Pakistan +

Uri terror attack +

attack on the Indian Army camp +

NEW DELHI:based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba has claimed responsibility for thethat killed 20 Indian soldiers last month in Kashmir.Funeral prayers in absentia for one of the Uri attackers, organized by LeT's parent organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa, are to be held in Gujranwala of Punjab, Pakistan, according to posters widely circulated on social media. A special address by JuD chief Hafiz Saeed will be held after the prayers, the poster said.The poster brags that LeT's Muhammad Anas, code named Abu-Saraqa attained "martyrdom" while carrying out thein Uri, Kashmir. Written in Urdu, the poster, however also made an outlandish claim that LeT terrorists had killed 177 Indian soldiers."Funeral prayers in absentia for Mujahid Bhai Abu Siraqa Muhammad Anas martyr for having killed 177 Hindu soldiers in Kashmir," the poster said. The funeral is at Sadabahar Nursery near Bada Nala Nawab Chowk Girjakh Gujranwala.The claim assumes significance since the Pakistan government has consistently denied the role of its Kashmir-centric terror groups in the Uri attack.Muhammad Aamir Hussaini, a staff reporter with the Frontier Post in Pakistan told the TOI, "After such posters and such events organized by JUD, what will be authenticity of claims made by Pakistani Foreign Office in front of International community." This poster shows that Hafiz Saeed is working in Punjab with the consent of the civilian government and in this case the military establishment, he added.After the poster was widely circulated online, JuD claimed that it was a hoax, Pakistani Reuters correspondent Asad Hashim tweeted. However former editor Dawn, Abbas Nasir in a tweet response confirmed the veracity of the poster and said that the funeral prayers have now been postponed. </s> Gunmen hurling grenades killed 17 soldiers in a raid on an army base in Indian Kashmir Sunday, with India blaming Pakistan-based militants for the worst such attack in the disputed region for over a decade.

The militants broke into the base near the de facto border with Pakistan before dawn and lobbed grenades at tents and barracks housing soldiers, before opening fire with automatic weapons, the army said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish those behind the "cowardly" and "despicable" hours-long attack near the town of Uri that also left four militants dead and scores of soldiers injured.

"We strongly condemn the cowardly terror attack in Uri. I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished," Modi said in a series of tweets.

No one has so far claimed responsibility, but Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was disappointed with "Pakistan's continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups".

"Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolated as such," Singh said on Twitter, adding that the militants "were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped".

The raid was likely to further sour ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours given the high death toll and heightened tensions in the Indian-administered region following weeks of deadly clashes between residents and security forces.

India regularly accuses its arch-rival Pakistan of arming and sending rebels across the heavily militarised border that divides Kashmir between the two countries, to launch attacks on its forces. Islamabad denies the claims.

Sunday's attack was one of the bloodiest on soldiers since an armed rebellion against Indian rule erupted in 1989. Militants killed 30 soldiers and their families in a suicide attack in Kaluchak in the Himalayan region in 2002.

Most of the soldiers died Sunday after their tents and other housing caught fire during the raid on the brigade headquarters near the border known as the Line of Control (LoC), said Ranbir Singh, the army's director-general of military operations.

Lieutenant-General Singh blamed Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, saying he had already expressed "serious concerns" to his Pakistani counterpart.

"The killed terrorists, they were all foreign terrorists and as per the initial reports, they belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad," Singh told a briefing.

India blamed the same group for an audacious attack in January on an Indian air force base in the northern state of Punjab that left seven soldiers dead.

The Muslim-majority region is currently in the grip of deadly civilian unrest that has lasted for more than two months. Protesting residents are clashing almost daily with security forces in the worst crowd violence since 2010.

At least 87 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the protests against Indian rule, sparked by the killing of a popular rebel leader in a gunbattle with soldiers on July 8.

The government has been coming under growing pressure over the level of casualties and over the security forces' use of shotguns loaded with pellets which can blind demonstrators.

Thousands of angry demonstrators defied a curfew on Saturday in Kashmir to attend the funeral of a schoolboy whose body was found riddled with pellets, sparking fresh clashes.

The Indian government accuses Pakistan of stoking the unrest in the region.

On Sunday residents of Uri town saw smoke billowing from the nearby base and heard continuous rounds of heavy gunfire that lasted several hours, while army helicopters circled overhead.

Twenty-eight injured soldiers were airlifted to a military hospital in the region's main city of Srinagar, four of them in critical condition, an army officer said.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the two gained independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over the region.

Rebel groups which have been fighting Indian troops in Kashmir since 1989 seek either independence for the region or its merger with Pakistan.

Soldiers have been deployed in Kashmir for decades and currently number around 500,000. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting. </s> Authorities in Pakistan have arrested Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, the militant group blamed by the United States and India for a four-day attack on Mumbai in 2008, Geo Television said on Wednesday.

