Nato to convene as Kerry backs Iraq against militant threat

BAGHDAD: Nato foreign ministers convene Tuesday to discuss the Iraq crisis after US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged “intense” support to Baghdad in the fight against militants pushing towards the capital.

Kerry made a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday as Sunni insurgents led by the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, seized a strategic town in the northern part of the country, while security forces retook a border crossing with Syria.

Cop martyred, 14 Afghan based militants killed in cross border attack in Bajaur

KHAR: A security personnel was martyred and at least 14 militants were killed when afghan based militants attacked Pakistani Security force's check post located in the border area of Bajaur Agency here on Saturday morning.

Nigeria kidnappings 'outrageous, heartbreaking': Obama

KANO: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday described the kidnapping of more than 220 schoolgirls by militants in Nigeria as “heartbreaking” and “outrageous” as Washington deployed military experts in the hunt for the children.

Obama urged global action against Boko Haram and confirmed Nigerian leaders had accepted an offer to deploy US personnel there, soon after residents said the extremist group had seized eight more girls, aged between 12 and 15, again in the embattled northeast.

Militants kill nine police in Iraq's north: officials

BAGHDAD: Militants have killed nine policemen in an attack in the Iraq’s north, police said.

A police officer said an unspecified number of militants attacked a police headquarters outside the northern city of Mosul early on Wednesday.

He said the attack triggered a shootout that left nine policemen dead and two wounded.

There were apparently no casualties among the attackers, the police officer said.

European Parliament identifies Wahabi and Salafi roots of global terrorism

It is not merely the faith or oil that flows out of Saudi Arabia. The oil-rich Arab state and its neighbours are busy financing Wahabi and Salafi militants across the globe.

A recent report by the European Parliament reveals how Wahabi and Salafi groups based out of the Middle East are involved in the "support and supply of arms to rebel groups around the world." The report, released in June 2013, was commissioned by European Parliament's Directorate General for External Policies.

Six injured in grenade attack on police vehicle in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: Four policemen and an undertrial were among six persons injured on Wednesday in a grenade attack by militants on a police vehicle in Batamaloo area of the city.

Militants lobbed a grenade on a police vehicle carrying an undertrial at busy Batamaloo bus stand around noon, police said.

The grenade landed and exploded inside the vehicle, resulting in injuries to four policemen and the undertrial Shakeel Ahmad Khatana, police said.

Sharif govt mulls peace talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to form a "working group" this month to hold peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other Islamist militant groups, in an effort to end continuous violence in the country, according to a media report.

The working group is expected to be announced after an all-party conference scheduled to be held later this month to build a consensus on the proposed national security policy, The Express Tribune reported on Monday.

Sharif govt mulls peace talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to form a "working group" this month to hold peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other Islamist militant groups, in an effort to end continuous violence in the country, according to a media report.

Around 300 militants across Line of Control ready for infiltration in Jammu, says Army

Jammu: Pakistan-based militant groups have intensified their infiltration attempts along the border and around 300 militants continue to be active on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC), just along the Jammu region, the Army today said.

However all those infiltration attempts have been successfully foiled by the troops at the border, General officer commanding (GoC) 16 corps Lieutenant General DS Hooda said, while giving out the figures.
He said the militants are now changing the tactics and targeting Army posts at the LoC in a desperate bid to carry out infiltration.

Militant commander killed in Mastung

QUETTA: A militant commander of a defunct sectarian organisation was killed in an operation conducted by security forces in Mastung district of Balochistan on Wednesday.

An intelligence official told Dawn.com on the condition of anonymity that security forces conducted an operation, which lasted for more than an hour, in Dasht area of Mastung district.

He added that two militants of the banned organisation were picked up during the operation and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition was also recovered.

PTI separates govt, party offices in KP

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has decided to separate party and government offices in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and asked its five party leaders, now in the government, to vacate their positions with immediate effect.

The Central Election Commission of the PTI announced on Tuesday that KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had been asked to vacate the post of party secretary general for the province after assuming the high public office.

Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, who was holding the position of provincial president, had been asked to quit the party post.

Dozens hurt as car bomb hits Hezbollah Beirut stronghold

A car bomb exploded on Tuesday in a Beirut stronghold district of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria’s civil war, wounding at least 38 people, a hospital official told Reuters.

Reports that one employee had been killed in the parking lot where the explosion occurred in Beirut’s southern suburbs could not be confirmed by hospital officials. Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been high following the intervention of the Shiite Hezbollah in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces fighting a two-year revolt.

At least six FC persons killed in a militant attack in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: At least six Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were killed and seven others injured when militants attacked the Kishan Ganga check-post near Frontier Region (FR), Jina Kor on Tuesday night.

Police confirmed the incident and said militants also kidnapped two security forces' personnel.

According to police, militants attacked the checkpost at 11:00 pm. A heavy exchange of fire between security forces personnel and the armed men ensued and continued till the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Naxal attack in Jharkhand: Pakur SP, seven cops killed

In the latest Maoist attack, banned outfit attacked the cavalcade of Pakur SP at Kathikund in Dumka district of Jharkhand on Tuesday.

According to the report, Superintendent of Police, Pakur, Amarjit Balihar along with seven other policemen were reported to be killed in the naxal ambush.

Policeman killed, two injured in encounter in Jammu and Kashmir

A policeman was killed and two other security personnel were injured in an encounter with militants in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Monday.

The encounter took place at Tral during a counter-insurgency operation launched by the security forces following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police spokesman said.

Pakistani Taliban claim attack on SHC judge in Karachi

KARACHI: At least nine people were killed and 15 others injured on Wednesday when a bomb targeting the convoy of Sindh High Court judge Justice Maqbool Baqir exploded near Karachi’s Burns Road area.

Spokesperson for the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ehsanullah Ehsan, told Dawn.com that the militant organisation was responsible for the attack on the senior SHC judge.

Ehsan further said that the judge was targeted for what he said were "anti-Taliban and anti-mujahideen decisions" adding that the group would continue to target judiciary.

Ten Islamist militants get death in Bangladesh

Ten militants of a banned Bangladeshi Islamist outfit were sentenced to death on Thursday by a fast-track court here after they were found guilty of involvement in a deadly suicide bombing in 2005 that claimed eight lives.

The court handed down death penalty to 10 operatives of the banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for the 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed eight people, including lawyers, at suburban Gazipur.

Militants kill 6 soldiers in Pakistan

Six soldiers were killed and two more injured when militants ambushed an army patrol on the outskirts of Peshawar in North-west Pakistan, security sources said on Thursday.

The patrol was passing through the Mattani area on the outskirts of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital when it was attacked by a group of militants at 10 pm on Wednesday.

Armed militants kill three policemen in Killa Saifullah

QUETTA: Armed militants killed three policemen in Killa Saifullah district of Balochistan on Sunday, June 16.

Police sources told Dawn.com that the militants attacked a check post in Muslim Bagh area of Killa Saifullah where three deployed policemen were killed.

Militants attack Nato containers in Khyber; six killed

PESHAWAR: Six people were killed when militants attacked three Nato containers in Shagai area of Jamrud tehsil of the Khyber tribal region on Monday.

Security forces were engaged in a firefight with the militants who attacked the containers and set them on fire.

As a result, six people, including the drivers of the containers were killed.

Khyber is among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts near the Afghan border, rife with homegrown insurgents and home to a number of militant organisations.