50 terrorists killed in J-K in 2020; 18 during lockdown
Jammu: Fifty terrorists, including several top commanders of Jaish-e-Mohmmad (JeM) and Lashker-e-Tioba (LeT), were killed in counter terrorism operations by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir this year so far, officials said on Friday.
Seventeen security forces personnel lost their lives while fighting the terrorists in the union territory, they said.
The militants also killed nine civilians in the last four months, the officials said. Giving details, a senior official told PTI that the slain terrorists included top commanders of JeM, LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen.
He said of the 50 terrorists killed so far this year, 18 were eliminated during the ongoing lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Four terrorists, including district commander of LeT Muzaffar Ahmed Bhat, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Dialgam area of Anantnag district in south Kashmir on March 15, the official said, adding they belonged to LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen outfits
On January 25, three terrorists, including JeM self-styled Kashmir chief Qari Yasir, were killed while three soldiers were injured in an encounter between security forces and ultras in the Tral area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, he said.
On January 23, another top militant commander Abu Saifullah alias Abu Qasim, an associate of Yasir, was killed in the Khrew area of Pulwama district, the official said.
On April 9, top Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Sajad Nawab Dar was killed by security forces in Sopore in Baramulla district in north Kashmir, he said.
A top Hizbul Mujahideen 'commander' Haroon Wani was killed in a fierce encounter with the security forces in the Gundana area of Doda in Jammu and Kashmir on January 15, he said.
Giving further details, the officer said 18 terrorists were killed during the lockdown in the union territory since March 14. As many as nine civilians were killed by the terrorists during this year, he said.
Besides, seventeen security force personnel were killed during the same period, which includes 13 security personnel, three Special Police officers (SPOs) and one policeman, he added.
As many as 160 terrorists were killed and 102 arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh had said earlier.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
