Ambushed: Two ABC News Journalists Killed in Iraq

May 18, 2007 -- IRAQ NEWS

Ambushed: Two ABC News Journalists Killed in Iraq

Two Iraqi ABC News broadcast journalists were killed in Iraq, ABC News President David Westin announced this morning. (ABC News)

60 Die in Iraq; Study Warns Of Collapse

More than 60 people were killed and dozens wounded in mortar strikes, drive-by shootings, roadside explosions, suicide bombings and other violent attacks in Iraq on Thursday, as a new study warned that the country was close to becoming a "failed state." (Washington Post)

INDIA

5 Killed, Many Hurt as Bombs Go Off in Hyderabad Mosque

The two bombs which killed five people and injured many others inside the Mecca Masjid compound near the Charminar on Friday afternoon here appear to have been remote controlled. Two unexploded bombs have also been recovered from inside the compound. (India Times)

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban Worried Spies Are in Their Ranks

There is growing concern among the Taliban about the infiltration of their ranks by spies working for the U.S. and its allies following the recent killings of two of their top military commanders on the basis of information provided by informers having access to their hideouts. (ABC News)

10 Killed in Southern Afghan Bombings

Two coordinated bomb blasts killed seven people in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, including three police responding to the first explosion - an Iraq-style attack rarely seen here. (AP)

IRAN

Iran Says Five Held in Iraq May Be Free by June 21

Five Iranians detained by U.S. forces in northern Iraq could be freed within the next month, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Friday. (Reuters)

U.K./U.S.

U.S. Calls for Extradition of Radical Cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri in London Court

The United States, arguing for the extradition of radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, accused him on Thursday of involvement in a global conspiracy to wage terrorist attacks on the United States and other Western countries. (International Herald Tribune)

U.S.

Dems Question $250,000 in Bonuses for Gov Official

The White House appointee in charge of the Education Department's troubled financial aid office took home $250,000 in bonuses, leading Democratic lawmakers to question what she did to deserve such lavish rewards. (ABC News)

Suspects Arrested in South Carolina Armored Car Robbery

Authorities in South Carolina have announced five arrests in one of the largest heists in U.S. history but said that one fugitive remains on the loose. (ABC News)

GERMANY

Alleged CIA Kidnap Victim Held for Arson

A German citizen who claimed the CIA kidnapped and tortured him in an Afghan prison has been detained on suspicion of arson and sent to a hospital psychiatric ward, police said Thursday. (Washington Post)

ISRAEL

Israel: Plot to Assassinate Prime Minster Olmert Foiled

The Israeli intelligence services say they have foiled a plot to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli political figures. Details of the story were released yesterday after Israeli authorities lifted a media blackout. (ABC News)

SUDAN

Sudan Accused on Darfur Killings

The Border Intelligence Guards are said to be run by army intelligence Sudanese security forces took part in the killing of some 100 people in the war-torn Darfur region, the UN says. (BBC)

SRI LANKA

Moves by Sri Lanka Military Worry Human Rights Group

A leading human rights activist expressed fears that a northbound mobilization of troops in Sri Lanka indicated the Colombo government was planning to open another front in its push into Tamil Tiger territory, in retaliation for increasingly brazen rebel attacks involving airstrikes against military air bases. (Washington Post)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

How the World Can Save the Bank

By Paul Blustein

The long institutional nightmare is over. That, at least, is the hope at the World Bank, now that Paul Wolfowitz has resigned as the bank's president amid the furor over the hefty pay raise and job transfer received by his woman friend, a bank employee. (The Guardian)

Meeting the Taliban

They emerge on the back of a pick-up truck from the shores of a sunken river. Six young men in black turbans, thick black beards and guns strapped to their shoulders, hips and chest. They are Taliban, or religious seminary students, but we are not in Afghanistan. We are in Hawed, a Pakistani village near the Afghan border. (Al-Ahram)

The Insurgent Advantage

By David Brooks

The war on terror has shredded the reputation of the Bush administration. It's destroyed the reputation of Tony Blair's government in Britain, Ehud Olmert's government in Israel and Nuri al-Maliki's government in Iraq. And here's a prediction: It will destroy future American administrations, and future Israeli, European and world governments as well. (NY Times)

Afghan Battle Lines Become Blurred

By M K Bhadrakumar

New fault lines have appeared on the Afghan chessboard. While the "international community" kept watch on the obscure lawless borderlands of Pakistan's tribal agencies for the Taliban's spring offensive, templates of the war began to shift - almost unnoticed. (Asia Times)

Saudi Press Reactions to the Arrest of Seven Terrorist Cells in Saudi Arabia

By: Y. Admon and M. Feki

In a recent sweep, Saudi authorities arrested the members of seven terrorist cells that were operating within the country. The cells were receiving assistance from elements outside the country to establish training bases abroad, with the aim of carrying out attacks in Saudi Arabia.After the arrests, senior Saudi officials and columnists expressed criticism of the lapses and failures in the authorities' handling of the problem of domestic terrorism and extremism, and made recommendations for improvement. The following are excerpts of the reactions from Saudi officials and the Saudi Press. (MEMRI)

Just File Padilla under 'Jihadi of a Lesser Allah'

By Dale McFeatters

Al-Qaeda may be doomed, and evidence of that surfaced in the trial of Jose Padilla, who is charged by the Justice Department with maybe, sort of, wanting to do something, not sure what, but really bad. (Boston Herald)

Immigration Bill Faces a Wall of Opposition

The compromise immigration plan unveiled Thursday by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats offers the best prospect for congressional action on the explosive issue this year — perhaps for several years to come. (LA 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.