Israel says Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles, 99% of which were intercepted
Jerusalem (AP): Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel early Sunday after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. A military spokesman said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99% of them were intercepted.
Calling the outcome “a very significant strategic success,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Of those, several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.
Rescuers said a 7-year-old girl in a Bedouin Arab town was seriously wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, though they said police were still investigating the circumstances of her injuries.
In Washington, President Joe Biden said U.S. forces helped Israel down “nearly all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.
The Iranian attack, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country's 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Condemnation from the United Nations chief and others was swift, with France saying Iran “is risking a potential military escalation,” Britain calling the attack “reckless" and Germany saying Iran and its proxies “must stop it immediately."
Hagari said the vast majority of the intercepts came outside Israel's borders, including 10 cruise missiles that were intercepted by warplanes.
"A wide-scale attack by Iran is a major escalation,” he said. Asked whether Israel would respond, Hagari said only that the army “does and will do whatever is required to protect the security of the state of Israel.” He said the incident was not over, and dozens of Israeli warplanes remained in the skies.
Israel's military said its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, handled most interceptions and noted that “strategic partners” were involved.
“At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a separate statement that U.S. forces “intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.”
Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke early Sunday, Israeli time, their governments said. Biden said in his statement that he reaffirmed “America's ironclad commitment” to Israel's security — a departure from his growing criticism of Israel's conduct in its war on Hamas in Gaza.
Iran had vowed revenge since the April 1 airstrike in Syria, which Tehran accused Israel of being responsible for. Israel hasn't commented on it.
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Goa police arrest man from Bengaluru for cyber bullying woman and extortion
Panaji (PTI): The Goa cyber crime police have arrested a man from Bengaluru on charges of cyber bullying a woman and extortion after posting a fake job advertisement online, an official said on Sunday.
Following a complaint by the Goa-based woman, the cyber crime team arrested the accused, Mohan Raj V (29), on Saturday after laying a trap, a police spokesperson said.
The victim in her complaint claimed the accused published a fake job advertisement for a vacancy at a foreign bank and contacted her through a chatting app, he said.
"The accused lured her into attending an online interview via video call, during which some persons, posing as representatives of the company, coerced her to undress, recorded the video and took screenshots," the spokesman said.
The accused then began to blackmail the woman, demanding sexual favours to delete the compromising material, he said.
The woman alleged that the accused harassed her for the past two months and demanded she meet him in Bengaluru or else he would make her videos and pictures public.
A team led by Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta travelled to Bengaluru with the victim and laid a trap.
"After extensive efforts and a long chase, the accused was apprehended when he arrived to meet the victim," the spokesperson said.
Police said the accused has confessed to his crime.
"The chats and videos of the victim recorded on the phone of the accused were recovered. The phone will be sent for a cyber forensic examination," he said.
The investigation suggested the accused created fake accounts using VPN phone numbers and posted fraudulent job offers targeting female victims.
"They (the arrested person and others) randomly contacted women, induced them to participate in online interviews with promises of high salary packages, and then recorded their objectionable images and videos. These recordings were subsequently used to blackmail the victims for sexual gratification," he said.
After the woman's complaint, the police on April 30 registered a case against unidentified persons.
Following the arrest, the accused was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 354 A (sexual harassment), 384 (extortion) and provisions of the Information Technology Act, the police said.
