Gurkha's back, Beheading Taliban's in Afghanistan

Gurkha's back, Beheading Taliban's in Afghanistan

A Gurkha solider who beheaded a Taliban gunman and carried his head back to base in a bag has been cleared to resume his duties. The private, from 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, was involved in a fierce firefight with insurgents in the Babaji area of central Helmand Province when the incident took place earlier last July.

The Nepalese soldier, who is in his early 20s, apparently made the decision to remove the head in a misunderstanding over the need for DNA evidence of the kill. His unit had been told that they were seeking a ‘high value target,’ a Taliban commander, and that they must prove they had killed the right man.

The Gurkhas had intended to remove the Taliban leader’s body from the battlefield for identification purposes. However, Army sources revealed at the time that he told investigators he had unsheathed his kukri – the symbolic weapon of the Gurkhas – after running out of ammunition.

'Thankfully he has been returned to normal duties having had a question mark hanging over his future for some time,' a military source told The Sun. 'This particular Gurkha is good soldier and has a good record.' The Gurkha faced a court martial and possible jail sentence if he had been found guilty of a war crime.

However, the decision taken was that the soldier was fighting for his life and did not have time to reload his weapon as his victim attacked. The Gurkhas had intended to remove the Taliban leader’s body from the battlefield for identification purposes.

But they came under heavy fire as their tried to do so. Military sources said that in the heat of battle, the Gurkha took out his curved kukri knife and beheaded the dead insurgent. He is understood to have removed the man’s head from the area, leaving the rest of his body on the battlefield.

This is considered a gross insult to the Muslims of Afghanistan, who bury the entire body of their dead even if parts have to be retrieved. British soldiers often return missing body parts once a battle has ended so the dead can be buried in one piece.

- Daily Mail

Taliban attacks heart of Afghanistan, 28 feared dead

Taliban attacks heart of Afghanistan, 28 feared dead

At least 28 people were killed and more than 300 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a bus full of explosives near a government security building in the heart of Kabul.

After the intial blast, which was described as huge by witnesses, armed men and more suicide bombers stormed the heavily-guarded compound, police said.

Al Jazeera's Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said Tuesday's attack, which was quickly claimed by the Taliban, was likely the biggest such incident to hit the capital since 2001.

With the attack happening during morning rush hour in a crowded are, the number of deaths was likely to rise, according to police.

"Our sources are telling us that at the time of explosion there was a graduation ceremony going on for new recruits when the suicide bomber detonated himself," Azimy said.

The security agency attacked is responsible for protecting government ministers and VIPs.

A police spokesman, Basir Mujahid, told Al Jazeera that the gunfight was ongoing, as Afghan special forces rushed to the scene.

"The Taliban are still fighting with the security forces," Mujahid said.

In a statement, the Presidential Palace condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms".

"The explosion has caused a lot of damage to the government," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told Al Jazeera.

The US embassy said it was not affected by the blast. The NATO military coalition also said it was unaffected.

The Taliban last week announced the start of their "spring offensive" even as the government in Kabul tried to talk them back to the negotiating table in a bid to end the country's drawn-out conflict.

In a statement, the group warned it would "employ large-scale attacks on enemy positions across the country", dubbing the offensive Operation Omari after the movement's late founder Mullah Omar.

Since then, fighting has raged around the symbolically-important northern city of Kunduz, which fell briefly to the Taliban last September.

The annual spring offensive normally marks the start of what is referred to as fighting season, though this past winter the usual lull was shorter as the group continued to battle government forces, though with less intensity.

Peace talks that began last summer were abruptly stopped after it was revealed that Taliban leader Mullah Omar had been dead for two years, a disclosure which sparked infighting in Taliban ranks.

- Al Jazeera

Indian Consulate in Afghan attacked, ITBP responded

Indian Consulate in Afghan attacked, ITBP responded

Powerful blasts and gunfire rang out near the Indian consulate and other foreign missions in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, with officials saying 14 people were injured in the attack.

Initial reports suggested one blast was triggered by a suicide bomber near the Indian consulate at noon, Khaama Press reported.

Other reports said at least four attackers were involved. One of them was gunned down by security forces and a search was underway for the others.

At least 14 injured people were admitted to hospital, officials were quoted as saying by Tolo News. The external affairs ministry said all Indian staff at the consulate were safe though an Afghan employee was injured.

Witnesses said small arms fire could be heard near the Indian consulate, which is located in an area with several other foreign missions.

