News Story: Six terrorists killed in Pakistan's Karachi

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Six suspected terrorists were killed in an encounter during a raid at the suspects' hideout, police in the Pakistani port city of Karachi said Thursday.

Senior Superintendent of Police Rao Anwar said police along with intelligence officials conducted the raid on a tip-off about the presence of the terrorists in Sachal area of Karachi, the capital of the country's southern Sindh province.

"All six of the terrorists were killed in retaliatory firing after they opened fire on the raiding team," Anwar said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Suicide attack kills 12 security personnel in southern Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- A dozen security personnel were killed after a car suicide bomb targeted the police department in Maroof district of the southern Kandahar province, 450 km south of Kabul, early Thursday, police spokesman Zia Durani said.

"Terrorists organized a suicide car bomb against police department in Maroof district in the wee hours of Thursday killing 12 security personnel and injuring four others including district police chief Nadir Khan," Durani told Xinhua.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Troops clash with NPAs in Batangas

New People’s Army (NPA)

By Ed Amoroso

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines — Hundreds of residents left their houses on Sunday to avoid being caught in the crossfire after government troops clashed with communist guerrillas in Barangay Talumpok Silangan in Batangas City.

The encounter lasted for about 40 minutes, resulting in the killing of one suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) while several rebels were wounded, police officials said.

Senior Supt. Randy Peralta, Batangas police director, said government forces reportedly overran yesterday morning a rebel camp on Mt. Banoy in Batangas City.

The evacuees included 365 residents of Sitio Tibig in Barangay Talahib Pandayan near Mt. Banoy and more than 500 residents from Barangay Masagitsit and Banalo of Lobo town. Around 70 others fled to villages in Batangas City.

“The evacuees still remained at the evacuation centers despite the firefight having ended yesterday morning after government troops invaded the encampment of the rebels while clearing operations are ongoing,” Peralta told The STAR.

Classes in 12 public schools in Batangas City were suspended yesterday due to clashes between troopers and NPA rebels.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: 28 remains of Hindu villagers uncovered in Myanmar northern state

YANGON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Some 28 dead bodies of Hindu villagers have been found buried in Maungtaw, Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, as authorities dug up earth to confirm the information by a villager in Sittway, Myanmar News Agency reported Monday.

According to the information, the victims were left by attacks on the village on Aug. 25 by about 300 members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) extremist terrorists.

Investigation is underway and more search will be continued, the report added.

Meanwhile, seven more improvised explosive devices, suspected of being planted by the ARSA, were also uncovered by Myanmar security forces in Chein Khar Li village, Yathedaung township Saturday as the security forces were patrolling the area.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: More explosive devices uncovered in Myanmar northern state

YANGON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Seven more improvised explosive devices have been uncovered by Myanmar security forces in a village in Yathedaung township of Rakhine state, but were deactivated with no injury, Myanmar News Agency reported Sunday.

The explosive devices, found in Chein Khar Li village Saturday as the security forces were patrolling the area, were suspected of being planted by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) extremist terrorists.

The security forces also found six houses in two villages in Maungtaw and eight other Hindu houses in Kyein Chaung destroyed by fire, and the fire is suspected of starting from a Muslim house and then spread to nearby Hindu houses, the report said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: District police chief killed in Afghanistan & District police chief, bodyguard wounded in northern Afghanistan ambush

Afghan Police Officer (File Photo)

District police chief killed in Afghanistan

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A district police chief was killed following a Taliban attack in Helmand, southern Afghanistan late Saturday, the latest in a string of attacks against officials, the provincial governor office said Sunday.

"Police Chief Colonel Omar Jan Haqmal, head of Nad Ali district police department, was martyred following a clash and a subsequent bomb explosion in surrounding areas of Nad Ali late Saturday," it said in a statement.

The restive district is lying in west of Lashkar Gah city, capital of southern Helmand province.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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District police chief, bodyguard wounded in northern Afghanistan ambush

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Police chief for the restive Aliabad district along with one of his bodyguards were wounded during an ambush by Taliban militants in Afghanistan northern province of Kunduz on Sunday, an official said.

"Jan Aqa, the district police chief of Aliabad and one of his bodyguard, on their way to office were shot, wounded by the militants in Qazaq village today morning," a police spokesman in the province, Inamuddin Rahmani, told Xinhua.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Suicide bombing strikes NATO convoy in Kabul, injuring 3 passersby

KABUL, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Three Afghan civilians were wounded after a bomb attack hit a NATO military convoy in western side of Kabul on Sunday, Interior Ministry said.

