Latest news with #Iraq-based
Hans India
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Infrastructure storing missiles of Iranian regime destroyed: IDF
Israel on Tuesday announced the destruction of several surface-to-surface missiles and surface-to-air missile launchers of the Iranian regime as the hostilities between both nations escalated. 'Dozens of infrastructure for storing and launching surface-to-surface missiles and surface-to-air missile launchers of the Iranian regime were destroyed. Last night, Air Force fighter jets completed several waves of attacks against dozens of Iranian regime military targets in western Iran. As part of the waves of attacks, the Air Force attacked dozens of infrastructures for storing and launching surface-to-surface missiles, UAV storage sites, and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran,' said the Israel Defence Force (IDF) in a post on X. The IDF also claimed that the Israeli Air Force on Monday conducted a precise strike based on intelligence targeting a communication centre that was being used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces. 'The building was used by the Iranian Armed Forces under the guise of civilian activity, covering up the military use of the centre's infrastructure and assets. Prior to the strike, the IDF provided an effective advanced warning to the civilian population, including phone calls, to mitigate harm to civilians as far as feasible,' it stated. The IDF further announced that four high-ranking Iranian intelligence officials, including the chief of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were killed in a precision airstrike carried out by Israeli fighter jets in Tehran. According to the Israeli military, the strike was executed on Sunday night, targeting a building in the Iranian capital where key intelligence personnel were assembled. 'Yesterday, Air Force fighter jets attacked, with precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Division in the Tehran area, a building where several senior officials in the Iranian regime's intelligence organisations were staying,' the IDF said in a post on X. Among those killed were Mohammad Khatami, head of the IRGC Intelligence Organisation since 2022, and his deputy Mohammad Hassan Mahkaghi. The IDF alleged that Khatami was responsible for surveillance, suppression of dissent, and orchestrating terror operations abroad. His deputy, Mahkaghi, previously headed the Strategic Intelligence Department and was described by Israel as a central figure in Iran's hostile intelligence efforts targeting Israel and regional actors. The strike also eliminated Muhsin Baqri, the head of the Quds Force's intelligence department, and his deputy Abu al-Fachel Nikoui. According to the IDF, the Quds Force officials were instrumental in coordinating with foreign militant groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iraq-based militias. 'Nikoui played a significant part in Iran's efforts to entrench itself in Syria and boost Hezbollah's strength in Lebanon,' the IDF added. 'This operation adds to the previous elimination of the head of the General Staff's Intelligence Department last Friday, marking a serious blow to Iran's intelligence apparatus and its capability to carry out attacks against Israel,' the Israeli military noted. As the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, the hostilities between the two nations continued to escalate as several missiles from Iran were fired at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Haifa and dozens of other cities and communities across northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, confirmed by the Israeli military. Meanwhile, in the latest developments, Bazan, Israel's largest oil refinery company, announced that all of its facilities at the Haifa Port had been completely shut down due to the damage caused by an Iranian missile strike.
Memri
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Hussein Yazdanpanah, Leader of Separatist Kurdistan Freedom Party, Urges Kurdish Youth to Attack Iranian Regime Targets, Avenge 'Kurdistan's Martyrs'
In a June 15, 2025 video posted on PAKenglish on X, Hussein Yazdanpanah, leader of the Iraq-based separatist Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), urged Kurds in occupied Kurdistan to end the killing of Kurdish children 'on the borders, in the streets, and in the prisons.' He called on the youth of Kurdistan, both inside and outside Iran, to attack the enemy, its centers, and its facilities, and to avenge the blood of Kurdistan's martyrs. According to the post, Yazdanpanah declared that now is the time to bring down the regime, and he urged Kurdish youth to seize IRGC and intelligence bases in their areas, avenging the death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini in September 2022 - which sparked the Women, Life, Freedom protests - and the blood of fallen PAK Peshmerga fighters.
