As a total of 97 police gallantry medals were announced by the government on the eve of the Republic day on Wednesday, more than half (about 52) have gone to those personnel who are either combating Left-wing extremists in various states or have taken on militants and insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast
The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the operation on Tuesday after hearing the differing viewpoints presented by the home and defence ministries on the necessity of such an operation against the Issac-Muivah and Khaplang factions of the NSCN. The CCS has backed the home ministry view that the Army needs to intervene and clear the two districts of armed militants from both the rival factions
The Apex court had in its order slammed the Chhattisgarh government for using tribals as Special Police Officers in its Salwa Judum counter-insurgency operation against the Maoists. It also asked the central government to ensure that its finances are not used for funding SPOs.
A gunbattle broke out between militants and security forces in Tangmarg area of north Kashmir' Baramulla district on Thursday.
A top Hizbul Mujahideen commander was among two militants killed in a fierce gunfight in south Kashmir area of Tral on Monday morning. An army officer is also said to have been wounded in the gunfight.
A new battalion of the Parachute Regiment -- 11 Para (SF)--is being raised and will be first deployed in the north eastern sector, Army sources told PTI in New Delhi.
"Suicides claimed 99 lives in the army last year. Of these, 23 cases were registered in field areas and 76 in peace areas," Army officials told PTI.
The fierce encounter in south Kashmir's Pulwama district concluded on Tuesday afternoon after one terrorist was killed while the other reportedly escaped the security cordon.
Families of two civilians killed in the Hyderpora encounter in Srinagar held a protest here on Wednesday, demanding justice for the victims and the return of their bodies.
Five militants and an army trooper were killed and four others wounded in an encounter in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. The gunfight erupted early on Friday after troops of counter insurgency Rashtriya Rifles and the police jointly surrounded a house, acting on a specific tip-off about the presence of a group of militant commanders inside it. "The operation is over. We have recovered the bodies of the militants," said a spokesperson.
A militant commander was killed in a fierce encounter in north Kashmir's Baramulla district early on Sunday.
According to latest statistics of the Home ministry, the seven forces -- the CRPF, the Border Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Seema Sahastra Bal, the Central Industrial Security Forces, the National Security Guard and the Assam Rifles -- have lost 1,067 men in combat or counter-insurgency operations over a period of three years. But more than thrice -- as many as 3,611 personnel -- have died due to illnesses.
Colonel Kohli, commanding officer of an artillery regiment in Assam, had taken photographs of civilians splashed with tomato ketchup posing as corpses and gave them to his seniors to stake claim for gallantry award. The incident took place at Bada Nagadun near Silchar in Assam in 2003 and Kohli was dismissed from the Army in November 2004 after a court martial found him guilty.
Colonel (retired) H S Kohli, sacked from the Army for faking encounters during counter insurgency operations in North East in 2003, has filed a review petition before the Armed Forces Tribunal.
'We are dealing with a very difficult social situation. It needs a lot of maturity, patience and self control,' says Lt Gen V G Patankar (retd).
The Assam government has requested the Centre for additional central forces to beef up security measures in the state in the wake of anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland resorting to mindless killings of innocent civilians.
A gunfight between holed up militants and security forces erupted in the central Kashmir Budgam district on Wednesday.
Three militants and a soldier were killed and another trooper wounded in a daylong encounter in the Sozipora village near Handwara in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
This was disclosed by Major General S S Jog, General Officer Commanding the Red Horn Division, during a seminar on counter terrorism organised by the Army for officers and allied personnel engaged in anti-insurgency operations in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Operations were on Friday intensified against NDFB-S militants along the border with Arunachal Pradesh even as the death toll in the massacre rose to 81.
A week after government auditors exposed Army supplying stale food to jawans, Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday gave an assurance that efforts were in progress to improve quality of rations given to them.
In a major boost to the morale of security forces engaged sustained counter-insurgency operation Assam, 412 militants including 22 women of the Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) laid down arms before Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi in presence of senior police and Army officials at Diphu in Karbi Anglong hill district of Assam.
Two terrorists, including a top commander of the Harkat-ul-Mujaheedin outfit, and a soldier of the Indian Army were killed in a fierce encounter near north Kashmir's Sopore town on Wednesday.
At least 3,000 soldiers from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan participated in the drill.
The gunfight started Friday morning after police and counter insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) surrounded a house in Khrew village, nearly 20 km from Srinagar, acting on specific information. The terrorists opened fire on security forces when the latter challenged them to surrender. Two terrorists were killed in the subsequent gunfight
As the government continues to weigh options of fighting Naxalism more effectively, the army has offered to send Colonel-rank officers to the Union home ministry on deputation for advise in anti-Maoist operations.
The seeping unhappiness among soldiers unable to reach out to their families affected by the disaster is not only likely to affect its counter-insurgency performance, but it would also add to the sympathy for the Taliban in the lower ranks.
'Operation Green Hunt is nothing but an operation to get the tribals out of their villages. The paramilitary forces and Salwa Judum are attacking innocent old men, women and children,' says Gandhian Himanshu Kumar.
An Mi-17 Helicopter had landed at a field in jungle area in the midst of an active encounter area to evacuate the jawans and brought them to Raipur.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday lambasted the Jammu and Kashmir government for recommending Ghulam Mohammad Mir, a counter-insurgent for Padma Shri award.
Five militants were killed in a day-long fierce gunfight in frontier north Kashmir Kupwara district on Saturday.
Cut off from the world and having to contend with an orthodox and repressive Taliban government, Afghans are facing the brunt of Pakistan's decades old policy of nurturing militant groups, note Harsh V Pant and Kriti M Shah four months after the Taliban took Kabul.
United States President-elect Barack Obama's Secretary of State designate Senator Hillary Clinton, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of her confirmation process on Tuesday, said that the Obama administration will condition military aid to Pakistan, on its commitment to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism.
US Central Command commander General Joseph Votel conveyed this to Islamabad during a visit last week.
A senior Punjab police officer on Friday said he was denied a visa by Canadian authorities as he had served in areas where counter-insurgency operations were carried out in the state during the militancy period.Patiala's Senior Superintendent of Police Ranbir Singh Khatra said that it was the prerogative of the Canadian government to deny or grant him a visa but the content used in the denial letter was not acceptable.
The controversy triggered by the killing of a 70-year-old 'militant' by the army on April 14 in north Kashmir's Kupwara district took a new turn on Saturday, after the district magistrate ordered the exhumation of the slain person's body.On Wednesday, a defence spokesman had said in a press statement said that 'a militant was killed in an encounter with the counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles troops and the local police in Rainawari forest area near Handwara'.
Senior Pentagon officials have gone to bat for the Pakistani military defending even its slow counter-insurgency mobilization efforts against the Taliban and its entrenched threat perception vis--vis India.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said on Wednesday that the Maoists had been trying to set up base in Assam for the last three years to exploit the fluid situation in the insurgency-hit state, but in vain, thanks to alertness shown by the Assam police, a force with much experience in counter-insurgency operations.
A total of 234 army personnel have died fighting terrorists in the last four years, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
An army major, a naval commando and two top militants were among the eight persons killed in two encounters in north Kashmir in the past 24 hours.
