Over two months after the killing of its leader Osama bin Laden, United States' counter-terrorism officials believe that terror outfit Al Qaeda is on the brink of collapse. "US counter-terrorism officials are increasingly convinced that the killing of Osama bin Laden and the toll of seven years of CIA drone strikes have pushed Al-Qaeda to the brink of collapse," The Washington Post reported.
The foreign ministers of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Australia and Japan on Friday held extensive talks in Melbourne amid escalating tension between Russia and NATO countries over Ukraine, the Afghan crisis and increasing concerns over China's "coercion" in the Indo-Pacific region.
A full-fledged training, intelligence and combat module on Taliban, its leadership and their modus operandi is being prepared apart from specific case studies that have taken place in that country and the region, he said.
Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Australian foreign minister Marise Payne and defence minister Peter Dutton will visit India from September 10 to 12 to take part in the dialogue with their Indian counterparts.
Stung by WikiLeaks' publication of classified US diplomatic cables, President Barack Obama has roped in a veteran counter-terrorism official to oversee efforts to plug the gaping security gaps.
Troops of India and Indonesia participated in joint army exercises in Mizoram.
Considered the 'world's most wanted man' by counter terrorism organisations across three continents, Ilyas Kashmiri, the one-eyed rabid anti-India leader, is seen as a terror successor to Osama Bin Laden.
Lakhvi, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department.
A European terror plot still remains active and the US has asked its citizens travelling in Europe to take more precautions, a top State Department's counter-terrorism official said on Thursday.
Britain has finalised 1 billion pounds worth of new trade and investment with India, creating over 6,500 jobs in the UK, to be signed off at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The investments confirmed by Downing Street on Monday evening form part of an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), which will set the ambition to double the value of UK-India trade by 2030 and declare a shared intent to begin work towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). "Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer," Johnson said.
All the three, aged between 25 and 33 are believed to be of Pakistani origin
The decision for their deployment in counter-terror operations was taken by the Union Home Ministry recently and they will be put to use soon after their acclimatisation programme is over, the officials said.
Two teams of the 11th Special Rangers Group, stand withdrawn from VVIP security duties and have been tasked to undertake counter-terror operations.
Acknowledging that it is clear to all that many terrorist groups operate in Pakistan, he said the US continues to work with the Pakistani government in this regard.
Easy availability of drones has increased the complexity of security challenges and the Indian military is developing capabilities to effectively deal with the threats, be it from State-sponsored elements or by states themselves, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday.
"We are concerned that next month's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will be an appealing target for Lashkar-e-Tayiba due to their political and economic significance for India," said Michael Leiter, the Director of the US National Counter-terrorism Centre.
The Obama administration has strongly condemned the Pune bombing and said it believes that counter-terrorism cooperation is a key element of the bilateral relationship between the United States and India.
In a veiled reference to Pakistan Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said that some countries believe that they can buy peace at home by supporting groups for terror outside, which he said, was "delusional".
In his opening remarks at a ministerial meeting in Tokyo of the Quadrilateral coalition, also known as 'Quad', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India remained committed to a rules-based world order, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
'Even, amidst the ongoing pandemic, terrorism continues to pose a critical threat to international peace and security'
The Joint Committee on National Security Strategy has now been formerly moved in the House of Commons and will be meeting informally before the end of this month.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
"Both India and China are victims of terrorism and the region was suffering from the menace. The prime minister said no country is immune from terrorism and on this issue, we cannot afford to have any differences," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters after the meeting.
There is "strong evidence" that top members of Pakistan's military, government and intelligence service gave their "active consent and approval" to CIA drone strikes in the country's lawless tribal areas between June 2004 and June 2008, according to a UN report.
Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba is acting in a more Al Qaeda-like manner after being 'infected' by the ideas of Osama bin Laden's terror network and poses the highest risk to the United States, according to a top American counter-terrorism expert.
National Security Guard Director General N P S Aulakh on how the NSG has changed after 26/11.
During his meeting with Bolsonaro, Prime Minister Modi invited the President of Brazil to be the chief guest at the Republic Day 2020. Bolsonaro accepted the invitation with pleasure.
'Maritime security is not easy. There are lakhs of fishing boats, and it is almost impossible to monitor each one of them,' says Home Secretary G K Pillai.
Pakistan and China on Tuesday vowed to boost up collaboration in defence and counter-terrorism as visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani invited Chinese defence industry to set up joint ventures in his country for warships and fighters.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday unveiled a new counter-terrorism plan, proposing to divide the home ministry by hiving off a separate internal security ministry.As part of this plan, he also proposed the setting up of a National Counter Terrorism Centre within 24 months, to which all intelligence agencies will report, and to re-examine the role of Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing which deal with internal and external intelligence respectively.
India and the United States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on counter-terrorism and five other pacts as they ventured to chart their ties as "one of the defining relations" in the 21st century in which India will have a leadership role in the region and the world.
The legislation, the National Defense Authorisation Act-2019, gets rid of the certification requirements for Pakistan's action against the Haqqani Network and it also gets rid of the authority to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism.
In recent years, China has refrained from taking a public stance on the India-Pakistan ties, expressing hope for resolution of the disputes through dialogue.
Modi called for global solidarity and readiness against terrorism in the same way the world has shown solidarity against challenges like climate change.
Khan said shadows of war were still hovering over Pakistan and India
Xi will attend the second informal meeting with Modi at Mahabalipuram near Chennai from October 11 to 12 and pay a state visit to Nepal on October 13, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.
The world is seeing an "explosion" in seizures of power by force and military coups are back, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told world leaders on Tuesday, lamenting that geopolitical divisions are undermining international cooperation as he called for strengthening global governance and re-igniting multilateralism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on spoke to French President Francois Hollande over the terror attack in Paris and reaffirmed his commitment to enhance Indo-French counter-terrorism cooperation as a key element.
