Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah calls Pahalgam attack 'intelligence failure'
Bengaluru, Apr 23 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the Pahalgam terror attack was a "planned one" and claimed that it happened due to the Central government's "intelligence failure".
He also said he had asked the team of officials dispatched to Jammu and Kashmir to hire a special plane to bring back tourists from Karnataka stranded there.
"I feel this attack was a planned one. Whoever has done it, I condemn it. Terror attacks should not happen. Whichever caste or religion they are from, it is still the taking of a life. This is a major terror attack, which the Karnataka government strongly condemns," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
“I feel there is an intelligence failure of the Centre. In the past also the Pulwama terror attack had happened,” he claimed.
He said he would not agree to any compromise on security and safety, and stressed that terrorists should be neutralised.
He reiterated his strong condemnation of the Pahalgam attack, in which two tourists from Karnataka were among those killed.
"Already, I have sent a team of officials to Kashmir, including Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad. I have instructed them to hire a plane and bring the tourists safely back to the state. I had also asked them to bring the bodies of the two slain tourists in the same plane, but the Government of India has made arrangements to dispatch the bodies to the respective states," Siddaramaiah said.
The terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday claimed the lives of 26 people, largely tourists.
ಕಾಶ್ಮೀರದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರವಾಸಿಗರ ಮೇಲೆ ನಡೆದಿರುವ ಉಗ್ರರ ದಾಳಿಯನ್ನು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ತೀವ್ರವಾಗಿ ಖಂಡಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪ್ರವಾಸಿಗರಲ್ಲಿ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ ರಾವ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಭರತ್ ಭೂಷಣ್ ಎಂಬುವರು ಮೃತಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಇನ್ನಿತರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ತಂಡವನ್ನು ಕಾಶ್ಮೀರಕ್ಕೆ ರವಾನಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೇ, ಕಾಶ್ಮೀರಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳಿರುವ… pic.twitter.com/KuRmMStw9X
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 23, 2025
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israel's military says it has fully disabled Yemen's main airport with airstrikes
Jerusalem, May 6 (AP): Israel's military said Tuesday it launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, fully disabling the country's international airport in the capital, Sanaa, and striking several power plants.
The strikes, the second in two days, came after Israel launched airstrikes in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike the previous day on Israel's international airport.
The Houthis' satellite news channel al-Masirah reported the strikes, confirming the airport had been hit.
Footage aired on Israeli television showed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to show multiple strikes around Sanaa, with black smoke rising as the thumps of the blast echoed against the surrounding mountains.
There was no immediate information on any casualties.
Tuesday's strike came shortly after the military issued a warning on social media for people to evacuate the area of Yemen's international airport.
“We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”
On Monday night, Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea province of Hodeida, killing at least one person and wounding 35.
The rebels' media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55 kilometres northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least four people and wounded 39 others.
The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel's main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured.
It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion, since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. It prompted a flurry of flight cancellations. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel's missile defence systems, causing damage.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, raising their profile as the last member of Iran's self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
The US military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15.
Israel has repeatedly struck against the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.
In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.
