US shoots down fourth airborne object
Washington (PTI): The United States on Sunday shot down another unidentified airborne object in its airspace, a day after it brought down a similar "cylindrical" object over Canada.
An F-16 fighter jet, at the direction of President Joe Biden, fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down the airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in US airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Pat Ryder said.
After the shooting down of a Chinese surveillance balloon in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday, this is the third such shooting down of an unidentified airborne object in a week. The previous two were shot down by US fighter jets in Alaska on Friday and one over Canadian airspace on Saturday.
Unlike the first balloon, which the US says is from China, the origin of the rest of the three has not been disclosed yet by US and Canadian authorities.
Biden ordered the shooting down of the airborne object on Sunday at the recommendation of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation.
The location chosen for this shootdown afforded the opportunity to avoid impact on people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery, the Pentagon official said.
"There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected," he noted.
North American Aerospace Defense Command maintained a visual and radar track on the object after detecting it Sunday morning.
"Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites. We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more," Ryder said.
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Manipur: 21 Tangkhul Nagas detained by armed men released following negotiations
Imphal (PTI): Twenty-one Tangkhul Naga civilians, who were detained by villagers and armed men of the Kuki community in Manipur's Ukhrul district, were released early on Thursday following negotiations, officials said.
The civilians, travelling in three vehicles, were detained by Kuki villagers and armed men at Shangkai on Wednesday afternoon.
"Following intense negotiations involving the state government and civil society organisations from both the Naga and Kuki communities, the detained civilians were released around 4 am," an official said.
The civilians were brought to Litan police station, 5 km from Shangkai, and reunited with their respective families, he said.
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Tension remained high on Thursday morning in the Tangkhul Naga-majority district, particularly along areas bordering Kuki-majority Kangpokpi, with security forces conducting patrols to avoid any unwanted incidents, the official said.
Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand had expressed "profound concern regarding the distressing situation along the Ukhrul-Imphal Road, where innocent civilians have been reportedly held captive under the area covered by Litan police station".
Singh had appealed to those responsible to uphold the highest traditions of humanity and ensure the safe and unconditional release of all the civilians at the earliest.
He also assured the public that the government was "treating the matter seriously and would take necessary steps to book the culprits involved in such a cowardly act".
Shangkai Village Authority had alleged that 'Tangkhul volunteers' fired upon villagers who were working in the fields, following which they were detained.
It also said two members of the Kuki community, who had gone to repair a water pipeline, were fired upon and remained missing.
Gunfights between armed groups of two communities were also reported in nearby Thawai Kuki and Mahadeva areas in the district on Wednesday.