 

A spokesman for Jammaat ud-Dawa (JuD), a charity run by Saeed, said counter-terrorism officials arrested Saeed while he was on his way to the central Pakistan town of Gujranwala. The charges he faces are still unknown but appear to be linked to terrorism financing, the spokesman added. </s> SRINAGAR, India -- Suspected rebels using guns and grenades sneaked into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir early Sunday and killed at least 17 soldiers in the deadliest attack on a military base in the disputed Himalayan region in recent years, the army said.

Four rebels were killed as the soldiers returned gunfire after the pre-dawn attack on the base, near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Loud explosions were heard and several barracks caught fire in the initial hours of the attack. Afterward, military helicopters hovered over the base as the army conducted what it described as "mopping up" operations.

Officials said at least 30 soldiers were wounded, including about a dozen who were in critical condition.

At the time of the attack, the army base in the heavily forested garrison town of Uri had a large number of troops because soldiers were handing over duties to a new battalion, the Indian army said in a statement.

The base houses the Indian army's regional brigade headquarters along the de facto border separating Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

Soldiers were conducting searches in the area, but army officials said it appeared that they had killed all four rebels involved in the attack. Army officials said the rebels had entered into the Indian side of Kashmir from the Pakistani-controlled part.

S.P. Vaid, a senior police officer in Kashmir, said a "state of high alert" has been declared in the state after the attack.

Vaid described Uri as "an active infiltration route for militants."

Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, the army's director general of military operations, said that all four gunmen killed were "foreign terrorists" and that initial investigations suggested that they belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group that has been active in Kashmir for more than 15 years.

India blames the outlawed group, which is based in Pakistan, for a series of attacks in the Himalayan region and Indian cities, including the attack on India's Parliament in 2001 that brought nuclear rivals India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Singh said the gunmen were carrying "some items that had Pakistani markings." He said he had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart and conveyed India's "serious concerns."

The army officials said the rebels entered the sprawling camp after crossing a stream and breaching the fencing Saturday night.

What made Sunday's attack different from earlier attacks in the region was that instead of storming into the camp, the rebels quietly entered the base and later began their attack, said a senior army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

"I woke up early to the sound of gunfire. We could not go back to sleep after that," said Irfan Wadoo, a 28-year-old student in Uri who lives close to the army base. "The rattle of gunshots lasted for over four hours."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack and tweeted, "I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished."

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh called an emergency meeting of top defense officials and blamed Pakistan for the attack.

"I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan's continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups," he tweeted.

Pakistan's army said in a statement that the allegations were "unfounded and premature," reiterating Islamabad's stance that no infiltration is allowed from Pakistani soil.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but is claimed by both in its entirety. Most people in the Indian-controlled portion favor independence or a merger with Pakistan. A militant uprising and subsequent army crackdown since 1989 have killed more than 68,000 people.

India accuses Pakistan of training the militants in its territory, then helping them to infiltrate the Indian side. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only gives political and diplomatic support to the rebels.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States "strongly" condemns the attack. "The United States is committed to our strong partnership with the Indian government to combat terrorism," he said in a statement.

The attack came with Kashmir in the midst of its largest protests against Indian rule in recent years, sparked by the July 8 killing of a popular rebel commander by Indian troops. A sweeping military crackdown and near-constant curfew have been in effect since the protests began.

Rock-throwing protesters have clashed with troops firing live ammunition and shotgun pellets, and more than 80 people have been killed in the violence.

Amid the protests, India's military has had to halt its operations against militants because Kashmiri civilians have hurled rocks at the troops trying to go after the rebels in neighborhoods. However, several suspected militants have been killed along the de facto border.

The last major attack on an Indian military installation was in January, when six gunmen entered an air force base in the town of Pathankot in the state of Punjab. The rebels managed to paralyze the base for nearly four days, killing seven soldiers. That base also is close to India's border with Pakistan.

Information for this article was contributed by Asif Shahzad of The Associated Press and by Rama Lakshmi of The Washington Post. </s> The attack was one of the the biggest on Indian security forces in Kashmir

A militant attack on a convoy of vehicles carrying paramilitary soldiers of the Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has killed at least 40 personnel and injured dozens.

Thirteen of the injured are believed to be in critical condition.

According to police, an SUV car laden with approximately 350kg of explosives rammed into the bus carrying 39 members of the 76 Battalion of CRPF at 3.15pm.

The bus was part of a 70-vehicle convoy carrying more than 2,500 security personnel from Jammu to Srinagar.

The attack happened on the highway in Pulwama district about 12 miles from the state capital Srinagar.

Speaking to reporters, inspector general of police SP Pani said: "We are investigating the nature of the explosion.

"There has been a number of casualties and the injured have been taken to hospital.

