reported casualties on the government’s side while authorities are verifying reports on rebel casualties.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Nine dead in clash between gov't troops, rebels in Philippines

MANILA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Philippine troops and guerrillas clashed on Wednesday in Compostela Valley province in the southern Philippines, killing eight rebels and a soldier.

In a statement, the Philippine army said the troops clashed with around 40 New People's Army (NPA) rebels around 8:30 a.m. in Laak town. The troops also recovered at least five M-16 assault rifles and an M60 machine gun.

The NPA rebels reportedly fled after the clash leaving behind their dead comrades and firearms.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Manufacturer of India's home-made guns slams army for rejecting assault rifles

NEW DELHI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Manufacturer of India's home-made guns, the government-run ordnance factory board (OFB), has slammed the army for rejecting its assault rifle on grounds that it failed basic tests, a local television news channel NDTV said Tuesday.

According to NDTV, U Mukherjee, spokesperson of the gun manufacturer, said in a letter to the channel that the home-made assault rifle rejected by the army last month functioned flawlessly without any stoppages.

"A top army General fired the rifle during trials and it delivered like a dream," Mukherjee was quoted as having said.

Last month, the channel was the first to report that the Indian army had, after trials of the new 7.62mm x 51mm assault rifle, concluded that it failed basic tests including being too noisy and indiscreet for combat.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Duterte tells troops not to fear civilian deaths

President Rodrigo Duterte

By Jim Gomez

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte assured troops on Wednesday that he would protect them from any legal action if they accidently kill civilians while battling militants who have besieged Marawi City.

Duterte ordered the army to destroy the militants aligned with the Islamic State group who attacked Marawi on May 23, sparking fighting that has left more than 400 combatants and civilians dead. On Wednesday, retrieval teams recovered 17 more bodies believed to be those of villagers killed by the militants in an area of Marawi that has returned to government control.

Duterte said in a televised speech that troops don't intend to kill civilians, but they should "not hesitate to engage just because there are civilians. It is the duty of the civilians to flee or seek cover."

He assured the troops that he would fight to keep them out of prison for accidental deaths.

"We will face charges, sometimes massacre, you know a bullet hits through and through, one squeeze of the Armalite (rifle), it bursts out about three, four. Keep on pressing it," Duterte said.

Duterte declared martial law in the southern Philippines to deal with the Marawi crisis, in which hundreds of militants stormed into the predominantly Muslim city, occupied buildings, took a Roman Catholic priest and others hostage and hoisted Islamic State group-style black flags.

He warned Wednesday that if militants gather elsewhere, he would consider taking more emergency steps, including empowering law enforcers to make warrantless arrests.

"And my orders to you, if he carries a gun, he is not a soldier, he is not a policeman, just kill him. That is my order, because they will kill us," Duterte told the troops.

Such remarks have alarmed human rights groups, which have already expressed concern over the killings of thousands of suspected drug dealers and users under a crackdown on illegal drugs that Duterte launched after taking office last June.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: China exploring joint military drills with Philippines vs terrorism

By Audrey Morallo

MANILA, Philippines — China is exploring joint military exercises with the Philippines, Beijing’s ambassador to Manila said on Wednesday, as he also announced several measures aimed at helping the Philippines fight terrorism.

Speaking at the ceremony for the turnover of Chinese military hardware to the Philippines, Zhao Jianhua, the Chinese ambassador, said Beijing would like to explore the possibility of holding joint military exercises and intelligence training with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a sign of how far the relations between the two nations have improved since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency last year.

Aside from the possibility of cooperation between the two nations’ security forces, Zhao also announced that another batch of military hardware was already on its way, and the Philippines could expect it in a few months.

Zhao was speaking at the ceremony for the turnover of military assistance that included TY-85 7.62mm sniper rifles, CS/LR4A high-precision rifles, and CQ-A5 5.56 automatic rifles. The shipment also came with 6 million rounds of ammunition, according to reports.