"A foreign forces' military convoy came under attack by a suicide bomber driving a sedan in Afshar locality, Police District 5. The blast caused three civilians wounded," it said in a statement.

"The explosion came at around 10:50 a.m. local time along a road which leads to Qargha Lake, west of Kabul. The blast caused a plume of grey smoke to rise above the scene," witness Ahmad Farshad told Xinhua earlier.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Suicide Bomber Targeted Foreign Troops Convoy In Kabul City

A suicide car bomber targeted a Danish troops convoy in Kabul's PD5 on Sunday morning wounding at least five civilians, security officials confirmed. 

The Afghan National Police Academy and other key government institutions are located in the area. 

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Abbasi Admits Kabul Truck Bombers ‘Came From Pakistan’

Pakistan’s new prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the bombers behind a deadly truck bombing in the diplomatic zone of Kabul in May, which killed over 150 people, were likely to have come from Pakistan.

In an interview with Financial Times, published Monday, Abbasi also admitted the limitations of its operations but said it was doing all it could to eliminate terror groups such as the Taliban and Haqqani Network.

On the truck bombing incident he said: “I don’t know all the details, but it seems three or four people crossed over the border. There was a vehicle which travelled from that area to Kabul and was parked in an embassy compound before it blew up,” he said.

“We have 250,000 troops fighting there (in the tribal areas along the Durand Line), but we don’t have control of the full area. [Militants] often cross the border from the other side and attack our people. If the Afghan army cannot control them, and US forces cannot control them, what are we supposed to do?,” Abassi said.

Abbasi also warned the US that it risks fuelling terrorism in the region and undermining military efforts in Afghanistan if the Trump administration follows through with a threat to downgrade its relationship with Islamabad, Financial Times reported.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Air Raid Kills Nine Daesh Insurgents In Nangarhar

Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano Ground Attack Aircraft

Nine Daesh insurgents were killed in an Afghan Air Forces airstrike on Sunday which targeted militant hideouts in Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province.

Weapons and vehicles belonging to Daesh were also destroyed during the air raid, the ministry of interior said in a statement on Monday.

In addition, Afghan National Police (ANP) on Sunday also foiled four IEDs attack plots in Nangarhar province.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: One killed, 17 injured in suicide attack in SW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and 17 others were injured when a suicide bomber hit a security forces vehicle in Pakistan's southwestern city of Chaman in Balochistan province on Monday evening, local Urdu channel Geo TV reported.

According to the reports, the attack took place at about 6:35 p.m. local time when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest near a security forces vehicle in Chaman, a city located on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing one citizen on the spot and leaving 17 others injured.

The vehicle was on its way to the "Friendship Gate," a crossing point at Pak-Afghan border, when it came under the attack, said a senior official of a paramilitary force, adding that security personnel were among the injured people.

Rescue teams and law enforcement agencies rushed to the site immediately after the blast and shifted the body and injured to a hospital.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Armed Forces captures key Maute base in besieged Marawi

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

MARAWI, Philippines (UPDATED 6 p.m.) — The Philippine military said Sunday it had captured the command center of ISIS group supporters who have besieged Marawi City for nearly four months.

Security forces have engaged in ferocious street-to-street combat and launched airstrikes in their efforts to expel the fighters from Marawi, in a battle that has left 800 dead and raised fears that ISIS is looking to establish a Southeast Asian base in the Philippines.

The military said it had captured the militants' control center in a deadly battle lasting five hours that began Saturday in a mosque and another building.

It added that they have subdued the militants and successfully took back Bato Mosque and Amaitul Islamiya Marawi Foundation, which became Maute strongholds.

"This enormous (military) gain further weakened the terrorist group by denying them their erstwhile command and control hub," military chief General Eduardo Año said in a statement.

"As follow up and clearing operations continue, we expect the enemy to yield more previously occupied positions, but not without a fight," he said. "We are ready for that."

Read the full story at PhilStar

Related Stories:

• Palace refuses to comment on latest Marawi developments to avoid 'jeopardy'
• Marawi bishop ‘happy’ over rescue of abducted priest
• Priest rescued as Army captures Maute base

News Report: Roadside Bomb Kills Senior Pakistani Official, 4 Security Guards

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — roadside bomb in northwestern Pakistan Sunday killed a senior government official and at least four of his security guards.

