Terrorism Watch

Reinforcements were rushed to the region and the search operation further intensified, the police said. The armed Naxals managed to flee into the nearby forests. RAIPUR: Two personnel of the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) were killed and another injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion triggered by Maoists near Bodli in Jagdalpur district in Chhattisgarh, about 330 km south of Raipur. A joint team comprising the CAF, CRPF and district police force was out on operation to offer security cover for road construction work between Malewahi and Bodili camp along the Dhaudai-Barsur route. The Maoists ambushed the troopers resulted in an exchange of fire. While swiftly taking positions, two jawans were hit by an IED blast and died on the spot.  “We lost two men in an IED blast detonated by Maoists near Bodli village in Bastar district. The rebels also opened fire resulting in an encounter. One jawan also sustained injuries,” said Sunderraj P, Bastar inspector genera

In a developing story the British army’s 3 rd  Battalion, Parachute regiment, have been embroiled in a prostitution scandal in Kenya. The 3 rd  Parachute regiment, which is a subunit of the much-vaunted 16 Air Assault Brigade, has reportedly been forced to abandon a two-month exercise in Kenya as a result of the scandal. The developing story has been tweeted by the Times newspaper’s defence editor, Lucy Fisher. Lucy Fisher ✔ @LOS_Fisher  ·  7 h Excl: Widespread use of prostitutes by 3 Para in Kenya has led to all 650 troops being disciplined, I’m told. All soldiers on the two-month exercise have been “gated” - banned from visiting safari lodges, malls & other venues. Lucy Fisher ✔ @LOS_Fisher Adventurous training & community engagement are continuing beyond the wire, but that’s the only activity, before troops come home in coming days. An MoD spokesman said: “We expect very high standards of behaviour of our pe

The Afghan government has postponed its announced plan of releasing jailed members of Taliban, a move that might plunge an already shaky peace process between Kabul and the militant group into deeper crisis. Earlier this week, President Ashraf Ghani had promised in a decree that authorities would free 1,500 Taliban militants as a “gesture of goodwill” before long-awaited negotiations between the two sides begins. The decree allowed the release of 500 Taliban prisoners within 15 days starting on Saturday, with 100 prisoners walking out of Afghan jails on a daily basis. According to Afghan officials, once direct talks between the Taliban and Kabul began, the Afghan government would free 500 prisoners every two weeks until a total of 3,500 were released. However, Javid Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Council, said on Saturday that the release of the jailed militants “has been delayed” to allow more time to review their identities. “We have received the lists of th

Regional cooperation has been largely absent due to India-Pak tensions It may not be love in the times of coronavirus, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at a C-word that has remained absent from the regional grouping of the South Asian Association for a while—cooperation. In a tweet that has already had a ripple effect, Modi suggested that the region cooperate to fight the deadly virus. "I would like to propose that the leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight coronavirus. We could discuss, via video-conferencing ways to keep our citizens healthy," tweeted Modi. In what could be a positive for the region in the testing times of a pandemic, Modi added, “South Asia, which is home to a significant number of the global population should leave no stone unturned to ensure our people are healthy.'' The proposal to band together is significant as so far India has been the  main opposition  against SAARC because of Pakistan. Modi’s

MANILA  – Philippine Army (PA) chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay lauded military and police personnel for the successful operation in Baguio City which led to the neutralization of a ranking Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) leader and two of his companions. "With Giron's death, justice is served. But we must not cease. We must not stop in uniting against such tyranny, which for many years, have deprived the Filipino people the peaceful lives they deserve," Gapay said in a statement late Friday. Government forces raided a house at Lourdes Subdivision Extension, Barangay Queen of Peace, Baguio City around 3:30 a.m. Friday. Killed were CPP chair and CPP-NPA Executive Community member Julius Soriano Giron, Lourdes Tan Torres, and a still unidentified male believed to a member of the rebels' National Military Commission. Security troops were supposed to serve Giron various warrants for murder, frustrated murder, arson and rebellion

Yemen’s Houthi Ansaruallh movement says the years-long Saudi-led war and blockade on the impoverished Arab country has increased the infant mortality rate alarmingly. The Ansarullah said Thursday the ongoing Saudi military aggression against Yemen has fueled famine, poverty and diseases, resulting in the deaths of 50,000 children annually, many of whom are under a month old. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a deadly military aggression against Yemen in an attempt to reinstall a Riyadh-backed former regime and eliminate the Houthi movement, which has been defending the country along with the armed forces. The Western-backed offensive, coupled with a naval blockade, has destroyed the country’s infrastructure. It has also led to the world's worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with many children suffering from cholera and severe malnutrition. Children are among the most vulnerable victims of the Saudi war on Yemen, but the issue has barely drawn any international respo

GENEVA , Switzerland – The Philippine government emphasized the need to integrate ways to safeguard the human rights defenders space from exploitation by actors who use it to pursue violent agenda and terrorism on the ground. Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, during the 43rd UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Session here on March 12, said the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) in 2018 was in response to the need to address the drivers such as the broader social, economic, and political conditions conducive to insurgency and terrorism. He said it is consistent with the recommendation of UN Special Rapporteur on Terrorism Fionnuala Ní Aoláin in her report. In a dialogue with Aoláin, Garcia said with the Philippines listed as one of the top 10 countries most impacted by terrorism, there is a need that the approach to terrorism and violent extremism take into account the realiti

We have seen  multiple stories  about coronavirus-related information being used to disguise  malware-laced messages  and apps, which are now being distributed by threat actors around the world. Well, Chinese state-sponsored hackers are keen to get in on the act—at least according to the team at Check Point. In  research  published today, March 12, the firm exposes a Chinese APT, which it says has “weaponized” documents “to deliver previously unknown malware.” Check Point told me its research team had intercepted “a targeted cyber-attack by a Chinese APT group on a public sector entity of Mongolia.” An attack which “leveraged the coronavirus pandemic.” In this example of social engineering at the highest level, the APT sent two documents, “one related to COVID-19, both impersonating the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the form of press briefings.” Those documents contained unique, remote access malware. This latest attack is the tip of a nasty iceberg, as hackers target

Report Reveals Average Ransom Amounts, Data Recovery Rates And Highly Attacked Industries Cyber-attackers search enterprise networks millions of times every day to identify a vulnerability that can be exploited and provide access to sensitive company and personnel data. Even more devastating is when that exploit is used to encrypt the organization’s data, rendering it unable to continue business operations. A ransom is often requested in exchange for a key to decrypt the data. While government agencies tell organizations to not give in to ransom demands, little empirical data is available about the outcomes of these attacks. What are the average ransom amounts, data recovery rates, and attacked industry sectors? Majority Of Ransomware Attacks Relegated To Two Variants According to ransomware data collected in Coveware’s Q4 Ransomware Marketplace report, the cost for an organization to recover from a ransomware attack doubled from the third to the fourth calendar quarter of 20