The Chinese ambassador said that terrorism is a common enemy of Manila and Beijing. This should make them face this problem together, Zhao said, as he introduced the idea of joint military training.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: India's home-made assault rifles fail basic test

NEW DELHI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- India's home-made assault rifles have failed basic trials, thus being rejected by the Indian Army, media reports said Thursday.

The 7.62 x51 mm indigenous assault rifles, which were made by state-owned Ordnance Factory Board and meant to replace AK-47s used by Indian armed forces, have many faults, including excessive recoil and excessive flash and sound signature, unnamed Army sources were quoted as saying.

"The weapon in its present form leaves much to be desired, is unsatisfactory and requires comprehensive design analysis," an Indian Army's internal assessment says, after a user trial was conducted at the Rifle Factory in the eastern state of West Bengal's Icchapore on June 13 and 14.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: (Philippines) Gov’t, Reds commit to stop offensives

New People’s Army (NPA) rebels

By Jennifer Rendon

MANILA, Philippines -  The government will suspend offensives against communist rebels to pave the way for the resumption of formal peace talks, the chief negotiator announced yesterday.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the move was meant to reciprocate a declaration of communist negotiators last Saturday that the New People’s Army (NPA) would stop attacks to allow the military to focus on the fight against Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Marawi. He did not say when the cessation of offensives would start.

Bello made the announcement hours after NPA rebels raided a police station in Iloilo’s Maasin town yesterday, seizing guns and robbing the police of personal belongings including cash, jewelry and laptops.

Last Saturday, the military killed three NPA members in Davao Oriental and two others in Compostela Valley.

“The Philippine government hereby correspondingly reciprocates with the same declaration of not undertaking offensive operations against the (NPA),” Bello declared.

In Maasin, officials said about 50 raiders arrived on a tarpaulin-covered truck, passing the town proper teeming with the usual Sunday crowd before stopping in front of the police station along Taft Street.

Initial reports said two women from the 50 heavily armed band entered the police station and pretended to file a blotter complaint. They surprised the nine policemen on duty at the precinct before announcing the attack.

Police reported no casualties, but the rebels took the weapons and personal belongings of the police including cash and laptops.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: ISIS threat in Southeast Asia alarms Washington

By Matthew Pennington

WASHINGTON – Southeast Asia’s jihadis who fought by the hundreds for the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria now have a different battle closer to home in the southern Philippines. It’s a scenario raising significant alarm in Washington.

The recent assault by IS-aligned fighters on Marawi has left more than 300 people dead, exposing the shortcomings of local security forces and the extremist group’s spreading reach in a region where counterterrorism gains are coming undone.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress last week a long-running US military operation to help Philippine forces contain extremist fighters was canceled prematurely three years ago. Small numbers of US special forces remain in an “advise and assist” role, and the US is providing aerial surveillance to help the Philippines retake Marawi, an inland city of more than 200,000 people.

But lawmakers, including from President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, want a bigger US role, short of boots on the ground. They fear the area is becoming a new hub for Islamist fighters from Southeast Asia and beyond.

“I don’t know that ISIS are directing operations there but they are certainly trying to get fighters into that region,” said Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, using another acronym for the group. “We need to address the situation. It should not get out of control.”

US intelligence and counterterrorism officials note that IS has publicly accepted pledges from various groups in the Philippines. In a June 2016 video, it called on followers in Southeast Asia to go to the Philippines if they cannot reach Syria.

About 40 foreigners, mostly from neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, have been among 500 involved in fighting in Marawi, the Philippine military says. Reports indicate at least one Saudi, a Chechen and a Yemeni killed. In all, more than 200 militants have died in the standoff, now in its fourth week.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Indian Army hunts for new carbines

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — The Indian Army has issued a global request for information procure 200,000 5.56mm close-quarter battle carbines at a cost of about $400 million under the Buy & Make India category. The total order is estimated to increase to 500,000 if the requirement of the domestic paramilitary forces is also taken into account.

