No Link Between Saddam and Zarqawi

Oct. 5, 2004 — -- — A new CIA assessment undercuts the White House's claim that Saddam Hussein maintained ties to al Qaeda, saying there's no conclusive evidence that the regime harbored Osama bin Laden associate Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Knights Ridder newspapers reported Tuesday.

This comes as Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, today attempted to distance himself from his earlier comments that there were no links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

CIA Finds No Link To Zarqawi

A new CIA assessment undercuts the White House's claim that Saddam Hussein maintained ties to al-Qaida, saying there's no conclusive evidence that the regime harbored Osama bin Laden associate Abu Musab al Zarqawi. (Knight Ridder newspapers)

Contact Lost With Captors: French MP

A French MP behind a failed bid to free two French reporters held hostage in Iraq defended his free lance operation yesterday amid sharp official and media criticism that he may have endangered their lives. (AFP)

3 Decapitated Bodies Said Found in Mosul

Three decapitated bodies have been discovered over the past two days in and around the northern Iraq city of Mosul, a hospital coroner said Tuesday. (AP)

Iraq Militants To Form United Front, Rein In Zarqawi: Report

Militant groups fighting US-led troops in Iraq plan to unite under one umbrella and rein in sectarian attacks by loyalists of suspected Al Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a Kuwaiti daily said Monday. (AFP)

Italy Wants Muslim Troops to Take Over in Iraq

Forces from Muslim countries should gradually take over from troops of the U.S.-led coalition based in Iraq, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said yesterday. (AFP)

2 Hostages Executed, Militants Say

A militant group has claimed to have killed two hostages, one a Turk and the other an Iraqi who was a longtime resident in Italy, the Arab news network Al-Jazeera reported yesterday. Two abducted Indonesian women, meanwhile, were freed, diplomats said. The fate of British hostage Kenneth Bigley was still unknown, but his brother Paul Bigley told Britain's Sky News television yesterday he may have been handed over to a new group of militants. (Toronto Star)

Four Car Bombs Kill 20 People, Hurt 113

As U.S. military officials and Samarra residents assessed the damage from a major weekend offensive to rid the city of guerrillas, insurgents took their campaign into the heart of the capital and elsewhere, setting off four car bombs that killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 100. (LA Times)

Fighting Fierce In Baghdad Slum

Heavy fighting erupted between U.S. troops and Shiite militiamen in Baghdad's Sadr City slum on Monday night after car bombs earlier killed at least 26 people in two Iraqi cities. Witnesses said American AC-130 aircraft pounded suspected rebel positions in Sadr City, but there was no immediate word on casualties, and the U.S. military said it had no information on the fighting. (Wire Services)

U.S. Soldiers In Iraq Murder Probe

Four American soldiers have been charged with the murder of an Iraqi general who died in custody last November, the U.S army says. The victim, Maj Gen Abid Hamid Mowhoush was being held at al-Qaim in Iraq, near the Syrian border. A death certificate published by the Pentagon gave the cause as asphyxia due to smothering and chest compression. (BBC)

Contact Lost With Captors: French MP

A French MP behind a failed bid to free two French reporters held hostage in Iraq defended his free lance operation yesterday amid sharp official and media criticism that he may have endangered their lives. (AFP)