Latest news with #militantattack
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Trump says he thinks 5 jets were shot down in India-Pakistan hostilities
US President Donald Trump said on Friday up to five jets were shot down during recent India-Pakistan hostilities that began after an April militant attack in India-administered Kashmir, with the situation calming after a ceasefire in May. Trump, who made his remarks at a dinner with some Republican US lawmakers at the White House, did not specify which side's jets he was referring to. "In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually," Trump said while talking about the India-Pakistan hostilities, without elaborating or providing further detail. Pakistan claimed it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat. India's highest-ranking general said in late May that India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of hostilities and established an advantage before a ceasefire was announced three days later. India also claimed it downed "a few planes" of Pakistan. Islamabad denied suffering any losses of planes but acknowledged its air bases suffered hits. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington held talks with both sides. India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks. India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their problems directly and with no outside involvement. India is an increasingly important US partner in Washington's effort to counter China's influence in Asia, while Pakistan is a US ally. The April attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 26 men and sparked heavy fighting between the nuclear-armed Asian neighbors in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation. Washington condemned the attack but did not directly blame Islamabad. On May 7, Indian jets bombed sites across the border that New Delhi described as "terrorist infrastructure," setting off an exchange of attacks between the two countries by fighter jets, missiles, drones, and artillery that killed dozens until the ceasefire was reached.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
What is The Resistance Front, designated by US as ‘terrorist' group?
The US government has designated The Resistance Front, also known as the Kashmir Resistance, as a ' foreign terrorist organization' following an April 22 militant attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people. The group initially took responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam before denying it days later. Following are some facts about the group. WHAT IS TRF? TRF emerged in 2019 and is considered an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a Delhi-based think tank. Indian security officials said TRF uses the name Kashmir Resistance on social media and online forums, where it claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in Indian Kashmir's Pahalgam area. Lashkar-e-Taiba, listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, is the Islamist group accused of plotting attacks in India and in the West, including the three-day assault on Mumbai in November 2008. 'This is basically a front of the LeT. These are groups which have been created over the last years, particularly when Pakistan was under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force and they were trying to create a pattern of denial that they were involved in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,' said Ajai Sahni, head of the South Asia Terrorism Portal. HOW HAS THE PROBE ADVANCED? On June 22, India's anti-terror National Investigation Agency said it had arrested two men who harbored three militants involved in the Pahalgam attack. The agency said in a statement that the arrested men had revealed the identities of the attackers, and confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Islamabad denies any involvement. WHAT HAS THE GROUP DONE? The group has not previously had any large incidents attributed to it, according to Sahni. 'All TRF operations are essentially LeT operations. There will be some measure of operational freedom as to where they hit on the ground, but the sanction would have come from the LeT,' Sahni said. WHAT DOES INDIA SAY ABOUT TRF? India's interior ministry told parliament in 2023 that the group had been involved in the planning of killings of security force personnel and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir. The group also coordinated the recruitment of militants and the smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the border, the ministry said. Intelligence officials told Reuters that TRF had also been issuing online threats against pro-India groups for the past two years. WHAT DOES PAKISTAN SAY? Pakistan has denied that it supports and funds militants in Kashmir, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
What is The Resistance Front, designated by U.S. as 'terrorist' group?
July 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has designated The Resistance Front, also known as the Kashmir Resistance, as a "foreign terrorist organisation" following an April 22 Islamist militant attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people. The group initially took responsibility for the attack in Pahalgam before denying it days later. Following are some facts about the group. TRF emerged in 2019 and is considered an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a Delhi-based think tank. Indian security officials said TRF uses the name Kashmir Resistance on social media and online forums, where it claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in Indian Kashmir's Pahalgam area. Lashkar-e-Taiba, listed as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States, is the Islamist group accused of plotting attacks in India and in the West, including the three-day assault on Mumbai in November 2008. "This is basically a front of the LeT. These are groups which have been created over the last years, particularly when Pakistan was under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force and they were trying to create a pattern of denial that they were involved in terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir," said Ajai Sahni, head of the South Asia Terrorism Portal. On June 22, India's anti-terror National Investigation Agency said it had arrested two men who harboured three militants involved in the Pahalgam attack. The agency said in a statement that the arrested men had revealed the identities of the attackers, and confirmed they were Pakistani nationals affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group has not previously had any large incidents attributed to it, according to Sahni. "All TRF operations are essentially LeT operations. There will be some measure of operational freedom as to where they hit on the ground, but the sanction would have come from the LeT," Sahni said. India's interior ministry told parliament in 2023 that the group had been involved in the planning of killings of security force personnel and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir. The group also co-ordinated the recruitment of militants and the smuggling of weapons and narcotics across the border, the ministry said. Intelligence officials told Reuters that TRF had also been issuing online threats against pro-India groups for the past two years. Pakistan has denied that it supports and funds militants in Kashmir, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support.
Arab News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Awami National Party leader killed as militant violence escalates in northwest Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Two people, including a senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Thursday, the chief minister's office said. Maulana Zeb Khan, a leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), was shot dead along with another person in KP's Bajaur tribal district by unknown persons, the chief minister's office said. English language newspaper Dawn quoted police as saying that the politician was shot dead in Bajaur's Shindai Mor while campaigning for a peace parade scheduled for July 13 when he was attacked. ANP spokesperson Ihsan Ullah paid tribute to Khan, saying he frequently spoke out against militants and was a key member of the party, serving as its central secretary of ulema affairs. 'Two people, including Maulana Khan Zeb, were killed in Bajaur in a firing incident by unidentified assailants,' KP Chief Minister's Office said in a statement, adding that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the incident. The KP chief minister directed authorities to prepare a report on the incident and ordered immediate action against those responsible for Khan's killing. The incident takes place amid an alarming surge in militant attacks, especially in KP's tribal districts such as Bajaur, in recent years. Despite past military operations, recent attacks on security forces, clerics and politicians highlight growing instability in the area. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident. However, suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit that has launched some of the deadliest attacks targeting law enforcers, politicians and civilians since 2007. Pakistan says Afghanistan-based militant groups launch attacks inside Pakistani territory, a claim Kabul has strongly denied. Islamabad also blames New Delhi for funding and arming these militant groups, which India also denies.
Arab News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Roadside bomb kills assistant commissioner, four others in northwest Pakistan
PESHAWAR: A senior administration official and two police personnel were among five people killed in a roadside blast in Pakistan's northwestern Bajaur district on Wednesday, police confirmed, in yet another suspected militant attack in the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The improvised explosive device (IED) targeted the vehicle of Assistant Commissioner Faisal Sultan, a top local administrator, near Meena Ground in Khar, Bajaur's district headquarters, according to a senior police officer in the area. 'An IED bomb blast targeted the vehicle of the Assistant Commissioner of Nawagai,' District Police Officer Waqas Rafiq told Arab News over the phone. 'As a result of the blast, four government officials and a civilian were martyred.' Sharing the details, Rafiq said Sultan died in the blast along with Tehsildar Wakeel Khan, police constable Rasheed, Levies official Noor Hakeem and an unidentified civilian. Eleven others were also injured and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar, he added. No group has claimed responsibility so far, though suspicion is likely to fall on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has a history of carrying out attacks on police and security personnel, government functionaries and civilians in the northwestern regions. Militant violence has surged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent years, particularly in the tribal districts. Bajaur, which is one of these districts, has also remained prone to militant attacks in the past, especially during the period when US and NATO forces were active across the border after the 9/11 attacks. Last week, 13 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing on a military convoy in Mir Ali, North Waziristan. The country's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, visited the site and later attended the funeral prayers for the slain troops, vowing retribution.