The deadly blast took place in Bajaur, a volatile federally administered tribal district on the Afghan border.

Officials said the administrator of the Mamoond sub-district, Fawad Ali, was being driven to a border village to attend a traditional assembly of tribal elders when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.

A spokesman for the anti-state Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibly for planting the roadside bomb. In a statement sent to media via email, Muhammad Khurasani asserted the blast killed seven people, including Ali.

The outlawed extremist group and its breakaway factions plot attacks in the border region and elsewhere in Pakistan, saying their violent campaign is aimed at eliminating what they consider to be the current un-Islamic democratic system in the country.

News Story: Blast kills 4, wounds 13 in Afghan eastern Khost city & 2 civilians killed, 2 injured as blast hits district in Afghan eastern Laghman province

Blast kills 4, wounds 13 in Afghan eastern Khost city

KHOST, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Four people have been confirmed dead and 13 others injured as a blast rocked Khost city, the capital of Afghan eastern Khost province on Sunday, a local official said on the condition of anonymity.

"The blast occurred next to a market at around noon killing four people and injured 13 others," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified, saying authorized officials would brief the media.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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2 civilians killed, 2 injured as blast hits district in Afghan eastern Laghman province

MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least two people, both civilians were killed and two others injured after a blast hit Alinegar district in Afghanistan's eastern Laghman province on Sunday, spokesman for provincial government Sarhadi Zawak said.

"A mine planted by insurgents on a road in Alinegar district went off at noon time killing two innocent civilians and injuring two children including a seven-year-old girl," Zawak told reporters here.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Afghan Officials - Suicide Attack on NATO Convoy Kills 1 Romanian Soldier, Injures 2 More

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — A suicide car bombing of a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan has killed at least one Romanian soldier and has injured two more.

The Romanian Defense Ministry confirmed the casualties, and a local government spokesman told VOA that Friday's attack occurred close to the airbase in Kandahar, the provincial capital.

Fazal Bari Biryali said the suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into the foreign military convoy, which was on a routine patrol in the area.

A Taliban spokesman swiftly took credit for the blast, claiming it destroyed a military vehicle and killed seven “foreign invaders.” The insurgent group often makes casualty claims that later turn out to be untrue.

News Story: 6 Pakistanis injured in blast along Pakistan-Afghanistan border

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least six Pakistani security personnel were injured in a bomb explosion along Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Khyber Agency, local media reported on Friday.

The blast happened near Torkham border crossing at Pakistan side of the border, Dunya News said.

The border was closed for all kinds of transport, following the attack.

Security forces cordoned off the area for investigation, but the nature of the attack has not been determined yet.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Five militants killed in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Five Taliban militants were killed in two separate incidents in eastern Afghanistan, authorities said on Friday.

On Thursday, three militants were killed and one other detained after Afghan National Army launched an operation in Joni, an area on the outskirt of Gardez city, capital of eastern Paktia province, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The army personnel also seized one vehicle and rounds of weapons and ammunition after the raid.

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: Six civilians injured as blast hits eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad & Suicide attack kills 3, injures 5 near cricket stadium in Kabul

Six civilians injured as blast hits eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Six civilians were injured as a blast rocked Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, on Wednesday, spokesman for the provincial government Attaullah Khogiani said.

"Six people, all civilians, have been injured in the blast that rocked Jalalabad city at around 3 p.m. local time (1030 GMT)," Khogiani told reporters.

Read the full story at Xinhua

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Suicide attack kills 3, injures 5 near cricket stadium in Kabul

KABUL, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and five others injured after a suicide attack occurred near a cricket stadium in Kabul on Wednesday, local media reported.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Taliban Car Bomber Attacks NATO Convoy

Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into a NATO military convoy wounding "a small number" of foreign troops and Afghan civilians Monday in Afghanistan, officials say.

The Taliban swiftly took credit for the afternoon attack near the U.S.-run Bagram military air base.

NATO's Resolute Support mission said the wounded service members were taken to the Bagram hospital for treatment. "None of the injuries are considered life threatening," it added, but did not reveal the victims' nationalities, though reports identified them as American soldiers.

"The Afghan civilians were evacuated to a local hospital and their condition is unknown at this time," according to the alliance statement.

A Taliban spokesman claimed the powerful blast destroyed three U.S. military vehicles and "killed and wounded 24 'invaders,'" a term the insurgent group uses for the NATO-led military coalition in Afghanistan. The Taliban often releases inflated claims for such attacks.