Police officers
Four Bihar policemen, held hostage by Maoists in Lakhisarai district, about 165 km from Patna, were disarmed and blindfolded upon capture. They were then taken to a segregated camp, where they were kept from knowing about the killing of their colleague, Bihar Military Police (BMP) assistant sub-inspector Lucas Tete. The
Police officers
Naxal rebels have released three abducted policemen in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, ending a nine-day hostage situation. The rebels had initially demanded the release of eight of their jailed comrades in exchange for the policemen's lives. However, the state government refused to comply with the demand,
Pirates
A high-stakes standoff between the US Navy and a group of Somali pirates ended on Sunday with the rescue of American Captain Richard Phillips, who was unharmed after five days in captivity. The dramatic operation, authorized by President Barack Obama, saw US Navy SEAL snipers use night-vision scopes to pick
Pirates
The US Navy, with more than half the major warships in the world, has been seemingly ineffective in combating piracy off the Somali coast. The recent attack on the US-registered ship Maersk Alabama may turn the tide, as the US Navy considers taking over the job of fighting pirates. However,
Piracy (Transportation crime)
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, made the split-second decision to order his men to shoot, saving the life of Capt. Richard Phillips, who was held on a tiny lifeboat by three Somali pirates in a lifeboat being towed by the USS Bainbridge.
Piracy (Transportation crime)
A US Navy SEAL team, operating on the order of President Obama, rescued American merchant captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates who had been holding him hostage on a lifeboat. The rescue, which took place on April 12, 4 days after Phillips was taken, saw the SEALs kill three pirates
Yemen
Peter Rowe, a Canadian professor of physics and mathematics, was one of the four hostages killed during a two-hour shootout in Yemen, along with two British women and an Australian man. The incident has left a trail of confusion and tragedy, with questions remaining about which side was responsible for
Peacekeeping forces
Amid the escalating crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb forces have released 120 UN peacekeepers as a "gesture of goodwill" following the downing of a US warplane by a surface-to-air missile. The development comes as NATO crews search for the pilot, whose fate remains unknown. The release of the
Soldiers
Troops from the Western powers, including the United States, Britain, and France, are being deployed to Bosnia in a significant build-up of military forces in the region. The development comes as Bosnian Serbs continue to hold hostage 359 UN staff, including 33 British soldiers, and refuse to back down from
Peacekeeping forces
The British public is growing increasingly divided on their country's involvement in the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia, amidst a crisis that has seen nearly 400 peacekeepers, including 33 members of Britain's Royal Welsh Fusiliers, held by Bosnian Serbs. The British government, led by
Soldiers
Bosnian Serb forces have taken more UN peacekeepers hostage, threatening to spin the war out of control as the international community grapples with the choice of either pulling out of Bosnia altogether or giving UN troops the muscle and mandate to fight back. French soldiers fought an explosive battle with
Air France S.A.
French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua revealed today that an anonymous tip to the French consulate in Oran, Algeria, warned of a possible plane crash over Paris. The hijackers, members of the Armed Islamic Group, had planned to blow up the Airbus A300, which had 171 occupants on board. The French
