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Economic Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Security agencies say they have evidence confirming Pakistani nationality of Pahalgam attackers
In a major development in the Pahalgam terror attack probe, security agencies have gathered evidence, including official documents from Pakistan and biometric data, confirming that the three slain terrorists involved in the horrific incident were Pakistani nationals, officials said here on Monday. The three senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commanders, who were killed in a July 28 encounter code-named 'Operation Mahadev' on the outskirts of Srinagar, had been hiding in the Dachigam-Harwan forest belt since the April 22 attack, the officials said. The terror attack in Pahalgam's Baisaran meadow had claimed 26 lives, mainly tourists. The officials also sought to clarify that no local youths were involved in the shooting during the attack. The evidence collected by security agencies leaves no doubt about the terrorists' nationality, with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah detailing key findings in Parliament. Forensic, documentary and testimonial evidence collected during and after 'Operation Mahadev' conclusively shows that all three attackers were Pakistani nationals and hardcore terrorists of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba who had been hiding in the Dachigam-Harwan forest belt since the day of the attack, the officials said. The slain terrorists were identified as Suleman Shah alias "Faizal Jatt", an A++ category terrorist, mastermind and lead shooter; his close associate Abu Hamza alias 'Afghan', an A-grade commander and the second gunman; and Yasir alias 'Jibran', also an A-grade commander and the third gunman, the officials said. Biometric records of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), voter identity slips and digital satellite phone data, including logs and GPS waypoints, are among the evidence gathered by the security agencies confirming the Pakistani nationality of the three terrorists, the officials said. A micro-SD chip recovered from a damaged satellite phone contained Pakistan's NADRA biometric records -- including fingerprints, facial templates, and family trees -- confirming their citizenship and addresses in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The shell casings found at the Pahalgam attack site were a 100 per cent ballistic match with the three rifles seized from the terrorists after their encounter. Pakistani-manufactured items, including wrappers for 'CandyLand' and 'ChocoMax' chocolates (brands produced in Karachi), were found in their rucksacks. The lot numbers on these wrappers were traced to a May 2024 consignment shipped to PoK. The terrorists crossed the Line of Control (LoC) through north Kashmir's Gurez sector in May 2022, when the intelligence intercepts placed their radio check-in from the Pakistani side, the officials said. On April 21, they moved into a 'dhok' (seasonal hut) at Hill Park, 2 km from Baisaran, as was stated by two detained helpers, Parvaiz and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, who sheltered them overnight and provided them cooked food before they trekked to Baisaran the next day to carry out the attack. The GPS waypoints recovered from Shah's Garmin device match the exact firing positions reported by eyewitnesses, the officials said, adding that they escaped towards Dachigam after carrying out the attack. On digital footprints, they said a Huawei satellite phone (IMEI 86761204-XXXXXX) used by the terrorists had been pinging Inmarsat-4 F1 every night between April 22 and July 25. Triangulation narrowed the search grid to four square kilometres inside Harwan forest. Jammu and Kashmir Police had released sketches of three people -- Hashim Musa, Ali Bhai alias "Talha", and local Adil Hussain Thoker -- on April 24. However, after the July 28 encounter, the agencies clarified that those sketches were based on a photograph found on a phone retrieved from an unrelated December 2024 shootout and the actual attackers were different. Another crucial evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the attack was the command and control links inside the neighbouring country, the officials said. They said LeT's south-Kashmir operations chief, Sajid Saifullah Jatt of Changa Manga in Lahore, was the overall handler as his voice samples from the recovered sat-phone matched his earlier intercepted calls. LeT Rawalakot chief Rizwan Anees also visited the families of the slain attackers on July 29 to organise 'Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza' (funeral prayers in absentia) and its footage is now part of the Indian dossier, they said. Statements from two arrested local helpers, Parvaiz and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, corroborated the terrorists' movements and confirmed they had sheltered them before the attack. The Union Home Minister, immediately after the 'Operation Mahadev', gave a statement that the intelligence trail for the terrorists began with a "human intelligence" alert leading to a meticulous tracking operation. The operation was spearheaded by the Army's elite 'Para 4' unit, working alongside the CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. To confirm the ballistic evidence, the rifles were flown to Chandigarh on a special flight, the Home Minister said, adding six forensic scientists confirmed the 100 per cent match via video call just hours later, underscoring the urgency and precision of the investigation. The Home Minister's speech also unveiled the details of 'Operation Sindoor,' a retaliatory strike carried out inside Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam attack. The investigation into the Pahalgam attack, handled by the NIA, was massive in scale, involving statements from over 1,055 people and more than 3,000 hours of interrogation.