NDTV
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Tiger Zinda Hai Was Anyway Unbelievable. What Watching It In A Post-Pahalgam World Is Like
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Tiger Zinda Hai, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, is about India and Pakistan fighting a common enemy. In the film, India's RAW and Pakistan's ISI agents rescue nurses from an Iraq-based terrorist group. Despite its positive reception, the film's premise of unity feels unrealistic in today's geopolitical climate. Eight years ago, the promise of the two neighbours joining forces against a common enemy was unbelievable. But Salman Khan's RAW agent Tiger and Katrina Kaif's ISI agent Zoya, also a married couple, made it possible in Tiger Zinda Hai. But over a month after the Pahalgam attack and India's retaliatory air strikes under Operation Sindoor, it sounds ludicrous. While its part one Ek Tha Tiger (2012) took the classic enemies-to-lovers approach, Tiger Zinda Hai asks us to believe in insaaniyat and unite with Pakistanis against a common enemy, an idea that's now impossible even in movies. The 2017 film was reviewed better than most of Salman Khan's last string of releases and managed to collect over Rs 550 crore in reported earnings from what now looks a meagre Rs 120-130 crore budget. It also saw Katrina reprise her role of ISI agent Zoya, the first woman spy in the Yash Raj Films' ambitious spy verse. Even though it was released over a year after the deadly 2016 Uri attack on an Indian Army base in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri, Tiger Zinda Hai - based on a real incident - wasn't interested in taking stock of recent history. It, instead, offered us a promise. Scratch that, it was more like a far-fetched dream. In Tiger Zinda Hai, director Ali Abbas Zafar makes India and Pakistan join forces to rescue a group of nurses from both the countries from the clutches of ISC, an Iraq-based terrorist organisation obviously modelled on the much-feared terror group ISIS, in the fictional city of Ikrit which stood in for the real Tikrit where the incident happened in 2014. Before their fateful encounter with the terrorists, these nurses are shown sharing a working women's hostel in Ikrit. They discuss issues back home, use the same tiffin service, and sing Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for a would-be-bride (Anupriya Goenka) among them, just before they get caught in the crosshairs between the terrorists and troops of the Iraqi Army. Anupriya Goenka, as one of the captive nurses, in a still from Tiger Zinda Hai. Cut to Tiger and Zoya's home in Innsbruck, Austria, where table flags of India and Pakistan are kept next to each other on a bookshelf. There's India on the right, Pakistan on the left. Karan, one of Tiger's RAW colleagues played by Anant Vidhaat, however, is a true patriot. He has heard stories about Tiger and they finally meet when he and RAW Chief Shenoy (essayed by the late Girish Karnad) track down the star spy after five long years. As Shenoy and Tiger catch up and talk about the latter's famous kaali daal, in one of the film's blink-and-you-will-miss-it moments, Karan quietly rearranges those table flags on the shelf. He puts them at a certain distance, marking this invisible LOC between the neighbouring countries. Now, Karan is a much younger and more 'serious about his task' agent than Tiger. He is perhaps the new Indian who wants to deliver justice Uri style or more recently, Operation Sindoor style in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. He is telling the viewer that it may all be like Hum Saath Saath Hain in the world of Tiger and Zoya, but where he lives, back in New Delhi, Pakistan is THE enemy. Twenty six people, mostly tourists, were killed on April 22 by Pakistani terrorists, and Karan from 2017 serves as a reminder to us, there in the movie and today in 2025. Family Man Tiger, now a father, doesn't want to go for the mission. But Zoya convinces him, reminding him that loves his country more than he does her and she "respects him" for that. Salman Khan in a still from Tiger Zinda Hai. So, Tiger is back on the prowl, and so is Zoya, as it's not just that Indian nurses need rescuing but Pakistanis also. An emphatic Zoya says, " Aam Pakistani bhi toh aman hee chahta hai." She is on a mission to restore respect for her country and tell the world that Pakistan stands for peace. In a Eureka moment, Tiger suggests, "Let's do it together. There are many problems between our two countries and they may never get resolved. But this is about humanity." Salman Bhai, after all, is all for being human (no advertisement plug). That's how India's RAW and Pakistan's ISI embark on their first joint mission in the history of bhai -kind. RAW and ISI on a joint mission - The cast of Tiger Zinda Hai in a still from the film. From there ensue many LOL moments. Paresh Rawal, who also stars in the film as RAW's undercover agent in Iraq named Firdaus, is puzzled when he finds out about the joint mission. " PM ko pata hai ISI aur RAW saath mein kaam kar rahe hain?" FYI - Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been India's head of state since 2014, Tiger Zinda Hai released in 2017, and Rawal almost played the PM in a biopic. Even the main antagonist Abu Usman (Sajjad Delafrooz) is impressed by Tiger's charisma. He says, " Aapne woh kar diya jo aapki governments tak nahin kar paayin." Abu Usman is eventually killed and together, of course, Tiger and Zoya save the nurses, both Indian and Pakistani. The 'India on the right, Pakistan on the