Efforts to acquire the CQB carbines since 2008 have not yielded any result, and the carbines developed by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization, or DRDO, and the Ordnance Factory Board, or OFB, have not been accepted by the Indian Army, according to a senior Indian Ministry of Defence. 

The formal tender — expected to be issued in the next six months — will seek a transfer of technology for the carbines to be license produced in India under a partnership with domestic defense companies. 

Several overseas equipment manufacturers — including Beretta of Italy, FN FAL of Belgium, Heckler & Koch of Germany, Colt's Manufacturing Company of the United States, and Sig Sauer of Switzerland — are likely to tie up with Indian defense companies such as private sector firms Mahindra Defence, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge and Reliance Defence.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Report: India Plans Purchasing Weapons to Protect Air Force Bases Across Country

India's Defense Ministry issued a request for information (RFI) from arms manufacturers, aiming to beef up the Garud Commando Force, a special unit of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Suppliers will have to respond to the IAF by July 8. The RFIs suggest the IAF will recruit 8,000-10,000 more people for the Garud force to protect 54 IAF base stations. The terror attack on Pathankot air base last year forced India to provide advanced weapons and equipment to the IAF commandos.

The request points to likely acquisition of 50-60 armored vehicles along with military equipment to protect its personnel during operations. The IAF needs a 5-meter-long vehicle with a crew capacity of six for its special forces. Among other specifications, the IAF has demanded a minimum 350-kilometer operating range with a speed of 100 kmph on a level highway. The vehicles will be designed in such a way that the Garud forces would be able to mount and fire a 5.56mm light machine gun.

The IAF will also equip its commandos with 600 7.62mm rifles with sights and accessories and 200 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher compatible with it.

Garud Commando Force will also receive approximate 1,800 sub-machine guns and 2,000 9mm pistols, according to the RFI issued by the Indian Air Force.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: IS leader ordered Marawi siege – Rody

President Duterte

PacificSentinel Note: President Duterte has a habit of playing fast and loose with the truth, so make of this story what you will.

By Alexis Romero and Paolo Romero

Maute assets seizure pushed

MANILA, Philippines -  The leader of the Islamic State (IS) himself ordered the siege of Marawi City, which has been ravaged by prolonged clashes between government forces and Maute militants for the past three weeks, President Duterte said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters in Cagayan de Oro City, Duterte said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi “specifically ordered the conduct of terroristic activities in the Philippines.”

“We had known all along the buildup here in Marawi. That is why if you were tracking my statements in public, (what I said) was, ‘Do not force my hand into it.’ Because there were already terroristic acts… the victims were innocent men and women and children,” Duterte said.

“We suffered several casualties. I did not expect it to be that serious. Now, lumabas na si Baghdadi mismo (it turned out that Baghdadi himself), the leader of the ISIS, has specifically ordered terroristic activities here in the Philippines,” he added.

Duterte previously claimed that the Maute group has links with the IS, which adheres to an extremist interpretation of Islam and promotes violence against non-Muslims. He said wanted terrorist Isnilon Hapilon has been named leader of the IS in the Philippines and is seeking to establish a caliphate in the country.

The Philippines was a bit complacent on the looming threats in Mindanao, according to the President.

“But the military and the police, they warned me that it has become critical in Mindanao,” he said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Thailand tightens security after weapons found

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s authorities on June 4 tightened security in the capital city of Bangkok and cities nationwide following recent bomb blasts and the discovery of weapons.

A large amount of arms, including 30 AK-47 assault rifles, some M-79 grenade launchers, and ammunition, were discovered in a pickup truck in the province of Trat, bordering Cambodia on June 3. The driver was a soldier from a military unit in Bangkok.

Previously, grenades were found inside a parcel at a Bangkok courier service, suggesting it was an attempt to smuggle army supplies for sale on the black market, according to local police. An army corporal was detained for investigation.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: US to turn over counterterror equipment to Philippine Marines

By Jaime Laude

MANILA, Philippines - The United States government is handing over military equipment in support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s counter terror campaign.