Epoch Times
16-07-2025
- Health
- Epoch Times
Eleanor Abbott: The Inventor of the Candy Land Game
Sometimes the best way to get through tough times is a good distraction. When schoolteacher Eleanor Abbott was being treated in a hospital polio ward filled with children, she invented the board game Candy Land to help them pass the time. Most of Abbott's life is shrouded in mystery. She worked throughout her life as a teacher. In the late 1940s, Abbott retired when the polio epidemic struck. Polio, short for poliomyelitis, affects the nervous system, and can lead to difficulty breathing, paralysis, or even death in severe cases.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump and first lady to visit U.K.'s King Charles this fall
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be visiting Britain's King Charles III later this fall, Buckingham Palace announced Sunday. Charles invited the pair for the official visit from Sept. 17-19, the palace said in a statement. The king will host the Trumps at Windsor Castle, the palace said. No further information was released. Mr. Trump likely will not address Parliament like French President Emmanuel Macron did last week, since Parliament will not be in session from Sept. 16 until Oct. 13 due to party conferences, according to Sky News. Mr. Trump and the first lady were hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2019. That visit was marked by widespread protests, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan slammed Mr. Trump in a video message ahead of his arrival. The announcement of Mr. Trump's trip comes as he has threatened to annex Canada, which shares King Charles as the head of state, as the 51st American state. In an address before Canada's Parliament in May, Charles called it a "critical moment" for Canada. "Today, Canada faces another critical moment," Charles said, adding that "Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the government is determined to protect." Mr. Trump has also been attempting to navigate diplomacy as he has slapped tariffs worldwide. In May, Mr. Trump hailed a deal with Britain as a "maxed out deal" that would serve as a template for deals for other nations, but the deal leaves the 10% baseline tariff in place. Sen. Lindsey Graham says "a turning point, regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is coming" Student's unique talent that's for the birds Candy Land, the game that still hits a sweet spot
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dog loses leg in bomb explosion, credited with saving dozens of lives
A military dog is being hailed as a hero in Colombia after detecting a bomb planted by guerrilla fighters that exploded during a military operation, authorities said, adding that the wounded canine's actions saved the lives of dozens of soldiers and civilians. The incident was announced just two days after a bomb strapped to a donkey exploded in the same area, killing one soldier and wounding two others. The anti-explosive canine, named Sanson, was helping troops conduct a reconnaissance operation in Antioquia, a mountainous region in northwest Colombia, when the bomb exploded, the army said Friday in a social media post. Authorities said the bomb had been planted on a "community-used path" by the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish language acronym ELN. With one of his legs shattered by the blast, Sanson was able to drag himself to his handler, soldier Carlos Eduardo Beleño, authorities said. "Our #FourLeggedHero lost one of his limbs but saved the lives of 36 soldiers and hundreds of residents of the La Raya hamlet in Yondó #Antioquia, who pass through this area daily," the Second Division of the National Army said in a separate social media post. Authorities said Sanson is now recovering after surgery, and his leg had to be amputated. A video released by the army shows the dog being treated for his injuries after the explosion and later being examined at an animal hospital. "He will no longer be able to serve, but his legacy will live on in every soldier he bravely protected," the army said. The Colombian military blamed the explosion on ELN, a group of roughly 6,000 fighters that is fighting Colombia's government. Peace talks with the group -- which the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization -- were suspended in January, when the ELN was blamed for dozens of deaths in raids near the border with Venezuela. Authorities said the attack targeting soldiers violated international humanitarian law and put the "entire civilian population at risk." News of the explosion came just days after a bomb attached to a donkey exploded in the same region of Colombia, killing one soldier and wounding two others. ELN was also blamed for that attack. Earlier this month in Italy, a heroic sniffer dog who helped find nine missing people during his career was killed by food laced with nails, sparking national outrage and a police investigation. Sen. Lindsey Graham says "a turning point, regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is coming" Student's unique talent that's for the birds Candy Land, the game that still hits a sweet spot
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man escapes prison by hiding in fellow cellmate's luggage
France's prison service said Saturday it had launched an investigation after a man escaped by smuggling himself into his cellmate's bag as he left jail, having served his sentence. The man was captured on Monday. The 20-year-old prisoner escaped from Lyon-Corbas prison, near Lyon, southeast France, on Friday, broadcaster BFMTV reported. His cellmate had completed his sentence and the escaped prisoner managed to hide in his laundry bag as he left prison, the outlet reported. The prisoner was arrested while emerging from a cellar early on Monday in Corbas near Lyon, prosecutors said, adding that his fellow prisoner accomplice had not yet been arrested. The inmate was serving several sentences, the prison service said in a statement to AFP. He "took advantage of the liberation of his fellow inmate to hide himself in his luggage and get out," the statement said. The escaped prisoner was also under investigation in a case linked to organized crime, a source close to the affair told AFP. An internal investigation is underway and Lyon prosecutors had opened their own investigations, the prison service added. Sébastien Cauwel, the director of the prison administration, told BFMTV on Sunday that an "accumulation of errors" and "a series of serious malfunctions" led to the escape. "This is an extremely rare event that we have never experienced in this administration," he said. Last month, the Lyon Bar Association raised concerns about overcrowding at the Lyon-Corbas prison, the BBC reported. As of May 1, 2025, about 1,200 people were detained in the prison, which has capacity for 678 inmates, BFMTV had reported. Sen. Lindsey Graham says "a turning point, regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is coming" Student's unique talent that's for the birds Candy Land, the game that still hits a sweet spot
