Kurram Agency: Sectarian Bloodshed
At least 24 persons were killed and another 100 injured in a suicide attack on an Imambargah (Shia place of worship) in the Noor market area of Parachinar town in the Kurram Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 31, 2017. The explosion took place as people gathered for Friday prayers near the women's entrance of Imambargah. A witness stated that security personnel at the Imambargah were checking devotees when an unidentified person parked a car next to the building, which then exploded. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA) claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was part of TTP's "Operation Ghazi" and Shias were the targets, according to the outfit's statement to the media.
On March 14, 2017, a man identified as Kaushal Paswan (30) was shot dead by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres near Mahuraushan village in the Gaya District of Bihar. Superintendent of Police (SP), City, Avakash Kumar disclosed that Paswan, a native of Pashewa village, was a member of an anti-Maoist outfit - Bhakt Sangharsh Samiti - formed in 2016 by some Dalits as a vigilante group against Maoists, after they had killed some members of the Bhuian and Paswan communities during the State Assembly polls in 2015.
On March 5, 2017, two terrorists and a Policeman were killed and five Security Force (SF) personnel, including an Army Major, were injured during an encounter in the Tral area of Pulwama District. The slain terrorists were identified as Aqib Molvi of Tral and Umar from Pakistan.
Meghalaya: Dramatic Gains, Lingering Dangers
On February 25, 2017, a Police team that included newly constituted Special Force (SF)-10 commandos, in an encounter, killed the 'commander-in-chief' of the now-disbanded United Achik Liberation Army (UALA), Singbirth N. Marak aka Norok. X. Momin, at a hideout located inside a forest near Thapa Matronggre village in North Garo Hills District. Marak, along with other cadres of the UALA had surrendered before the Meghalaya Government on June 9, 2016, and had started living a 'normal life' after the group was disbanded. However, he reportedly escaped to the neighboring State of Assam after Meghalaya Police started looking for him following the arrest of one suspect, along with a cache of arms, on November 12, 2016, and surrender of three other suspects on November 13, 2016.These suspects subsequently disclosed that the arms were meant for the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and they were working under Marak's instructions to provide the weapons to this militant formation.
On February 2, 2017, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres killed a civilian, identified as Dasru Durua, at Bara village under the Mathili Police limits of Malkangiri District.
Punjab: Two-faced on Counterterrorism
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police in Pakistan killed the new leader of the sectarian terrorists Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Asif Chotu akaRizwan, along with three associates, during an intelligence-based operation near the Sheikhupura Bypass in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab in the early hours of January 17, 2017. Three other terrorists managed to escape. CTD recovered arms, ammunition and explosive material from the possession of slain terrorists. The killings came 18 months after CTD had shot dead long-time LeJ chief Malik Ishaq in an encounter on July 29, 2015. Asif Chotu had been named in over 100 murder cases and had a bounty of PKR three million on his head. According to a CTD statement, the LeJ leader was hatching a plot to target the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif: "Big chapters of terrorism, target killings have been closed today. These terrorists were merciless killing machines."
Arunachal Pradesh: Relative Peace Persists
On December 14, 2016, Security Forces (SFs) killed two cadres of the Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I), identified as Deep Moran and Noga Moran, during an encounter at Dharmapur village under Maio Police Station in Changlang District. SFs also managed to arrest six other ULFA-I cadres, including two women, during the operation. One AK-47 rifle and one pistol were recovered from the possession of the arrested militants. It was suspected that the slain militants were involved in the ambush at Pengaree near Digboi in Tinsukia District, Assam, on November 19, 2016, in which three Army personnel were killed.
On December 24, 2016, two Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists were killed during an operation, codenamed 'Ripple 24' at Ashkona in the Dakhkhin Khan area of the capital city, Dhaka. Two women, Jebunnahar Shila, wife of ex-army Major Zahid who was killed in a 'gunfight' with law enforcers at Roopnagar in the capital on September 2, 2016; and Trishna, wife of absconding JMB leader Musa, along with two children, surrendered to Police.