The blasts shattered windows and doors in nearby buildings and destroyed at least eight cars. No militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

In December, Afghan security forces said they had foiled two attempts to attack the Indian mission in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangrahar province. They also said they had arrested two members of the Islamic State in connection with one of the planned attacks.

On January 4, three attackers stormed a building near the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif and exchanged fire with security forces for almost 25 hours before they were killed. The attack coincided with a terrorist assault on the Pathankot airbase in India.

The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed was linked to the attacks in Mazar-e-Sharif and Pathankot.

Also in January, seven Afghan security personnel were killed while fighting terrorists who attacked the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad. The IS claimed responsibility for the attack.

During the first week of January, a restaurant in Kabul frequented by foreigners and a contractor camp on the outskirts of the capital were attacked.

There has been a spike in violence since the start of 2016, a tough year for Afghanistan as insurgents escalated attacks to enter any peace negotiations from a position of strength.

-Hindustan Times

ISIS plans to wage war in India to provoke an Armageddon

ISIS plans to wage war in India to provoke an Armageddon

   Reports reveals that  ISIS plans to use the Pakistani and Afghani Islamic militants to attack India to start the  Armageddon or end of the world like scenario. American Media Institutes caught a Pakistani deserted soldier who has with several classified informations about the ISIS. a 30 page Urdu document was translated into English by an elite American Harvard University Researcher. the Reports were Later published into the lead US media USA Today. they also get a interview from that Pakistani man but which is not revealed for security concerns about the live of the Pakistani.

  The Report mainly states about attacking US Army Personnel stationing in Afghanistan and American diplomatic officers,  ISIS tries to attack the US bases in Iraq several times but all such attacks were repelled by the US Forces, But in Afghan ISIS has no real grounds or manpower like in Syria and Iraq, Afghan and Pakistan has been dominated by Shia militants like Taliban, even there is a cold war between Taliban and ISIS, But still some good numbers of ISIS based Sunni militants operating secretly in Afghan and Pakistan.

   So ISIS needs a huge manpower to expand their wings outside Syria and Iraq, those countries like Afghan and Pakistan is always having a unstable government because of the terrorism. so with the small ISIS groups inside Afghan and Pakistan can grow the ISIS members numbers  huge in coming months.

   The US intelligence officials also reviewed the reports and said said they believe the document is authentic based on its unique markings and the fact that language used to describe leaders, the writing style and religious wording match other documents from the Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS. They asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

  The undated document, titled “A Brief History of the Islamic State Caliphate (ISC), The Caliphate According to the Prophet,” seeks to unite dozens of factions of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban into a single army of terror.  It includes a never-before-seen history of the Islamic State, details chilling future battle plans, urges al-Qaeda to join the group and says the Islamic State's leader should be recognized as the sole ruler of the world’s 1 billion Muslims under a religious empire called a “caliphate.”

  “Accept the fact that this caliphate will survive and prosper until it takes over the entire world and beheads every last person that rebels against Allah," it proclaims. "This is the bitter truth, swallow it.”

   The document warns that “preparations” for an attack in India are underway and predicts that an attack will provoke an apocalyptic confrontation with America: “Even if the U.S tries to attack with all its allies, which undoubtedly it will, the ummah will be united, resulting in the final battle.” The word “ummah” refers to the entire global community of Muslims.

  Striking in India would magnify the Islamic State’s stature and threaten the stability of the region, said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution who served more than 30 years in the CIA. “Attacking in India is the Holy Grail of South Asian jihadists.”

  But coming to India one million of Active military personnels can easily kill huge numbers of ISIS terrorists in single attack, If ISIS starts a asymmetric warfare India also suffer in first waves, but this will not happens continuously, India currently suffering asymmetric warfare  done by the Terrorists backed by the Pakistani Army,  the Indians also sounding about heavy retaliations but still no clear attacks against Terrorist positions outside Indian Borders.

   If ISIS comes to attack India in Large numbers, they have to use the Pakistani Borders, as India already learns good lessons in Kargil, this time India will not show any mercy over the Terrorist, they can continue bombs enemy positions with much heavier weapons.

   The ISIS thinks that they can easily takes Indian Border cities just like how they capture cities in Iraq and Syria, where the ISIS comes in large numbers and easily out numbers the government forces, which forced the government forces vacate the area. those Soldiers even don't have enough trainings to hold the positions, also they don't gets resupply or Reinforcements. but the same will not happens in India,

  The Regular Indian Forces has deployed in huge numbers across the Borders, all of them can reach a designated position within a hours as a Massive deployment, and the highly advanced air force also gives support to the soldiers through it's attack jets and Helicopters.