left' is repeated like a callback towards the end of the film. Azaan, the good Indian Muslim who wanted to hoist the tricolour in Iraq after the mission was successful, is shot protecting ISI agent Abrar. Just before he's fatally wounded, he asks his Pakistani counterpart to raise the tricolour on his behalf in case he doesn't make it. It's a Salman Khan film, so there will be bhai -hood. Abrar's fellow ISI agent Javed reminds him of his farz towards his saviour. The viewer then sees Abrar raise the Indian national flag high up in the sky through the bus's window. Then, Indian bomb and explosion expert Namit asks Javed to also hoist the Pakistani flag. Sweet, pretty much like the exchange of sweets between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers at the Attari-Wagah border on festivals and events of national importance. The flags of India and Pakistan are together again, up in the sky, at a distance. And that distance shall remain, at least for the foreseeable future.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Pakistani student sent to jail for learning how to make bombs on Facebook, Instagram
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced a university student to two years and six months in prison for attempting to learn bomb-making techniques through social media, an official confirmed on Monday. Judge Manzer Ali Gill of the Lahore ATC also imposed a fine of PKR 50,000 on Hannan Abdullah, a human resources student at the University of Narowal in Punjab. Abdullah was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in 2022 for allegedly seeking bomb-making information on a social networking site based in Iraq. "The prosecution informed the court that Abdullah was learning how to make bombs on Facebook and Instagram. He also established contacts with terrorists and a banned outfit through Facebook in this regard," Dawn quoted the FIA officer as saying. The prosecution also submitted evidence to the court in this regard. Abdullah was on bail since 2023 and was arrested after the sentencing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Car owners are shocked by this instant price tool Cars24 Book Now Undo The officer said Abdullah in 2022 used the Instagram handle 'Ibn-e-Abdullah Al-Pakistani' to engage in a conversation with another user based in Iraq and sought information on how to make bombs at home. "While interacting with a user -- 'Professional Cook 67' -- on Instagram, Abdullah received basic information on how to develop explosive devices using materials like ammonium nitrate, sulfur, ammonium powder, charcoal, and other components," he said. Live Events This conversation was being monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FIA officer said it received a complaint against the suspect from the FBI, which provided his (Abdullah) conversations with the Iraq-based account, and the email address used to create the Instagram handle 'Ibn-e-Abdullah Al-Pakistani'. The officer said Abdullah used to watch bomb-making videos on YouTube and searched on the American e-commerce website Amazon for ingredients mentioned in the Instagram conversations related to bomb-making. Abdullah, in his defence, told the court he sought bomb making information only out of curiosity. No evidence was found to suggest that he tried to manufacture any explosive materials using the information or had allegiance with any terror organisation.
India Today
26-05-2025
- India Today
Pak student jailed for 2.5 years for learning bomb-making online
An anti-terrorism court here in Pakistan has handed down a two-year and six-month jail term to a university student for learning to make bombs on social media networking sites, an officer said on ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill also imposed a fine of PKR 50,000 on Hannan Abdullah, a human resource studies student of the University of Narowal in Punjab, who was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in 2022 on the charges of seeking information about making bombs at a social media networking site in prosecution informed the court that Abdullah was learning how to make bombs on Facebook and Instagram. He also established contacts with terrorists and a banned outfit through Facebook in this regard," Dawn quoted the FIA officer as saying. The prosecution also submitted evidence to the court in this regard. Abdullah was on bail since 2023 and was arrested after the officer said Abdullah in 2022 used the Instagram handle 'Ibn-e-Abdullah Al-Pakistani' to engage in a conversation with another user based in Iraq and sought information on how to make bombs at home."While interacting with a user - 'Professional Cook 67' - on Instagram, Abdullah received basic information on how to develop explosive devices using materials like ammonium nitrate, sulfur, ammonium powder, charcoal, and other components," he conversation was being monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).The FIA officer said it received a complaint against the suspect from the FBI, which provided his (Abdullah) conversations with the Iraq-based account, and the email address used to create the Instagram handle 'Ibn-e-Abdullah Al-Pakistani'.The officer said Abdullah used to watch bomb-making videos on YouTube and searched on the American e-commerce website Amazon for ingredients mentioned in the Instagram conversations related to in his defence, told the court he sought bomb-making information only out of evidence was found to suggest that he tried to manufacture any explosive materials using the information or had allegiance with any terror organisation.
