The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Mar. 26 -- The White House offered to let National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testify a second time privately in front of the commission investigating the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in an effort to address allegations that it ignored the threat al Qaeda posed to the United States before 9/11. The White House said in a letter late Thursday to the independent Sept. 11 commission that such a session would allow Condoleezza Rice to clear up "a number of mischaracterizations" of her statements and positions. This announcement follows the controversial testimony of former counterterrorism administrator Richard Clarke, who accused the Bush administration of not looking at al Qaeda as a high priority before 9/11.

And the hunt for al Qaeda continues in Pakistan — Pakistani troops demolish the homes on Friday of tribesman suspected of sheltering al Qaeda fighters along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat told lawmakers on Thursday that more than 20 terrorists were confirmed killed and that he expected 30 to 35 more bodies of terrorists would be recovered as the operation concludes. And the CIA has confirmed the identity of the voice on an audio tape released yesterday by Al Jazeera as belonging to al Qaeda no. 2 leader Ayman Al-Zawahri, ABCNEWS has learned. On the tape, Zawahri urges the overthrow of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and condemns the Pakistani government for its recent counterterror operations.

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS

The 9/11 Commission

White House Asks 9/11 Panel to Meet Rice

Trying to blunt allegations the Bush administration mishandled terror threats before Sept. 11, the White House is offering to let President Bush)'s top national security aide meet privately for a second time with a federal panel investigating the terrorist attacks. (AP)

Pakistan

Pakistan Checking 'Zawahri Tape,' Hunt Goes On

Pakistan was checking a tape-recording Friday, apparently by Osama bin Laden's deputy, calling for the government's overthrow, and it vowed to step up the hunt for al Qaeda on its desolate Afghan border. (Reuters)

CIA Says Latest Zawahri Tape 'Likely' Authentic

A recorded message aired this week was "likely" the voice of Osama bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, who Pakistani forces recently believed they had trapped in a battle on the border region, a CIA official said on Friday. (Reuters)

Pakistani Clerics Prohibit Fighting the Tribes

More than 50 of Pakistan's most prominent clerics issued a religious edict (fatwa) prohibiting the fight against tribes and al Qaeda elements. They called on Pakistani soldiers not to follow orders to fight and said soldiers who die in the confrontations were not 'martyrs.' Meanwhile, informed source told Al Hayat that around 60 belonging to the Pakistani forces were killed in last week's operations and 24 others were kidnapped. Also, tribal sources told the newspaper that the "high-value" target that President Pervez Musharraf said was surrounded by Pakistani troops last week managed to escape to Eastern Afghanistan. (Al Hayat)