"We are combing the site and we are investigating the bomb attack."

Pictures from the attack site show the 55-seater bus reduced to a mangled heap of metal.

Pakistan-based terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a statement to a local news service, the terror group claims the bomb laden vehicle was driven by Aadil Ahmad alias Waqas Commando.

Members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad are allegedly involved in a number of attacks in Indian administered Kashmir, including the Pathankot Air base attack in 2016 in which seven soldiers were killed.

The organisation has been designated a terror group by the United States, Britain, Russia, Pakistan and a number of other western countries.

K.Vijay Kumar, adviser to the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, said: "We are still trying to confirm if a foreign terrorist is involved in the attack, we are verifying the claims put out by Jaish-e-Mohammad."

He added: "We have killed more than 250 militants including 19 commanders of various terror organisations since last year and we will keep doing so."

Home minister Rajnath Singh said: "The attack was carried out by Pakistan backed Jaish e Mohammed. A strong reply will be given and I assure the people of the country this."

The foreign ministry said it was "firmly and resolutely committed to take all necessary measures to safeguard national security".

It also called for Pakistan to "stop supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from their territory".

Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, said he was "shocked by the dastardly terrorist attack in which CRPF personnel were martyred.

"My heartfelt condolences to bereaved families and prayers for speedy recovery of the injured."

This has been one of the biggest attacks on Indian security forces in Kashmir.

In September 2016, a pre-dawn militant attack on the brigade headquarters of the Indian Army in Uri led to the deaths of 23 soldiers.

India blamed militants from Jaish-e-Mohammad for the attack.

In retaliation, India conducted surgical strikes 11 days later on what it termed as "launch pads" used by militants in Pakistan administrated Kashmir. </s> A political front of Mumbai 26/11 terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) — Milli Muslim League (MML) — was designated a terrorist organisation by the United States on Tuesday. The US Department of state brought in new amendments that also included Pakistan-based banned terrorist organization Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT). In the new list, US also designated Tehreek-e- Azadi-e Kashmir (TAJK) under the list of terrorist organisations. Apart from designating Hafiz Saeed-led organisation as a terrorist organisation, the US also designated seven members of Milli Muslim League (MML) as a foreign terrorist. The members designated as foreign terrorist were said to be working for Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT).

According to the press release issued by the US Department of State on April 2, LeT was designated as the foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The LeT was also put under a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224 by the US. Following the designations, the finances to the organization have been denied to stop it from carrying out further terrorist attacks. Also, LeT’s property and interest in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, the press release added. The designation also prohibits US persons from engaging in ant sort of transactions with the group.

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As per reports, Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State, Nathan A Sales said that amendments by US take aim at Lashkar e-Taiba’s efforts to circumvent sanctions and deceive the public about its true character. He said, “Make no mistake: whatever LeT chooses to call itself, it remains a violent terrorist group. The United States supports all efforts to ensure that LeT does not have a political voice until it gives up violence as a tool of influence.” The mentioned designations by the US come just a few days before Pakistan was about to go to elections. Hafiz Saeed is also said to be contesting in the upcoming Pakistan election 2018. LeT, a Pakistan-based terror organisation, formed in 1980 was held responsible for carrying out terrorist activities in Mumbai that killed 166 people. LeT was designated as Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorist on December 26, 2001, by the US.

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ALSO READ: 15 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli troops as thousands march on Gaza-Israel border for ‘March of Return’ </s> Image copyright AP Image caption A curfew is already being enforced in the entire Kashmir Valley

Militants have attacked an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 17 soldiers, the army says.

All four of the attackers were killed. Carrying guns and grenades they stormed a base in Uri, close to the Line of Control with Pakistan in a pre-dawn ambush.

Indian Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh reacted by calling Pakistan a "terrorist state".

It is the deadliest attack on security forces in Kashmir in two decades.

It comes as violent protests against Indian rule in the disputed region continue, with a strict curfew imposed.

More than 80 people, nearly all anti-government protesters, have died in more than two months of violence.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and Pakistan denied any role.

"This is an old tactic of India. They immediately put the blame on Pakistan without investigation," foreign ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria told the BBC.

Image copyright @narendramodi Image caption Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attacks on Twitter

But Mr Singh said on Twitter that "there are definite and conclusive indications that the perpetrators of Uri attack were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped".

"I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan's continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups," he said.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned the attack and said the UK "stands shoulder to shoulder with India in the fight against terrorism, and in bringing the perpetrators to justice".

Both India and Pakistan claim all of Muslim-majority Kashmir but only control parts of it.

Indian army military operations head Lieutenant-General Ranbir Singh said there was evidence the attackers were members of an Islamist militant group in Pakistan.

The terrorists had some items which had Pakistani markings on," he said.

Kashmir profile

The militants infiltrated across the Line of Control from Pakistan before attacking the base, west of Srinagar, an army officer told the BBC.

