Taliban Leader Threatens U.S., U.K. with Suicide Attacks Before Death
May 15, 2007 -- TALIBAN LEADER KILLED
Taliban Leader Threatens U.S., U.K. with Suicide Attacks Before Death
Thirty-six hours before he was killed by U.S. forces, Taliban Commander Mullah Dadullah said he was training American and British citizens to carry out suicide missions in their home countries, according to a videotape interview to be broadcast on ABC News' "World News" Monday. (ABC News)
Taliban Replaces Slain Top Commander with Brother
Mullah Dadullah, the feared Taliban commander killed at the weekend in battle with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, has been replaced by his younger brother, a Taliban spokesman said. (Reuters)
PAKISTAN
Suicide Bomb Attack Kills 25 in Pakistan Hotel: Police
A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 25 people wounded 32 wounded at a busy hotel in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, a senior police official said. (Reuters)
AFGHANISTAN
60 Taliban Killed In Air Strikes: Afghan Police
Air strikes by NATO-led forces killed 60 Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province overnight, the provincial police chief said Tuesday. (Daily Jang)
GUANTANAMO
Guantánamo Detainees' Suit Challenges Fairness of Military's Repeat Hearings
The military system of determining whether detainees are properly held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, includes an unusual practice: If Pentagon officials disagree with the result of a hearing, they order a second one, or even a third, until they approve of the finding. (NY Times)
IRAQ NEWS
New Detainees Strain Iraq's Jails
The capture of thousands of new suspects under the three-month-old Baghdad security plan has overwhelmed the Iraqi government's detention system, forcing hundreds of people into overcrowded facilities, according to Iraqi and Western officials. (Washington Post)
U.S. Detains 11 Iraqis In Search For GIs
U.S. troops have questioned hundreds of people and detained 11 in the search for three American soldiers feared captured by al-Qaida during a weekend ambush south of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday. (AP)
Three More Us Troops In Iraq Attacks
Three more US troops have been killed in Iraq, the military said on Tuesday, as the risks of a stepped up security operation kept the month on course to be one of the bloodiest since the 2003 invasion. (Daily Jang)
SAUDI ARABIA
Qaeda Suspects Planned Attacks on Saudi Oil: TV
Four suspected al Qaeda members arrested in Saudi Arabia last year had planned to attack the kingdom's oil facilities and other Gulf Arab oil producers, they said in confessions shown on Saudi television on Tuesday. (Reuters)
IRAN
Inspectors Cite Big Gain by Iran on Nuclear Fuel
Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is now beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before, according to the agency's top officials. (NY Times)
Iran Courts the US at Russia's Expense
Iran's relations with the Arab world have taken a dramatic turn for the better, in light of Iran's overtures toward the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, as well as in President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's announcement that Iran is prepared to resume full diplomatic relations with Egypt.(Asia Times)
Iran Steps Up Nuclear Programme
Iran says it plans to install 50,000 centrifuges at the Natanz plant Iran is beginning to enrich uranium on a much larger scale than before, inspectors for the UN's nuclear agency, the IAEA, have concluded. (BBC)
ALGERIA
Algeria Forces Kill 13 Islamic Rebels: Paper
Algerian troops, stepping up assaults on al Qaeda's north African wing after suicide bombings last month, killed 13 Islamist fighters east of Algiers, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Apathy, Terror Fears Haunt Algeria Poll
Algerians worried by an outbreak of political violence choose a new Parliament on Thursday, but many doubt whether the politically weak institution can do much to stabilise the troubled country. (Mail & Guardian)
JAPAN
Japanese Teen Takes Mother's Severed Head to Police
A 17-year-old Japanese boy was arrested on suspicion of murder today after walking into a police station and telling officers he was carrying the severed head of his mother, whom he had murdered during the night. (Guardian)
U.K.
British Troops Have Held Secret Talks with Sunni Rebels: Iraq President
British military officers in Iraq have been party to secret talks with Sunni insurgent leaders there, Iraq's president said in an interview published Tuesday. (AFP)
SOMALIA
Gunmen Attack UN Health Office In Mogadishu
Gunmen attacked a U.N. World Health Organisation (WHO) office in Mogadishu and wounded a guard, in the latest strike near the world body's facilities in Somalia since the weekend, a WHO official said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
PHILLIPINES
Six Killed In Violence-Hit Vote
Six people were killed and at least six others were injured as gunmen ambushed people on their way to vote, set fire to polling stations or stole ballot papers during local and congressional elections in the Philippines, police said. (London Times)
STUDENT LOAN SCANDAL
Major University VP Fired Following Financial Aid Fraud Investigation
A top financial officer at the University of Texas is the first school official fired in connection with the nationwide student loan scandal that erupted in March. (ABC News)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Bennie Thompson vs. Terrorism Tipsters
We've all seen this phrase in block letters: "REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY," followed by a 1-800 number. But if a House Democrat manages to kill a tipster-immunity measure under consideration in Congress this month, people who report suspicious behavior could be sued in civil court if the accused are not charged with a crime. (Washington Times)
Bush Doesn't Want Detente. He Wants to Attack Iran
By Alain Gresh
In the next few days an unprecedented meeting between US and Iranian officials is expected to take place in Baghdad; both sides have insisted that discussions are limited to Iraq. Could this first official encounter since the Islamic revolution herald detente between Washington and Tehran? (The Guardian)
Pakistan: A Border Shooting and Musharraf's Troubles
Service members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) held a flag meeting with Pakistani and Afghan forces May 14 in the Kurram tribal agency on the Pakistani side of the Pakistani-Afghan border. After the meeting, which was called to stem a border clash between Pakistani troops and Afghans that started the previous day, "unknown assailants" ambushed the ISAF members near Teri Mangal as the convoy traveled back to the Afghan side of the border, leaving one NATO solider dead and four wounded, according to a NATO statement. (Stratfor)
Turkish Secularism and the Current Political Stalemate
By Sayyed Wild Abah
Turkey has recently experienced a new shock similar to the successive tremors that the Turkish model witnessed with the emergence of the secular republic in 1923. (Asharq Alawsat)
The US, Europe and the German Role
By Hazem Saghieh
It may be said that today's US-European relations are determined by three characteristics:First: the end of the era of blind loyalty to George Bush.Second: the end of the era of hostility to US policies.Third: a higher European self-confidence in relation to the US, whose role was weakened by the Iraq war and, in turn, a greater willingness to follow policies favored and blessed by Washington. (Dar Al-Hayat)
Enter Al-Qaeda
For sometime, Palestinian Islamic and nationalist leaders have been warning that the Israeli, American and European economic embargo against the democratically-elected Palestinian government, including the recently formed broad-based government of national unity, is driving Palestinian society towards extremism. (Al-Ahram)
Syrian Liberal Author Nidhal Naisa Speaks Out Against Suicide Operations in Debate on Arab Youth
The following are excerpts from a TV debate on the situation of youth in the Arab world, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on May 8, 2007. (MEMRI)
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.