   Even if some thousand of ISIS terrorists attack a small group of Indian Soldiers numbers less than thirty of Fifty, The Indians suddenly informs the scenario to the Army base command, and  the Soldiers will set a defensive positions and start attack enemy forces, it's clear that anyone can hold the ground just some one or two hours because of low numbers and sort of ammunitions. meanwhile the base command already forwarded the message to the Army High command, and the base command inform nearby army bases to send the soldiers to support the soldiers who are pinned by the terrorists, within a hour or minutes it's clear army will masses more than thousands of Soldiers.

   And with the technological advancements The Army will use High Altitude reconnaissance planes and satellites to know the exact positions of the enemy terrorists, and start counter attack, in such a conventional war Indian Army alone take some 24 hours to kill all the infiltrated terrorists. 

   Even if ISIS managed to bring more than 10,000 of terrorists in one wave, It's clear the Army asks supports from Air forces for bombing missions, with the Technical advancement The IAF can manage to assist the friendlies to hold their positions till the  arrival  of  reinforcement units.

   But the ISIS never faces such challenges, earlier the ISIS plans to attack a US Army base in Iraq, The US forces numbered less than Hundred, but ISIS managed to mass 900 numbers, and Attacked in the Night, The US already knows about the Terrorists plans and sets their position for defensive attack, they also asked for Air support from the US marines Aircrafts, before the sun rise the US repelled the ISIS attack and kills almost 200 of terrorists, others flees from the scene.

   The ISIS correctly said about the  Armageddon, if they tries for a war against Indians in Indian Land or near Indian Borders, thats their final day in the earth.

Savage Taliban returns to Afghanistan marks arrival with Parliament attack

 Taliban returns to haunt Afghanistan attacks  heart of Kabul

  The dreaded Taliban Islamic extremists group have returned to haunt Afghanistan which was on its way to recovery and development. Taliban terrorist have started gaining grounds in the Northern provinces and preliminary intelligence reports have now confirmed the taking over of two districts in Kunduz Region. Taliban militants yesterday struck at the heart of Afghanistan after a suicide bomber and gunners attacked the Parliament at national capital Kabul. The advance of Taliban has been left unchecked with only the Afghanistan forces left to take care of the situation. The international forces have retreated from the troubled Afgan region after fighting a lengthy battle with the militias.  

     The NATO led by America which once was a crucial link in restoring peace, law and order across Afghanistan has phased out its force leaving Afghanistan alone to handle the situation on ground. India has been an active element in helping Afghanistan restore the Democracy it once enjoyed. Afghanistan has termed India as a strategic partner which has stood by its side in the worst of its time. India played a key role in helping Afghanistan host its first ever election in decades. India has also helped Afghanistan restore its Economy by actively helping in increasing its trade with India and other Asian nations. India has also provided world-class training for Afghanistan military forces in bases throughout India.

    But the growing relations between Afghanistan and India have been an alarming situation for Pakistan. Taliban leaders have claimed support of Pakistan’s ISI support for their activities across Afghanistan. Last year Taliban had ambushed 24 Indian ITBP commandos and Afghan military personnel in attacks against Indian Consulate. Attacks on Indian missions have been key matter of concern in India’s aid to Afghanistan, the threats have increased over time with the NATO forces pulling out.





     Taliban is slowly gaining grounds in the Northern provinces, which NATO forces continue to consider as the one of the toughest battleground in their history. By Sunday Taliban had taken control of the Chandra district in Kunduz region, this is a victory for the Taliban as this will eventually pave way for the neighboring resource rich districts. Afghan National Army (ANA) has been successful in holding up fort in the mainlands but the renewed surge by Taliban has inflicted a major dent to the ANA operations. 

 Taliban after taking over the Chandra district has now advanced into the Dashti Archi. Dashi Archi houses a key operational base of the ANA, Taliban have also seized nearly four battle tanks and numerous heavy artillery. ANA meanwhile has started evacuating the nearly 150,000 civilians before mounting a counter operation. The attack on Afgan parliament has raised questions over the operations of the ANA. But with left extremely minimal force there is hardly anything the ANA can do.

    ANA has put up a brave face in countering the Taliban in its area of operation. ANA has been busy mounting operations on Taliban holdings across Kabul. The repeated bombings and gunfights in and around the capital have kept most of the ANA grounded around Kabul. During the attack on parliament the ANA successfully gunned down the insurgents and took control of the power seat. During the operation a ANA soldier executed six Taliban perpetrators alone thus controlling further damage to the control. The video of the brave men can watched in the link here.


