Al-Qaida Planning British Attack

April 23, 2007 -- AL QAEDA

Al Qaeda 'Planning Big British Attack'

Al Qaeda leaders in Iraq are planning the first "large-scale" terrorist attacks on Britain and other western targets with the help of supporters in Iran, according to a leaked intelligence report. (UK Times)

Al Qaeda Seeks To Expand Its Operations

Al-Qaeda is reaching out from its base in Pakistan to turn militant Islamist groups in the Middle East and Africa into franchises charged with intensifying attacks on western targets, according to European officials and terrorism specialists. (Financial Times)

Al Qaeda Suspect Held

Intelligence personnel have detained a man of Afghan origin from Shahrah-e-Faisal on suspicion of having links with Al Qaeda, Daily Times learnt Sunday. (Daily Times)

Security Says al Qaeda Group Active in Spain: Pais

Spain's security service has warned the government that Spain and France are most in danger of being attacked by a north African wing of al Qaeda and that the group is active in Spain, El Pais reported on Sunday. (Reuters)

IRAQ NEWS

Military Grants Immunity to Marine in Iraq Killings

Military prosecutors have granted immunity to at least seven Marines connected to an attack that killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, the deadliest criminal case against U.S. troops in the Iraq war. (AP)

Construction on Baghdad Barrier Halted

Iraq's prime minister said Sunday that he has ordered a halt to the U.S. military construction of a barrier separating a Sunni enclave from surrounding Shiite areas in Baghdad after fierce criticism over the project at home. (AP)

Suicide Bombings Around Iraq Kill 27

Three suicide bombers launched attacks in different parts of Iraq on Monday, killing at least 27 people and wounding nearly 60 on Monday, police and politicians said. (AP)

23 Taken From Bus, Gunned Down in Iraq

Gunmen in northern Iraq stopped a bus filled with Christians and members of a tiny, mostly Kurdish religious sect on Sunday, police said, separating out the groups and taking 23 of the passengers away to be shot. (AP)

GERMANY

Threat Forces Landing in Germany

Olympic Airlines flight en route from Greece to France made an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on Monday after a bomb threat was reported, German air traffic control officials said. (AP)

AFGHANISTAN

Afghan Intelligence Officer Beheaded

Assailants abducted and beheaded an Afghan intelligence service employee and struck one of the agency's vehicles with a remote-controlled bomb in a separate attack, killing six employees and wounding three, officials said Monday. (AP)

Double Bombings Rock Afghan Town

At least six people have been killed and several wounded after two explosions hit the town of Khost in eastern Afghanistan, local police say. (BBC)

Taleban Uses Boy to Behead 'Spy'

The Taleban in Afghanistan have used a boy of around 12 to behead a man they accused of spying for the US. (BBC)

PAKISTAN

Pakistan Hard-Liners 'Shot Dead'

At least six people have been killed after members of a hard-line Islamist group clashed with security forces in north-west Pakistan, officials say. (BBC)

CHINA/U.S.

U.S. Knew Of China's Missile Test, But Kept Silent

After a Chinese interceptor smashed into a target satellite in January, Bush administration officials criticized the test as a destabilizing development. (International Herald Tribune)

CANADA/AFGHANISTAN

From Canadian Custody into Cruel Hands

Afghans detained by Canadian soldiers and sent to Kandahar's notorious jails say they were beaten, whipped, starved, frozen, choked and subjected to electric shocks during interrogation. (Globe and Mail)

U.S.

Effort to Secure Ammonium Nitrate Sales Stalls

Partisan differences have stalled a congressional effort to secure sales of ammonium nitrate, after Republicans proposed that potential buyers of the commercial fertilizer have their names checked against the terrorist watch list. (ABC News)

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Court Suspends Arrest Warrant for Former Prime Minister

A Bangladeshi court suspended an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday after police sought more time to investigate murder charges she is facing. (AP)

SOMALIA

Shelling Traps Somalis in Capital

Heavy shelling is taking place as Ethiopian-backed government forces battle insurgents in Somalia's capital. (BBC)

Africa's Secret - The Men, Women and Children 'Vanished' in the War on Terror

Fleeing war-torn Somalia, the refugees trapped and missing without rights (The Guardian)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Victims of Terror Aren't Terrorists

By Anna Husarska

Anti-terrorism laws could deny ordinary Iraqis resettlement by mislabeling them material supporters of U.S. enemies. (LA Times)

We Build walls, Not Nations

By Pepe Escobar

The 5-kilometer-long, 3.7-meter-high concrete wall being built to contain the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah in Baghdad will fail, even if Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki doesn't manage to get it stopped. (Asia Times)

A CIA Man Speaks His Mind on Secret Abductions

By Jeff Stein

It was an idea that flitted through a revealing and sometimes even bizarre hearing last week on the Bush administration's "extraordinary renditions" program, which uses "extra-judicial" means to sweep al Qaeda suspects off the street. (CQ National Security)

Make No Mistake: This Is War

By Michael Chertoff

As the rubble of the Twin Towers smoldered in 2001, no one could have imagined a day when America's leaders would be criticized for being tough in protecting Americans from further acts of war. Now, less than six years later, that day has arrived. (Washington Post)

Iraq's Desperate Exodus

Four years of war have exacted a terrible toll on Iraqis, with no end in sight. Car bombings and other violence now kill an average of 100 people a day. Two out of three Iraqis have no regular access to clean water. Children are malnourished and too many are dying from preventable diseases and the near collapse of the health care system. (International Herald Tribune)

Who's Kidnapping Who?

By Diana Mukkaled

There is an assumption that journalists, correspondents and photographers are confronted with a certain degree of risk when covering conflicts and wars. However, these dangers are relative in accordance with the region or the variety of situations where these stories unfold and come under the sharp scrutiny of the media's eye. (Asharq Alawsat)

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.