The equipment, which will be turned over to the Philippine Marines on Monday, include 300 M4 Carbines, 200 Glock 21 pistols, 25 units combat rubber raiding craft, 100 M203 rail-mounted grenade launchers, 30 outboard motors and four M134D Gatling-style machine guns.

“These counter terrorism equipment will further enhance the capabilities of the Philippine Marine Corps to counter terrorism and address threats posed by various groups,” Capt. Ryan Lacuesta, Marine spokesman, said yesterday.

Battalions of Marines, Army and Air Force troops are currently battling Maute terrorists and their Islamic State cohorts in Marawi City.

The turnover of equipment will be held at the Marine headquarters at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Lacuesta said.

The US support comes as the Philippine government is pivoting toward Russia and China.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Duterte asks Putin for a loan to purchase firearms

By Alexis Romero

MOSCOW — President Rodrigo Duterte is seeking a loan from Russia to buy firearms after the United States halted a rifle deal over his administration’s track record on human rights.

Duterte asked Russia President Vladimir Putin for a loan during their meeting in Kremlin on Tuesday hours before the Philippine leader flew to Manila to check the situation in Marawi, which was attacked by bandits with ties to the Islamic State.

“If you (Putin) can grant me a soft loan right now… The arms deal with America got canceled,” Duterte told Putin during the meeting.

Putin did not respond to the request for loan during his opening statement. It was not clear whether the Russian government approved the request as members of the media were asked to leave the venue of the meeting after the opening statements.

Last year, the US State Department stopped the sale of some 27,000 rifles to the Philippine National Police after Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin had raised concerns over the alleged human rights violations under the Duterte administration.

The US government under then President Barack Obama repeatedly criticized the spate of killings linked to Duterte’s clampdown on illegal drugs, a move that the Philippine president viewed as an interference with the country's internal affairs.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Seven killed in gunfight on Kashmir LoC in India

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Three Indian army troopers and four militants were killed in a fierce gunfight near Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, officials said Sunday.

The gunfight, according to Indian army officials, broke out Saturday in Nowgam sector of frontier Kupwara district, about 125 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

On first day of the gunfight, two militants and two troopers were killed.

The stand-off lasted for more that 24 hours as firing between the troopers and militants continued throughout Sunday.

"Four militants were killed in a gunfight during an operation in Nowgam sector so far," Indian military spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia told Xinhua. "While fighting these militants, three of our soldiers attained martyrdom."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Indian policeman decamps with 4 service rifles in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 21 (Xinhua) -- An Indian policeman decamped with four assault rifles from post in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Sunday.

The policeman was posted at Food Corporation of India's guardroom in Budgam, 28 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"A police constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq of Shopian has decamped with four service rifles from his place of posting last evening," a senior police official said. "He has taken away service rifles of his fellow policemen and so far we are unable to trace him."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: (Philippines) Government cautioned on China’s $500-M loan offer

By Paolo Romero

MANILA, Philippines -  Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto cautioned the Duterte administration yesterday against its reported plan to take the $500-million loan being offered by the Chinese government to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

As this developed, the Philippine National Police said the government of China will be donating 23,000 M4 rifles to the agency to boost its operational capabilities in the countryside.

For her part, detained Sen. Leila de Lima sought an inquiry into the $167-billion infrastructure project of the Duterte administration that would be financed through foreign loans, mostly coming from the Chinese government.

“We must stop relying on foreign suppliers to modernize the… equipment of our armed forces,” Recto said, after hearing Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s statement that the country plans to avail itself of the loan to procure defense equipment from China.

“There is no need to borrow from China. We should tap our domestic industries for the equipment needed by our policemen and soldiers,” he said.

Recto cited the existence of a vibrant local firearms industry, which has been exporting its products for decades.

“Some of them (are) licensees of (the) world’s leading gun makers,” he pointed out.

Read the full story at PhilStar