Editor - Karthik Kakoor

Pakistan Army and Indian Strategy

Pakistan Army and Indian Strategy

Gen VK Singh

       It is generally acknowledged that while countries have armies, the Pakistani army has a country because of its hold on every organ of the country; polity, administration, finance, judiciary, you name it.

        That the country’s foreign policy and state policy of terrorism is made and executed by the military is too well known. Eminent Pakistani scholars like Ayesha Siddiqa have exposed the stranglehold of the military over the country and the Pakistani military’s private-corporate complex that ranges from flying private aircraft to multiple businesses, which stood at US$ 20.7 billion in 2007. According to our intelligence agencies the ISI is linked with some 14 major terrorist organisations. Moreover, part of the polity and administration is subservient to the military-radicals nexus. Not only is the manpower base of the military, terrorist organisations and political parties common but some political parties and politicians survive through radical support. That is why Shahbaz Sharif (Nawaz Sharif’s brother) as Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab dishes out millions of Rupees to radical organisations. That is why Sartaj Aziz, current Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs officially states,

Pakistan should not target militants who do not threaten the country’s security.”

      So, terrorist organisations like LeT and its front organisations are free to terrorise India, Haqqanis can target Indian assets in Afghanistan and Hafiz Saeed is the coordinator for directing terror against India. This rabid mullah was sighted along the LoC while Pakistan violated even the international border in Jammu region. Additionally, Pakistani daily ‘The Nation’ of 3rd March 2015 reveals Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and associates live as State’s honoured guest in Adiala jail (few kilometers from Army’s GHQ), allowing him to operate his personal command centre from where he monitors global happenings, meet his subordinates, and issues directions.

       It may be recalled that when Prime Minister Vajpayee travelled by bus to Lahore with an extended hand of friendship, Pervez Musharraf as the serving army chief refused to shake hands with Mr Vajpayee. It is a different issue that Musharraf was already going ahead with the Kargil intrusions and later demeaned and disgraced his military uniform and service by refusing to take back the bodies of his soldiers killed in the Kargil Conflict showcasing them as infiltrators. But just as Nawaz Sharif could not prevail upon Musharraf to shake hands with PM Vajpayee, sitting in the same chair of the PM of Pakistan today Nawaz Shariff dare not take any follow up action against Musharraf even as he stands indicted for the killing of Baloch leader Nawaz Akbar Khan  Bugti in 2006. So one side we have a Pakistani army chief bluntly snubbing PM Vajpayee in presence of Nawaz Sharif and the other extreme what happened during the recent celebrations of Pakistan Day at the Pakistani embassy at New Delhi with General VK Singh deputed to attend the function as MoS (External Affairs), with media focusing why VK Singh was wearing a green jacket, why was he smiling smiles and above all why his tweets about ‘duty’ among ‘disgust’?

        So let us examine the propriety of sending a former Army Chief to this function irrespective if he was the MoS (Home) or not, even it is the prerogative of the government. A dozen people spoken to including serving and veteran soldiers say their first reaction on viewing TV coverage was ‘what is our former Army Chief doing inside the fox’s lair that accommodates and connives with separatists’? A former diplomat friend had a better remark – jab politics join kiya hai to besharam to banna parega (when you join politics, you should be prepared to be shameless). Looking more closely, did we need to avoid such situation and how could we have done so? The event in the Pakistani embassy was in immediate aftermath of Pakistan backed terrorist attacks on a police station and an army post in J&K. The day after the event media published IB warning that terrorist attacks in J&K are likely to be stepped up in conjunction Pakistani army, so this would have been known to the government on Pakistan day. Pakistan’s proxy war continues unabated and was so during the tenure of Gen VK Singh as Army Chief that caused loss of lives.

          It is a matter of perception how presence of a former army chief, in company of separatists, in the embassy of country who is waging endless proxy war on India adversely affects the prestige of our country and the military. Unfortunately, this is not understood by many – perhaps that’s why the friendly advice to become shameless! That the mafia linked bureaucracy would have enjoyed the discomfiture of Gen VK Singh is without doubt, they having hounded him ever since he exposed corruption in the higher echelons while in service including the Tatra Scam. Then the prestige of the military has also been played with by media houses some of whom have dubious aims akin to NGOs. We have on record individuals with mafia connections indulging in malicious and mischievous rumour mongering like army coups and the polity preferring to remain mute for obvious reasons. Of course, where is the question of agreeing with Lee Kuan Yew when he said press and news freedom must subordinate to overriding need for integrity of Singapore.

