Bomb blast in a mosque in Kabul during evening prayers kills many

A bomb blast in the Siddiquiya Mosque in the northern Kabul neighborhood of Khair Khanna killed many worshippers. It happened during evening prayers and the authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of deaths. Initial reports say the blast killed at least three people and left dozens of others wounded. Italian non-governmental organization NGO Emergency operates a hospital in the capital. It said it had 27 patients wounded in the blast. Three of them are dead and five of the wounded were children. A security official revealed to a section of the media that 20 people lost their lives in the blast and 40 others suffered injuries. A spokesman of the Taliban government confirmed people have died but did not specify the number of casualties. Several killed in explosion at mosque in Kabul. The official wrote on Twitter - “The murderers of civilians and perpetrators … will soon be punished for their crimes.”

A spokesman of the Kabul police confirmed - “A blast happened inside a mosque … the blast has casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet.” Witnesses revealed to the media about the blast that shattered windows in nearby buildings. Intelligence teams arrived at the site of the blast and the matter is under investigation. The Taliban took over in August last year after the withdrawal of United States-led NATO forces. The de-facto government of the Taliban has yet to be recognized by the world. The Taliban asserts that it has made the nation secure but Afghanistan continues to witness regular attacks by armed groups. Militant groups commit many of these. Last week, a bomb attack killed a prominent Taliban religious leader at a seminary in Kabul. The ISIL (ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier, in June, there was an attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul in which two people were killed.

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At least 19 killed in attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan - Taliban claims responsibility

#bachakhanuniversity #pakistan #taliban At least 19 persons have been killed in an attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan - a Taliban commander has claimed responsibility for the attack. Four of the attackers are believed to have been killed at the campus building situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in northwest Pakistan.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 20 January 2016.

It seems the militants were wielding AK-47s and used the cover of a thick, wintry fog to scale the walls of the University in the town of Charsadda, located about 30-Km from the city of Peshawar. Once inside, they began indiscriminate firing on teachers and students in classrooms before engaging in a three-hour gun-battle with police and soldiers.
There were explosions from inside the campus and female students ran for their lives while relatives waited at the gates. Most of the victims were shot dead at a hostel for male students on the campus site and, as per official figures, around 50 had been wounded and the number of dead could rise to as high as 40. At least one lecturer of chemistry is among those who lost their lives. He had tried to shoot back at the militants.
There are more than 3,000 students in the University and it was hosting an extra 600 visitors for a poetry recital.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Militants attack convoy of Dogra Regiment in Manipur – 18 soldiers killed, 11 injured

In what is being termed as the worst militant attack in 30-years, the militants ambushed troopers of 6 Dogra Regiment in Manipur and fired rocket-propelled grenades. The attack took place some 30-Km from the Myanmar border in Chandel district and left at least 18 soldiers dead in the deadliest single strike on the military wing anywhere in the country in nearly two decades.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 5 June 2015.

The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) have claimed responsibility for the attack.
The police have said that a militant was also killed when the troopers of the 6 Dogra Regiment fired back – soldiers of this Regiment are made up mostly of personnel from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
The injured are being treated at the army hospital at Leimakhong. The army headquarters is located some 12-Km from Imphal. As indicated by a source in Assam Rifles, the casualty figure might increase.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Gunmen shoot dead 20 laborers in a dam construction site in Balochistan

#Balochistan #Turbat #Pakistan Unidentified gunmen have shot dead at least 20 laborers and left three injured at the construction site of a dam in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province. The incident happened in Gobdan area of the Turbat district. This is believed to be one of the most volatile parts of Balochistan which is a region where nationalist and separatist Baloch groups have been fighting against the state for over a decade demanding maximum autonomy.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 11 April 2015.

There are doubts about how the killing occurred. One version is that militants opened fire indiscriminately at the laborers while they were sleeping. Another version is that the laborers were lined up and shot at point blank range. It has also been reported that the eight paramilitary troops who were guarding the laborers had fled the scene when faced with such a large number of armed attackers.
None of the dead were from Balochistan but, 16 were from Pakistan's Punjab province and four from Sindh. Obviously, the targets were the workers from Pakistan. It seems after committing the killing, the attackers fled on motorcycles. A separatist group, Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) has apparently taken responsibility for the attack.

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Bomb blast in Lahore churches leaves at least 10 dead

#Youhanabad #lahoreblast #sundaymass #PakistanTaliban #suicidebomber Christians make up hardly two percent of the population of Pakistan but, two bomb blasts targeting two churches in Lahore, the capital of the densely populated Punjab province, and has left behind at least 10 dead with another 50 injured as reported in bbc.com dated 15 March 2015.
The death toll as per local media has reached 14.
The explosions happened at the Catholic Church and Christ Church in the city's Youhanabad area. There were large crowds already in the area to attend Sunday mass. Incidentally, the Christian community of Pakistan has often been targeted by militants even though the Christians form a negligible percentage.
The responsibility of the attack has been claimed by an offshoot of the Pakistan Taliban that calls itself Jamatul Ahrar.
As per the witnesses, the attack was carried out by suicide bombers but this has not been confirmed by the police. The bombers are believed to have set off their explosives at the gates of the churches.
The bomb blasts led to violence and protesters carrying sticks blocked Lahore's Ferozepur Road and also attacked a bus station.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain have condemned these latest bombings.

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Boko Haram terrorizes Nigeria – abducted girls forcibly sent to front lines

Boko Haram, the militant Islamist group of Nigeria has forcibly sent abducted women and girls to go to the front line to help fight the military bbc.com. As per reports of Human rights Commission, the group has taken over 500 women and girls hostage since it began its insurgency in 2009.

In the latest abduction, these suspected militants have seized about 30 children and have sent them to go to the front line to help fight the military. The abductions have intensified since May 2013, when Nigeria's government imposed a state of emergency in the three states where Boko Haram was most active - Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
As per details furnished by three girls who escaped Boko Haram after being abducted in April, the girls have narrated their fear of being shot or hunted down by Boko Haram, and the dangerous journey back to freedom and safety.

It may be recalled that Boko Haram is still holding 219 of the girls it had abducted during the raid on a school in Chibok, sparking a global campaign for their release. On 17 October, Nigeria's chief of defense staff had indicated that the military had agreed a truce with Boko Haram, and that the girls would be freed within a week. But, Boko Haram has not commented on the alleged deal and the girls are still prisoners of the militants.

France follows in US footsteps – launches air strikes on IS positions in Iraq

France has followed in the footsteps of the US and has carried out its first air strike on ISIS positions in Iraq as has been informed by the office of President Francois Hollande bbc.com.
As per the statement, fighter planes had attacked an IS depot in north-east Iraq, and has added that there would be more raids in the coming days. Incidentally, the US has carried out more than 170 air strikes against the jihadist group in Iraq since mid-August.
France has also clarified that it would target in Iraq and not in Syria.
The air strike comes a day after President Hollande had indicated that he had agreed to an Iraqi request for air support, and has also insisted that he would not send ground troops.
France had been carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq and providing weapons to Kurdish fighters in the north and it is understood that Rafale planes had carried out the attack and it was a success because "the objective was hit and completely destroyed".
Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, has revealed that four French air strikes had hit the town of Zumar and killed dozens of militants.
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