US military helicopter crashes in Iraq
Washington: A US military HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, a Black Hawk variant, has crashed in Iraq near the border with Syria, according to US defense officials.
The officials cautioned that these are early reports and that the Pave Hawk was carrying seven personnel, but was not on a combat mission. The officials further said that the early reports do not indicate hostile fire, but they emphasized they need to determine what happened.
"A US military aircraft has crashed in western Iraq with US service members aboard," the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq told CNN.
"Rescue teams are responding to the scene of the downed aircraft at this time. Further details will be released when available. An investigation will be initiated to determine the cause of the incident."
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.
HP Cong Minority Morcha delegation meets with party leader Venugopal over mosque row
Shimla (PTI): A delegation of the Himachal Congress Minority Morcha apprised the party's central leaders on Thursday of the atmosphere of fear created in the state by targeting a particular community and staging demonstrations near mosques.
The delegation led by Iqbal Mohammad, president of the state Congress Minority Morcha, also comprised imams of various mosques. It met with Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and its Minority Morcha national president Imran Pratapgarhi in New Delhi.
In a statement here, the state Congress Minority Morcha said the situation has become tense due to demonstrations by Hindu outfits in front of mosques and efforts were being made to vitiate the atmosphere and instill fear among Muslims.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is trying to take people of all religions along but some elements are trying to spoil the atmosphere and malign the government, it added.
According to the statement, Venugopal spoke to the chief minister over the phone over the issue.
Ten people were injured during a protest demanding the demolition of a portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area last week. In Mandi, police used water cannons on protestors demanding the demolition of an unauthorised portion of a mosque in the town.
On Tuesday, residents of Kasumpti in Shimla submitted a memorandum to demolish a mosque in the area and similar demands are also coming in from Sunni and other areas in the state.
A dispute between a barber from the minority community and a local businessman in the Malyana area in the suburbs of Shimla on August 30 turned into a communal issue with Hindu groups demanding the demolition of unauthorised mosques and residents calling for the identification and verification of outsiders coming in the state.
