Anatomy of a Suicide Attack

March 1, 2007 -- AFGHANISTAN

Anatomy of a Suicide Attack

A propaganda tape recently posted on a militant Islamist Web site provides a rare look at who the enemy is for U.S. troops and how simple it seems to be for them to mount a deadly attack. (ABC News)

Taliban Official: Bin Laden is Alive

A senior Taliban commander says Osama bin Laden is alive and in contact with leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents, according to an interview aired on British television. (AP)

Report: U.S. Forces Arrested Bagram Fugitive

Al Hayat is reporting that US forces in Afghanistan have arrested one of the Bagram prison fugitive, a Saudi called Mohammed al Qahtani, according to Saudi sources. The same sources told the paper the Saudi interior ministry will soon issue a new most wanted list after they found explosives, weapons, electronic devices and audio tapes that indicate militants were planning to carry out attacks in the Kingdom. (Al Hayat)

Blast in Afghanistan Kills 2, Injures 48

A roadside bomb in western Afghanistan left three civilians dead and 48 wounded, including 10 children, officials said Thursday. (AP)

Al-Qaeda's Resurgence Part 1: Ready to Take on the World

Al-Qaeda will this year significantly step up its global operations after centralizing its leadership and reviving its financial lifelines. Crucially, al-Qaeda has developed missile and rocket technology with the capability of carrying chemical, biological and nuclear warheads, according to an al-Qaeda insider who spoke to Asia Times Online. (Asia Times)

WAR CRIMES

Close, But No Karadzic; Accused War Criminal Still At Large

A reported sighting in Panama of one of the most wanted men in the world, accused war criminal Radovan Karadzic, the former Serbian political leader, led to a four-nation police scramble and a raid on the homes of his son and daughter last week by NATO troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina. (ABC News)

U.S./PAKISTAN

Pressure on Bush to Hit Pak Terror Camps

The Bush administration is under pressure from its intelligence agencies and a Democratic Congress to undertake punitive action against suspected Al-Qaida camps in Pakistan even as it publicly continues to praise General Musharraf as a stalwart ally in the war on terrorism. (Times of India)

INDONESIA

"Al Qaeda" Invoked In U.S. Embassy Jakarta Threat

A bomb threat against the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday was conveyed to authorities by a pair of cell phone text messages signed, "al Qaeda," local officials said. (Reuters)

IRAQ NEWS

Iraq Announces Security Meeting With Iran, Syria and The U.S.

Iraq's neighbors including Iran and Syria have agreed to join U.S. and British representatives to discuss the Iraqi security crisis at a regional conference March 10 in Baghdad, the government said. (AP)

Car Bomb Kills Five Guests at Iraqi Wedding

A car bomb targeting a convoy of cars carrying guests at the wedding of an Iraqi policemen killed five people and wounded 10 in the western city of Falluja on Thursday, a police source said. (Reuters)

GUANTANAMO

Key Documents Withheld In German CIA Probe: Lawmakers

German lawmakers investigating the case of a man held for nearly five years at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay said on Thursday an inquiry was being held up as some official documents were being withheld and others had been delayed. (Reuters)

U.S. Criticized For Detainees' Treatment

The U.N. human rights chief expressed concern Wednesday at recent U.S. legislative and judicial actions that she said leave hundreds of detainees without any way to challenge their indefinite imprisonment. (AP)

CHECHNYA

Feared Security Chief to Govern Chechnya

President Vladimir Putin nominated a widely feared security chief as the new president of Chechnya on Thursday, while Europe's human rights chief denounced torture and other rampant abuses in the war-battered region. Ramzan Kadyrov, who previously had served as Chechnya's prime minister, has run a security force that is accused of abducting and abusing suspected rebels and civilians believed to be connected to them. (AP)

Torture 'Systematic' in Chechnya

The Council of Europe's human rights chief has accused the authorities in Chechnya of systematically using torture and forced confessions. (BBC)

WORLD HEALTH

Bogus Medicines Flood Developing World: U.N. Report

Counterfeit medicines, some of them sold over the Internet, are swamping unregulated markets in developing nations with sometimes fatal results, the U.N. drug control watchdog said on Thursday. (Reuters)

NORTH KOREA

N.Korea Pledges to Denuclearize in Talks

North Korea's No. 2 leader pledged his country's commitment Thursday to giving up its nuclear program amid intensifying diplomacy aimed at implementing Pyongyang's pledge to disarm. (AP)

ON THE WEB

ABC News Extremist Website Monitoring

This is a daily update of some of what can be found on militant Islamist websites that are often used by al Qaeda and its sympathizers, insurgent groups in Iraq and other groups for propaganda, recruiting and communication purposes. (ABC News)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Solving the Military Equipment Shortfall

As U.S. forces increase their operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army's reliance on its overstretched active-duty forces and the National Guard will intensify. That will occur amid an equipment crisis, which has inexplicably been permitted to worsen in recent years as the Pentagon and the White House repeatedly reduced the equipment funding requested by the Army. The Bush administration's solution to this grave problem -- a "solution" that stretches well beyond 2013 -- is inadequate. (Washington Times)

The Padilla Trial

There were so many reasons to be appalled by President George W. Bush's decision to detain people illegally and subject them to mental and physical abuse. The unfolding case of José Padilla reminds us of one of the most important: mistreating a prisoner makes it hard, if not impossible, for a real court to judge whether he has committed real crimes. (International Herald Tribune)

Sudan: The Front and its Fluctuations

By Ismail Adam

Khartoum, Asharq Al-Awsat- Fathi al Daw, Sudanese journalist who resides in the US, authored the book 'Mihnat al Nukhba al Sudaniya' (The Crisis of the Sudanese Elite), which is widely circulated among the country's elite. In his book, al Daw states that the two Sudanese leaders Dr. Hassan Abdallah al Turabi, the spiritual leader of the Islamist movement in Sudan, which holds the controlling reins of power in one way or another, and his historic opponent Sadiq al Mahdi, head of Umma Party can both agree upon: "ambition and the love of power". However, al Daw believes that al Mahdi assumed power using legitimate means, such as consultation, democracy, and the people's acceptance of his ideas. (Alsharq al Awsat)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.