View: Pakistan has a way of reminding us that nothing has changed

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The first ever drone attack on an Indian Air Force station in Jammu after midnight on Sunday — two drones dropped two 2 kg IEDs with TNT and RDX, six minutes apart — marked a significant escalation of the terror challenge from Pakistan. The bombs were professionally made, no amateur exercise this. As of Tuesday, … Read more

Anxious Afghans fear tomorrow; many seeking to leave

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Imtiaz Mohmand, just 19, makes a living selling melons out of a crate perched on his three-wheel motorcycle in the Afghan capital’s Kart-e-Now neighbourhood. He only managed to finish Grade 7 before being sent to work to help support a family of 13. He has been robbed twice. Both times, his mobile phone was taken, … Read more

As troops leave, United States to keep airstrike option in Afghanistan

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The U.S. military will remain involved in the Afghanistan war into September, keeping the option of launching airstrikes against the Taliban to defend Afghan forces, U.S. officials said Thursday, even as the final combat troops prepare to leave the country in coming days. For weeks, officials have said the withdrawal of the main U.S. military … Read more

US pullout from Afghanistan at least 13% complete: Pentagon

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The US withdrawal from Afghanistan is between 13 percent and 20 percent complete, the Pentagon’s Central Command said on Tuesday, as it pushes to beat a September deadline for the pullout. CentCom said that since President Joe Biden ordered the exit in April, it had removed the equivalent of 115 fully loaded C-17 cargo aircraft … Read more

Jailed imam charged with terrorist propaganda in Italy

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A jailed Muslim preacher who led Friday prayers in an Italian prison has been hit with new charges of spreading terrorist propaganda, police said Thursday. The Moroccan national has been charged with incitement to commit acts of terrorism and crimes motivated by racial, ethnic and religious hatred, Italy‘s Carabinieri said. Preaching in a prison in … Read more

Kurdish leader Lahur Talabany says he fears Islamic State comeback in Iraq

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A senior Kurdish official has said there are growing indications that Islamic State is trying to make a comeback after an uptick in attacks in Iraq. At least 19 members of Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish security forces have been killed in recent days across the country, according to military statements and security officials, prompting calls … Read more

Somali opposition fighters cordon off parts of tense Mogadishu

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Heavily armed Somali opposition fighters held positions in parts of Mogadishu on Monday, a day after clashes with government troops erupted over the president’s bid to extend his mandate, in the country’s worst political violence in years. Fighters used mounds of earth to barricade roads, while armed men and vehicles mounted with machine guns were … Read more

NIA files charge sheet against 11 ‘Qaeda-inspired Module’ members

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The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed a charge sheet against 11 alleged members of an ‘al-Qaeda-inspired module’. NIA has alleged in the charge sheet that they were planning to carry out terror attacks in India on instructions of their handlers based in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The 11 accused are: Murshid Hasan, Mosaraf Hoseen, Mainul … Read more

Al Qaeda growing and illegal bomb-making rampant in West Bengal, says Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar

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NEW DELHI: With just a few months left for the legislative assembly polls to be held in the state, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday expressed concern over the security environment and said it is under threat adding that terrorist organisation Al Qaeda is spreading and growing in the state. Soon after his meeting … Read more

Sonia chose Manmohan Singh as PM since he was no threat to Rahul, notes Obama in biography

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(This story originally appeared in on Nov 18, 2020) NEW DELHI: While he praises former PM Manmohan Singh’s sagacity and policies in the first volume of his biography, former US president Barack Obama notes that Singh owed his position to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and had been chosen as he posed no political threat to … Read more