NATO Airstrike Kills 21 Afghan Civilians

May 9, 2007 -- AFGHANISTAN

Official: 21 Afghan Civilians Killed

Airstrikes called in by U.S. Special Forces soldiers fighting with insurgents in southern Afghanistan killed at least 21 civilians, officials said Wednesday. One coalition soldier was also killed. (AP)

'As Bad As Haditha'

The U.S. military took the extraordinary step of apologizing for the deadly shooting in Afghanistan earlier this year by Marines that left 19 civilians dead and another 50 wounded. (ABC News)

FORT DIX TERROR PLOT

Terror Suspect Called Bin Laden 'His Uncle Benny'

One of the men suspected of helping the plotters of a terror attack on Fort Dix would jokingly refer to Osama bin Laden as "his Uncle Benny," a co-worker told WPVI, the ABC News affiliate in Philadelphia. (ABC News)

U.K.

Four Held Over July 7 Attacks

Four people were arrested by counter-terrorist police on Wednesday in connection with the July 7th 2005 London bombings. (Finantial Times)

Widow of London Suicide Bomber Arrested

Police arrested the widow of one of the 7/7 London suicide bombers, along with three other suspects on Wednesday, a source familiar with the operation said. (Reuters)

IRAQ NEWS

Truck Bomb Kills 15 in Iraq

A suicide truck bomb blamed on al-Qaida linked insurgents exploded Wednesday outside the Interior Ministry in the Kurdish city of Irbil, killing at least 15 people and wounding 65, security and hospital officials said. (AP)

Cheney, Iraqi PM Concede Security Issues

Vice President Dick Cheney and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acknowledged problems in the pace of reducing violence in Iraq on Wednesday, but both pledged their governments would continue working together toward a solution. (AP)

US Denies Firing On Iraqi School

The US military has denied reports a helicopter fired on a school in Iraq but confirms seven people died in an attack against militants in the area. (BBC)

GERMANY

Raids Across Germany on G-8 Fears

Hundreds of police on Wednesday raided the offices and apartments of left-wing activists suspected of planning to disrupt next month's Group of Eight summit, and security officials tightened border controls ahead of the gathering. (AP)

AL QAEDA

Video Allegedly Shows Algerian Attack

Al-Jazeera broadcast what it said was an al-Qaida video Tuesday purportedly showing one of the three suicide attacks in Algeria last month that killed 33 people. (AP)

1993 MUMBAI BLAST

Mumbai Blasts Acquitted Set Free

A court in the western Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) has formally set free 23 people acquitted of any role in the country's deadliest bombings. (BBC)

SUDAN

Amnesty International Criticizes Arms Sales to Sudan

China and Russia have supplied weapons and aircraft to Sudan that have been used in deadly attacks against civilians in Darfur in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, Amnesty International charged in a report Tuesday. (L.A. Times)

PHILIPPINES

Eight Dead From Philippine Blast

At least eight people are now known to have been killed in Tuesday's bomb explosion in the southern Philippines. (BBC)

ALGERIA

Video 'Shows Algerian Bombings'

Al-Jazeera TV has shown what claims to be a video showing al-Qaeda militants preparing and carrying out last month's deadly bombings in Algeria. (BBC)

CAMEROON

Cameroon Opens Air Crash Inquiry

Authorities in Cameroon have opened an inquiry into a Kenyan Airways flight which crashed near the coast at the weekend, killing all 114 people aboard. (BBC)

U.S.

Army Threatens Critic Over Blog Policy

The U.S. Army has apparently threatened a government secrecy expert for posting online a new unclassified Army policy document, just days after he was quoted criticizing the policy itself as "outrageous." (ABC News)

Lightning 'Caused US Mine Blast'

A lightning bolt travelled down a cable and ignited the methane blast that led to the deaths of 12 miners in West Virginia last year, a US report says. (BBC)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Saudi Arabia: Has the Religious Establishment Succeeded in Countering Al-Qaeda's Ideology?

By Huda al Saleh

A jihadist website recently posted an audio recording by Sultan al-Utaybi, a man wanted by the Saudi security services who was subsequently killed in a clash. (Asharq Alawsat)

Al-Qaeda Message Aimed At US Living Rooms

By Michael Scheuer

In an hour-plus videotaped interview broadcast last Saturday, al-Qaeda deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri answered questions from an unnamed interviewer from al-Qaeda's video arm, Al-Sahab Productions. The topics addressed covered the range of issues usually focused on by al-Qaeda leaders in videos, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and most other ongoing Islamist insurgencies. (Asia Times)

Turkey Beyond Islamism Versus Secularism

By Rami G. Khouri

The tempestuous current developments in Turkey are historic in their implications for the country and the Middle East. However, they are about much more than a tug-of-war between Islamism and secularism. The constitutional stand-off concerning the election of the next president - pitting the ruling, mildly Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) against the largely secular opposition backed by the armed forces - is just the pivot of a historic, ongoing Turkish attempt to balance seven different phenomena that have never been fully synthesized into a single state identity: Islam, Turkish nationalism, political secularism, democratic governance, citizenship rights, pluralism in a multiethnic society, and the role of the military with respect to the previous six items. (Daily Star)

Finding Partners in Islam

By Lorenzo Vidino

As the United States battles insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan while fearing the next terrorist attack on our shores, it has become apparent that the solution to the struggle against radical Islam is neither military nor diplomatic, but rather, ideological. Only by tackling the ideology that motivates potential jihadis from Baghdad to London can the United States hope to win what will undoubtedly be a generational conflict. (Boston Globe)

The Making of a Suicide Bomber

By Zubeida Mustafa

According to a report, 20 suicide bombings have occurred in Pakistan since last year in which 213 lives have been lost. Since all of these have been carried out by people emerging from madressahs run by religious extremists, it is plain that they have been indoctrinated and trained by their mentors. (Dawn)

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.