Cleric Will Enforce Islamic Law

April 6, 2007 -- PAKISTAN

Pakistan Cleric: Enforce Islamic Law

A cleric embarrassing the government by leading a Taliban-style drive against vice in the Pakistani capital vowed to set up a court in his radical mosque to enforce Islamic law. (AP)

Pakistan Denounces ABC News Report on Backing Iran Radicals

The Pakistani government had sharp words Wednesday for an ABC News report detailing U.S. and Pakistani support for an Iranian tribal militant group working to destabilize its country's government. (ABC News)

AFGHANISTAN

Suicide Bomber Near Afghan Parliament Kills 6

A suicide bomber killed six Afghans, including a policeman, in a blast near the country's parliament in Kabul on Friday, President Hamid Karzai said. (Reuters)

Karzai Says He Has Met With Taliban

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said Friday he met with Taliban militants in attempts to bring peace to the country and urged supporters of the fundamentalist militia to lay down their weapons. (AP)

AL QAEDA

Al Qaeda Top Leader Won't Use Phones, Internet

Wary of Western intelligence tehnologies, bin Laden's deputy Ayman al Zawahri has not used a telephone or accessed the Internet for four years, according to a report in today's Asharq al Awsat, a London-based Arabic-language daily. (ABC News)

IRAQ NEWS

Western Hostages Plead for Their Lives in Iraqi Insurgent Video

A tearful middle-aged German woman and her adult son are seen pleading for their lives, in a new video posted on the Internet this week by Iraqi insurgents. (ABC News)

Iraq Official: EFP Bomb Killed Britons

The Basra police commander on Friday said the roadside bomb used in an attack that killed four British soldiers had not been used in southern Iraq before, and his description of the deadly weapon indicated it was a feared Iranian-designed explosively formed projectile. (AP)

Deadly Iraq Bomb Releases Chlorine Gas

A truck bomb exploded in the volatile Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday, killing at least 15 people and releasing chlorine gas into the air, police and security sources said. (Reuters)

At Least 15 Dead After Iraq Truck Bomb

At least 15 people were killed in a truck bomb attack which exploded and released chlorine gas into the air in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday, police said. (Reuters)

Iraqi, U.S. Forces Sweep Through Iraqi City

Iraqi and U.S. forces clashed with Shi'ite militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr as they launched a major operation at dawn on Friday to return the volatile city of Diwaniya to government control. (Reuters)

FBI

Did the FBI Flub a Major Terror Investigation?

FBI agents downplayed evidence of burgeoning cooperation between a domestic white supremacist group and an Islamic terrorist supporter, documents reviewed by ABC News show. (ABC News)

PET FOOD POISONING

China Denies Responsibility in Pet Deaths

China has denied responsibility for a slew of pet deaths in the United States which U.S. authorities blame on a batch of chemically contaminated wheat gluten from China, state media reported. (AP)

AL QAEDA / SADDAM

Cheney Reasserts al-Qaeda-Saddam Link

Vice President Dick Cheney repeated his assertions of al-Qaida links to Saddam Hussein's Iraq on Thursday as the Defense Department released a report citing more evidence that the prewar government did not cooperate with the terrorist group. (AP)

Hussein-Qaeda Link 'Inappropriate,' Report Says

The Pentagon provided "inappropriate" analysis for its reports of a strong link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, a finding that was cited by the White House as a rationale for invading Iraq, a report by the Pentagon inspector general says. (Bloomberg)

U.S.

Probe Targets GSA Chief

Another federal investigation is targeting a Bush administration official, this time for possibly using government resources for partisan political purposes. (ABC News)

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudis Kill French Murders Suspect

Saudi security forces have killed a suspect in the murder of four French citizens on 26 February, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported. (BBC)

CANADA

Canadian's Terror Appeal Denied

The first person to be charged under Canada's anti-terrorism act has lost his attempt to challenge the law over its constitutionality. (BBC)

FRANCE/ANGOLA

French Charge 42 Over Angola Arms

The son of ex-French President Francois Mitterrand is among 42 people who are to stand trial for their alleged involvement in sending arms to Angola. (BBC)

SUDAN

Sudanese Soldiers Accused of Rape

Rape is being used as a weapon of war in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, a United Nations report says. (BBC)

RWANDA

Rwanda's Ex-President Freed from Prison

Rwanda's first post-genocide president walked out of prison on Friday, freed after a presidential pardon for a 15-year sentence he received on charges that included inciting ethnic violence. (Reuters)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Britain's Humiliation -- and Europe's

By Charles Krauthammer

Iran has pulled off a tidy little success with its seizure and release of those 15 British sailors and marines: a pointed humiliation of Britain, with a bonus demonstration of Iran's intention to push back against coalition challenges to its assets in Iraq. All with total impunity. (Washington Post)

Ahmadinejad and the "Half-Pregnant" Khomeinists

By Amir Taheri

Is the crisis provoked by the capture of the British hostages part of a smokescreen for a crackdown on dissidents in Iran? (Alsharq Alawsat)

Europe Lives in a Dream World When It Comes to Iran

By Charles Tannock

Though the crisis triggered by Iran's illegal capture of 15 British naval personnel has ended, it is difficult not to see how the European Union's irresolute and contradictory approach to the abductions only made matters worse. Faced with a country whose leader is bent on acquiring nuclear weapons, the EU's leaders simply dithered, fearing that the fire next door in Iraq could somehow spread. (Daily Star)

Guantanamo Follies

There has been much speculation about the Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal from a group of Guantanamo Bay inmates until they have exhausted their legal options. Was the court signaling that the appeal had no merit? Were the court's liberals waiting for a better chance to review President Bush's unconstitutional detention system for "illegal enemy combatants"? (NY Times)

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 and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.