Gunfire and explosions were heard for several hours.

Image copyright EPA Image caption An India army helicopter flies above the base after the attack

Image copyright EPA Image caption Activists from the Hindu hardline nationalist Shiv Sena group vent their anger

Image copyright AP Image caption Street demonstrations were sparked in July after a popular militant leader was killed

Many tents and temporary shelters caught fire during the attack, according to the army's Northern Command.

Twelve soldiers were killed by fires and the others died in gun battles, the Hindustan Times reports, citing army sources.

Disputed Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 60 years, causing two wars between the neighbours.

A militant attack on an army camp in Uri in December 2014 saw at least nine members of the security forces killed.

The last attack of this scale on the Indian army was in June 2015 in Manipur, north-east India, when at least 20 soldiers were killed in an attack on a troop convoy.

Dangerous impasse - Justin Rowlatt, South Asia correspondent

With the Indian Home Ministry talking about a "cross-border terror attack", there is no doubt the raid will make the already fraught relations between India and Pakistan even frostier.

But the truth is this latest upsurge in violence has a distinctly home-grown flavour.

The huge wave of protests against Indian rule that were prompted by the killing of a popular young militant on 8 July have been overwhelmingly by people from Indian-controlled areas of Kashmir.

The attack is likely to mean normal life in the province will continue to be paralysed by the curfew imposed by the security forces for some time to come.

The Indian government says it wants to discuss how to end the violence with local leaders, but so far its overtures have been rejected by separatists who insist that the issue of Kashmiri independence must be on the table. </s> SRINAGAR, India: Police in India's Kashmir investigating the killing of a prominent journalist and two of his security guards arrested a suspect on Friday, an official said.

Syed Shujaat Bukhari, editor of the Rising Kashmir newspaper, was leaving his office in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state, when he was shot at close range on Thursday by gunmen on motorbikes.

The suspect, named as Zubair Qadri, was seen in a video stealing the pistol of one of the guards shot dead with Bukhari, Inspector General of Kashmir S.P. Pani told reporters.

"The pistol has since been recovered and he is being questioned about his presence at the scene of the crime. So far, he has not been able to give any convincing answers," Pani said.

Pani, who described the killing of the journalist as a terror attack, said the identities of the three other gunmen were still being ascertained.

Militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and United Jehad Council also condemned the killing and denied involvement. Instead, they blamed "Indian agencies".

Bukhari had been a strong advocate of peace in disputed Kashmir, at the heart of decades of hostility between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the Muslim majority region.

More than 130 people have been killed this year in militant violence in Kashmir.

India has long accused Pakistan of training and arming militants and helping them infiltrate across the Line of Control that separates the two sides in the region, a charge Islamabad denies. </s> Militants killed 17 soldiers during a pre-dawn ambush on an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir Sunday, in a major attack in the Himalayan region already reeling from weeks of deadly unrest.

The heavily armed militants snuck across the defacto border with Pakistan before launching the raid on the infantry base housing hundreds of soldiers in Uri, west of the region’s main city of Srinagar, officials said.

Four militants were killed in the attack that saw tents and other temporary shelters accommodating the soldiers catch fire, the army said in a statement.

The encounter resulted in “heavy casualties. We salute the sacrifice of 17 soldiers who were martyred in the operation,” the army said in the statement.

“In the counter action, four terrorists have been eliminated and combing operations are in progress,” the statement said.

Large numbers of soldiers are stationed at Uri after finishing their tour of duty in the volatile region, where several rebel groups have been fighting troops for decades for independence of the region or its merger with Pakistan.

Residents of nearby Uri town saw smoke billowing from the base after dawn and heard continuous rounds of heavy gunfire, while army helicopters circled the base overhead.

The region has been in the grip of deadly unrest for more than two months, with protesting residents clashing almost daily with security forces, in the worst violence since 2010.

At least 87 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the protests against Indian rule, sparked by the killing of a popular rebel leader in a gun battle with soldiers on July 8.

Kashmir has been divided between India and its arch rival Pakistan since the two gained independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

Sunday’s raid comes after militants launched an audacious attack on an Indian airforce base that left seven soldiers dead in January.

India blamed that attack in the northern state of Punjab on a Pakistani-based militant group and it came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a landmark visit to Pakistan, raising hopes of improved ties.

On Sunday, the militants first attacked a frontline base close to the border known as the Line of Control or LoC before moving onto the headquarters, army spokesman Colonel S. D. Goswami said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in a series of tweets that he had spoken to the region’s military and political leaders about the attack and he cancelled planned trips to Russia and the United States.

Several rebel groups have for decades fought Indian soldiers — currently numbering around 500,000 — deployed in Kashmir. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
Pakistan-based terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba claims responsibility for the attack on the Uri military camp in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.