'Saudi Al Qaeda Leader' Killed in Raid

August 18, 2005 --

'Al Qaeda Leader' Killed In Saudi

A man believed to be the leader of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia has been killed during a police raid in Medina, the Saudi interior ministry says. (BBC)

Terror Plot Hatched in California Prison

Authorities Thwart Attack Intended for Next Month. (ABC News)

State Dept. Says It Warned about bin Laden in 1996
State Department analysts warned the Clinton administration in July 1996 that Osama bin Laden's move to Afghanistan would give him an even more dangerous haven as he sought to expand radical Islam "well beyond the Middle East," but the government chose not to deter the move, newly declassified documents show. (NY Times)

Italy to Extradite July 21 Suspect

The suspected July 21 Tube bomber Osman Hussain will be sent back to Britain within 35 days to face possible terrorism charges, an Italian court decided today. (The Times)

Pressure Grows Over Menezes Probe
Lawyers for the family of a Brazilian man shot dead by police have called on the Independent Police Complaints Commission to speed up its inquiry. (BBC)

Women Freed After Terror Quiz
Two women arrested at Manchester Airport under the Terrorism Act have been released without charge. (This is London)

Madrid Suspect Extradition May Take Weeks — Serbia

Spain will have to wait several weeks for the extradition from Serbia of a key suspect in the Madrid train bombings held by Belgrade police earlier this summer, Serb officials said on Thursday. (Reuters)

India Arrests Two for Raising Money For Al Qaeda

Police in eastern India said on Thursday they were questioning two men arrested in connection with distributing leaflets and raising money for an organization which had Al Qaeda as part of its name. (Reuters)

Pakistan Says Arrests Senior Taliban Figure

Pakistani security forces have arrested a senior Taliban official in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, the interior minister said on Thursday. (Reuters)

In Pakistan's Public Schools, Jihad Still Part of Lesson Plan
The Muslim nation's public school texts still promote hatred and jihad, reformers say. (LA Times)

Taliban Sets Free Lebanese Engineer In Afghanistan

The Taliban movement on Thursday set free Ahmad Riza, the Lebanese engineer of a Turkish construction company after the firm agreed to pull out from Afghanistan, according to a local newspaper report. (Xinhuanet)

Bali Conspirators' Jail Terms Cut

Indonesia has reduced the 30-month sentence handed down to controversial cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir for his role in the Bali bombings. (BBC)

Suspect Is Charged in Daniel Pearl's Abduction

A suspected Islamic militant was charged in Pakistan with plotting to abduct Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was killed after his 2002 kidnapping in Karachi. (LA Times)

4 U.S. Soldiers Killed as the Violence Continues in Iraq
Continued violence claimed the lives of four American soldiers today, the military said. (NY Times)

In Iraq, Carnage, Anger and Grief
After Bombs Kill 43 in Baghdad, Broadcasters Air Citizens' Frustration. (Washington Post)

U.S. Bolsters Iraq Prison Security
The US is sending 700 paratroops to boost security at Iraqi jails as detainee numbers near 11,000. (BBC)

5 Saudis Die Fighting U.S. Forces In Iraq
Five Saudi nationals fighting with insurgents in Iraq have been killed in clashes with U.S. forces, the Saudi daily newspaper al-Watan reported Wednesday. (UPI)

Soldiers' Families Press for Iraq Inquiry
The families of 17 soldiers killed in the war in Iraq and one who took his own life after returning to Britain are today launching a legal attempt to secure an independent inquiry into the legality of the conflict. (Press Association)

Secrets of The Morgue: Baghdad's Body Count
Bodies of 1,100 civilians brought to mortuary in July pre-invasion, July figure was typically less than 200. Last Sunday alone, the mortuary received 36 bodies up to 20 per cent of the bodies are never identified. Many of the dead have been tortured or disfigured. (The Independent)

Iraq Leader Paves Way for Legal Hangings
President Jalal Talabani has paved the way for the first legal execution in Iraq since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein, the presidential office said Wednesday. The case involves three men sentenced to hang for murdering three policemen. (AP)

IMF Warning over Iraq's Recovery
Iraq faces "daunting challenges" as it struggles to rebuild its battered economy, the International Monetary Fund has warned. (BBC)

A New Police Force Emerges From Mosul's Chaos
The Five West police station, erected over four days in July on a gravel-covered hill in the most violent part of this violent city, is little more than concertina wire, concrete barriers, gun towers and portable sheds. Police officers mill about, some in street clothes or gym shorts, sorting through Glock pistols and machine-gun belts. (NY Times)

Why I Remain Pessimistic About Democracy in The Arab World
Two weeks ago, I took the first steps in admitting my lack of hope in a democratic future for the Arab world. Instead, what our region should aspire to is the model of the tolerant elderly tribal leader or what I refer to as the kind elderly sheikh because Arab society, above all, is based on kinship and blood relations. Even if one analyses the revolutionary and intellectual movements in the region, one finds that blood relation, and not ideology, constitute the main bond that ties these movements together. (Asharq al Awsat)

UN on Precipice of Critical Reform … Or Irrelevance
Its upcoming General Assembly will be a defining moment. (CS Monitor)

The Merits of Delay in Iraq
Monday's vote to take another week to try to write a constitution for Iraq may actually be the most positive news to emerge from the process of drafting this vital document. (NY Times)

An Iranian Style Islamic Republic
Did the U.S. fight in Iraq to establish an Iranian-style Islamic republic, based on the concept of wilayat al-faqih (rule of the jurisconsult)? (Al Hayat)

U.S. Policy on 'Axis of Evil' Suffers Spate of Setbacks
President Bush's campaign against what he once termed the "axis of evil" has suffered reverses on all three fronts in recent days that underscore the profound challenges confronting him 3 1/2 years after he vowed to take action. (Washington Post)