Four Indians among 14 dead in Kabul guesthouse siege

May 14, 2015

Kabul, May 14: The Taliban on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack during a concert at a Kabul guesthouse that left 14 people dead including four Indians and an American.

Kabul guesthouse siege

"It was a suicide mission carried out by one of our mujaheddin from Logar. The attack was planned carefully to target the party in which important people and Americans were attending," the militants said in a statement.

Security sources in Delhi told Hindustan Times the attack was aimed at the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani's envoy Ahmad Zia Massoud told local media that the terrorists attacked the guesthouse thinking the Indian ambassador, Amar Sinha, was in the compound.

Sinha was scheduled to visit the guesthouse for a Hindustani classical concert by Ustaad Altaf Hussain. Hussain was present in the guesthouse during the attack and is safe according to the Indian embassy in Kabul.

Kabul siege

At least one gunman attacked the guesthouse popular with foreigners in a bold assault that showed Afghanistan still faces security challenges.

Authorities cordoned off the area around the Park Palace guest house in Kabul's Kolola Pushta, a diplomatic enclave in the Afghan capital that includes a number of guesthouses used by foreigners, immediately after the attack began at about 8:30pm local time (1600 GMT).

A standoff with police ended about five hours later as ambulances raced out of the area.

Similar brazen assaults in the past have been carried out by the Taliban and the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.

The brutal assault was reminiscent of two attacks by Taliban fighters in Kabul last year, one on a restaurant and another on a hotel.

A spokeswoman for the US Embassy confirmed that one American was killed in the attack.

Three who had lived at the guesthouse were rescued and sheltering at the Indian Embassy, a diplomat said.

"Unfortunately a few Indian casualties among others at the Kabul g/house attack today," Indian Ambassador Amar Sinha tweeted but official sources later told the Press Trust of India that four Indians were among the dead.

Rahimi said at least 44 people who had been trapped inside the guesthouse - some there for a concert, others who had been having dinner - were rescued by police and special forces.

He also said he could verify that there had been just one attacker, although initial reports from police indicated several gunmen were involved.

"The attack did not start with an explosion at the main gate or killing of guards - whatever it was it started from inside the hotel," Rahimi said.

Kolola Pushta, home to several international guest houses and hotels, is near both the Ministry of Interior and the Indian Embassy.

Taliban gunmen killed nine people - including three children - in the upscale Serena Hotel in Kabul last year. Two months earlier, attackers stormed into a popular Lebanese restaurant in the capital and gunned down 21 people, including three United Nations staff and a senior IMF official.

Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen opened fire at a meeting of Muslim clerics in the southern province of Helmand, killing at least seven people, police said.

The Ulemma Council, the highest religious authority in a deeply conservative country, had repeatedly announced its support for security forces fighting the hardline Islamist Taliban insurgents.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks since most foreign forces pulled out at the end of last year.

Ousted from power in 2001, the Taliban have been fighting to bring down the US-backed government in Kabul.

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News Network
April 14,2024

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New Delhi: A 24-year-old student from India was shot dead inside a car in Canada's South Vancouver, the local police have said. The Vancouver Police in a statement said Chirag Antil, 24, was found dead inside a vehicle in the area after neighbours reported hearing gunshots.

"Officers were called to East 55th Avenue and Main Street around 11 pm on April 12 after residents heard the sound of gunshots. Chirag Antil, 24, was found deceased inside a vehicle in the area. No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing," the police said.

Chirag Antil's brother Ronit told reporters that Chirag seemed happy when they spoke on the phone in morning. Chirag later took out his Audi to go somewhere. That was when he was shot dead.

The Congress students' wing National Students' Union of India chief Varun Choudhary in a post on X tagging the Ministry of External Affairs requested for assistance to the student's family.

"Urgent attention regarding the murder of Chirag Antil, an Indian student in Vancouver, Canada. We urge the Ministry of External Affairs to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and ensure that justice is swiftly served," Mr Choudhary said.

"Additionally, we request the ministry to extend all necessary support and assistance to the family of the deceased during this difficult time," he said.

Chirag Antil's family is raising money through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to repatriate his body to India, local media reported.

Haryana resident Romit Antil, the brother of Chirag Antil, told CityNews that he was a kind-hearted person.

"My brother and I had a great relationship. We used to talk every day, day and night. I spoke to him last before the accident happened. He was kind of happy, he never had any issues or fights with anyone, ever. He was an extremely polite person," Romit Antil told CityNews.

Chirag Antil came to Vancouver in September 2022. He just finished MBA at University Canada West, and recently got his work permit.

Here are 5 facts about Chirag Antil

1.    Chirag Antil was a resident of Sonipat, Haryana.
2.    He was the youngest son of Mahavir Antil, a retired employee of the Sugar Mill Department of the Haryana Government.
3.    Chirag moved to Vancouver in 2022 to pursue higher studies at the University Canada West (UCW), in British Columbia.
4.    After completing his MBA, he started working at a company in Canada after getting a work permit.
5.    Chirag's brother Ronit shared in an interview that his younger sibling was a "kind-hearted" person. "I spoke to him last before the accident happened," he said and added that Chirag sounded "happy".

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News Network
April 24,2024

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Pro-Gaza US protesters in New York's Columbia University say they will stay put despite the university's harassment and police crackdown.

The protesters said they refuse to concede to "cowardly threats and blatant intimidation" by university administration, asserting that they will continue to peacefully protest.

Columbia University threatened the students with the national guard after refusing to bargain in good faith.

The university announced a midnight deadline for talks regarding the removal of pro-Palestine encampments on the varsity campus, warning that their campsite will be forcefully cleared by police if no agreement is reached.

The university campus is being used as a campsite for hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters and other activists, who have gathered and set up numerous tents.

Pro-Palestinian protests at colleges have demanded that their universities divest from corporations doing business with Israel or profiting off the war in Gaza. At Columbia, protesters have also asked the university to end a dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University.

The deadline was announced by Columbia University President Minouche Shafik late Tuesday, as authorities across major American universities have launched their repression campaigns against the pro-Palestinian protests on campuses, amid rising anger over US's support for Israel. 

Shafik has issued a midnight deadline to protesters and organizers, warning that failure to comply will result in the forcible clearance of the camp by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

The university has engaged in discussions with student leaders behind the protests, which are part of a series of protests taking place at various colleges nationwide and resulting in multiple arrests.

The purpose of these talks is to address the encampment on the west lawn of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus.

American universities are grappling with the challenge of maintaining a delicate balance between the right to protest and freedom of speech, while also ensuring campus rules and safety, as tensions surrounding the ongoing war in Gaza continue to permeate across campuses.

Meanwhile, Shafik underscored the importance of free speech and the right to demonstrate, but highlighted significant safety issues, disruptions to campus activities, and a strained environment due to the encampment. She firmly stated that any form of intimidation, harassment, or discrimination would not be accepted.

The arrest of more than 100 protesters at Columbia University last week led to more campus demonstrations, at New York University, Yale, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Palestinian university professor Sami al-Arian said what is happening across US university campuses is unprecedented.

Al-Arian said, "I lived four decades in the US, 28 years of which were in academic settings. During my time, it was a very challenging struggle to present an anti-Zionist narrative."

"But the passion, courage, humanity, creativity, and determination displayed these days by students across US campuses make me proud. The Zionist grip on US society is weakening and waning."

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