   Hiding behind the logic that attendance of MoS (Home) was as per protocol does not gel. Protocols like this are not laid down by an international body but are government prerogative that can be modified when required. Witness Abdul Basit being issued a demarche last year when entertaining separatists that led to even cancellation of the Foreign Secretary level talks and now the beyond 360 degrees turn by treating separatists visiting the Pakistani embassy as routine. The situation could have been easily avoided by deputing any other MoS to attend the event, without the need of any explanation. Post the capture of the strategic Haji Pir Pass, PM Lal Bahadur Shastri deputed the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, not the Defence Minister to visit the troops at the Haji Pir Pass. Admittedly, the Haji Pir Pass is not the Pakistani Embassy and the former visit did not require any protocol, but visit to the former was far more important to the embassy of a country that cannot control its rogue army.

      Without doubt the government initiative to open talks with Pakistan is laudable. But it has happened time and again in the past including most prominently during Prime Minister Vajpayee’s premiership. US pressure for such talks is also a reality, no matter how much we deny it, with Uncle Sam siding with the Pakistani military overlooking latter’s terrorism and even nuclear proliferation. The government naturally denies any such pressure but when the Foreign Secretary embarked on his recent SAARC tour, it was surmised as a cover to primarily dialogue Pakistan. Old Fox Sartaj Aziz rubbed it in by saying America has pressurised India for talks with Pakistan. Post the Pak National Day event, Abdul Basit went boisterous in announcing that in his opinion India has no objections to their (Pakistani embassy) meetings with Hurriyat leaders. Though MEA clarified later that there is no place for a third party in talks with Pakistan and the resolution of the issues between the neighbouring countries will be carried out by their respective governments, Basit’s shows the intention of Pakistan.

        Writing in a Kolkatta based publication New Approach exclusive titled ‘India-Pakistan Challenges Way Forward’, Sartaj Aziz, writes, “India is not ready to plebiscite under the UNSC resolution from which it reneged after 1954.” If this is the Pakistani stance knowing full well while the 1949 UN Resolution called for plebiscite, it categorically ruled that before the plebiscite Pakistan must withdraw all its security forces from territory of J&K. Pakistan not only reinforced her security forces in J&K but also changed the demography of area through large number of settlers from the plains, which continues to-date, killing the plebiscite issue altogether. Yet Pakistan’s continuous clamour for plebiscite indicates they are not interested to resolve issues as for the Pakistani military to remain in power, sub-conventional conflict with neighbours is necessary.

      Mohammad Umer Daudzai, Afghanistan’s Interior Minister till December 2014 (with earlier tenures as ambassador in Iran and Afghanistan) wrote in his article titled ‘Afghanistan and Pakistan: The False Promise of Rapprochement’ in the New York Times on 2 March 2015 that there is no change in the basic stance of Pakistan against Afghanistan and that the Pakistan military continues to treat the Afghan Taliban as strategic assets. In our case, it is good to continue talking but we should be prepared for similar response. There is no reason to go overboard either especially where we have a chief minister in J&K who thanks Pakistan for his throne while his family  candidate electioneering even during 2001 supported radical Hijbul cadres as bodyguards. But then the Centre would have taken all this into account with Pakistan’s game plan of removing AFSPA from large areas of J&K if not altogether. This would be enough to raise insurgency levels without the need for the Pakistani army to mount another Kargil, as Musharraf had been threatening. It is amusing to note some scholars writing that space needs to be given to Hurriyat hardliners but pray what has been happening till now? Pakistan may consider their protégés as representative of J&K but that is a far cry from the ground reality. Frankly, they are nonentities that would automatically vanish if denied media publicity.

         The need of the hour is remain pragmatic without going overboard. There is no requirement to go to the other extreme to appease an insolent Pakistan.  Hopefully return of 54 Indian Prisoners of War will figure prominently in the talks, even as Sartaj Aziz in his above mentioned article only talks of captive fishermen. We are not fooling anyone by putting it in the media that the recent attacks in J&K were undertaken by terrorists to boost their low morale. More importantly, the Pakistani military may have already planned the next terrorist strike on India, complicity to which as always will be denied.

 Article Posted in Niti Central Posted by Lt. Gen PrakashKatoch

Typical day in Bakistan with Bomb blasts

Bakistani Soldiers also Look like LeT and Taliban Terrorists