On December 16, 2016, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres hacked Dharmendra Kudami (33) to death in the Kurrempara area of Metapal village in the Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on the suspicion of being a 'police informer'. Kudami's wife Ratna Kudami is the sarpanch (head of the Panchayat, the village local-self government institution) of Metapal village. An unnamed Police officer disclosed, "A group of Maoists, armed with bows and arrows, axes and knives stormed into the victim's house and murdered Dharmendra in front of his family. Though the exact reason for the attack is yet to be ascertained, preliminary investigation suggests the ultras accused him of being a police informer."
Meghalaya: Lingering Fires in the Garo Hills
On November 25, 2016, a Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) cadre identified as Ruka was killed in an encounter that took place between GNLA militants and Meghalaya Police near Songmagre Williamnagar Police Station in the East Garo Hills District. Police recovered an AK-56 Assault Rifle from his possession.
On November 25, 2016, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre was killed during an encounter with the Security Forces (SFs) in a forested area under the Kondagaon Police Station in Kondagaon District. The body of the slain Maoist along with one rifle and one 12 bore gun was recovered from the encounter site.
Three Shia students at Karachi University (KU) came under sectarian attack on November 11, 2016, when unidentified assailants opened fire on them in Block 4 of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area in Gulshan Town, Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh. One student, identified as Murtaza, died instantly while his colleagues Shahid and Ehsan were critically injured. Gulistan-e-Johar Police Station officials confirmed the sectarian nature of attack.
Manipur: Residual Disturbances
The Chief Minister (CM) of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh came under gun attack when suspected National Socialist Council of Nagaland Isak-Muivah faction (NSCN-IM) militants opened fire at him and his associates as they were getting out of their helicopter at the Pakshi Ground Helipad in Ukhrul District on October 24, 2016. Singh was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam Gangmei, Commerce and Industries Minister Govindas Konthoujam, Forest Minister I. Hemochandra Singh, Deputy Speaker M.K. Preshow Shimray and Parliamentary Secretary Victor Keishing. Soon after the chopper landed, the militants started firing, which last for more than ten minutes and in which one Manipur Rifles (MR) trooper, identified as William Tarao, sustained severe injuries. The ambush on the CM and his team came amidst protests and a boycott call issued by the native Naga tribal group, Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL). Singh and his Ministers were on their way to inaugurate development projects in the Districts. With heightened security concerns, the Chief Minister and his team had to cancel their programme and fly back to Imphal. The Security Forces (SFs) could not apprehend a single militant involved in the attack.
On October 23, 2016, the Pakistan Rangers violated the November 2003 cease-fire agreement (CFA), carrying out a sniper attack at an Indian post in the R. S. Pura sector of Jammu District in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), injuring a Border Security Force (BSF) constable. The constable succumbed to his injuries later in the night.
On October 8, 2016, in an anti-terrorism crackdown, 12 Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terrorists were killed in Gazipur, Tangail and Dhaka Districts. Seven of them were killed in the Harinal area in Gazipur City under 'Operation Spate 8' conducted jointly by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team and Gazipur Police. Police recovered three small arms and locally-made sharp weapons from the site. Two others were killed during an operation by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at a JMB den in the Lebubagan area of Gazipur District. One AK 22 rifle, bomb making materials, one laptop, a locally-made sharp weapon and some bullets were recovered. In another raid carried out by RAB, two terrorists were killed in a three-storey building in the Mirzamath area of Tangail town. One pistol, one revolver, 11 sharp weapons, 12 bullets, two laptops and BDT 64,362 were recovered from the ground floor of the flat. Separately, in Dhaka District, Nazmul Haque aka Abdur Rahman, the financier of JMB died after he jumped from his flat on the fourth floor to flee during a raid by RAB in Savar upazila (sub-District). RAB recovered a firearm, ammunition, sharp weapons, a mobile jammer and a huge number of Jihadi books from his flat.