Sunni Insurgent Groups Battle Each Other in Baghdad
June 1, 2007 -- IRAQ NEWS
Sunni Insurgents Battle in Baghdad
Sunni residents of a west Baghdad neighborhood used assault rifles and a roadside bomb to battle the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq this week, leaving at least 28 people dead and six injured, residents said Thursday. (Washington Post)
Rival Sunni Militants in Baghdad Power Struggle
Residents of a Baghdad district cowered inside their homes on Friday, too afraid to go into the streets where al Qaeda militants and rival Sunni Arab insurgents have fought fierce battles in the past two days. (Reuters)
Sunnis Revolt against Al Qaeda in Iraq
U.S. troops battled al Qaeda in west Baghdad on Thursday after Sunni Arab residents challenged the militants and called for American help to end furious gunfire that kept students from final exams and forced people in the neighborhood to huddle indoors. (AP)
KIDNAPPED U.K. REPORTER
Video of Kidnapped UK Reporter Surfaces
Kidnapped British reporter Alan Johnston appeared Friday in a videotape posted on an Islamic militant Web site, saying his captors had treated him well, denouncing Israel and blasting British and U.S. Mideast policy. (AP)
IRAN
Missing Irvine Man Imprisoned in Iran
The United States confirmed that a missing Irvine peace activist has become the fourth Iranian American detained by Iran on suspicion of espionage, and warned U.S. citizens against traveling to the country. (LA Times)
U.S. Warns Against Travel to Iran
The United States warned U.S. citizens on Thursday against traveling to Iran, accusing Islamic authorities there of a "disturbing pattern" of harassment after the detention of a fourth Iranian-American for alleged espionage. (AP)
LEBANON
Lebanese Army Masses around Refugee Camp
Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armored carriers moved toward a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon Friday in pursuit of Islamic militants holed up inside. (AP)
WAR CRIMES
Bosnian Serb War Crimes Suspect Delivered To Hague
Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect General Zdravko Tolimir, who was arrested on Thursday, has set off for the Hague war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands, NATO said on Friday. (Reuters)
U.S.
TB Patient Asks Forgiveness but Defends Travel
In an exclusive interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker said he never thought others were at risk for catching his deadly disease. (ABC News)
Rare Blood Cancer Hits 9/11 Responders
The head of the largest program tracking the health of World Trade Center site workers said several have developed rare blood cell cancers, raising fears that cancer will become a "third wave" of illnesses among those exposed to toxic dust after Sept. 11. (AP)
White House Follows New Path to Secrecy
A newly disclosed effort to keep Vice President Dick Cheney's visitor records secret is the latest White House push to make sure the public doesn't learn who has been meeting with top officials in the Bush administration. (AP)
'Dr Death' Released from US Jail
Jack Kevorkian, the man known as Dr Death and who helped the terminally ill to die, has been released from prison in the US state of Michigan. (BBC)
AFGHANISTAN
'Afghan Civilians' Killed By Nato
At least 15 civilians have been killed in an offensive by Nato and Afghan forces in the southern Helmand province, according to local police. (BBC)
THAILAND
Violence in Thailand Leaves 18 Dead
Suspected insurgents sprayed gunfire into a mosque, killing seven worshippers, and a roadside bomb killed 11 paramilitary troops almost simultaneously in some of the worst recent violence in southern Thailand, the army said Friday. (AP)
Ex-China Envoy Spills HK Handover Secrets: Report
A former key Chinese envoy Zhou Nan who helped negotiate Hong Kong's return from British to Chinese rule in 1997, said Beijing once considered taking the city by non-peaceful means, a newspaper reported on Friday. (Reuters)
NIGERIA/U.S.
Four U.S. Hostages Freed in Nigeria
Four of the five Americans held hostage in Nigeria by militant groups were finally given their freedom late last night, two days after a promised release failed to materialize. (ABC News)
SUDAN
Flapping Their Gum: Sudan Threatens U.S. Soft Drinks
The Sudanese government's response to proposed U.S. sanctions intended to force an end to the bloodshed in Darfur was short, sweet … and fizzy. (ABC News)
KIDNAPPED SCHOLAR IN IRAN
Husband of Charged Academic Worries She Could Be Subject to Harsh
The Iranian authorities use interrogation techniques such as intimidation, threats and blindfolding, said the husband of a detained American academic, and he is very worried that his wife could be subjected to these tactics. (ABC News)
BIRD FLU
Indonesian Teenager Dies of Bird Flu
An Indonesian girl from Central Java has died of bird flu, a health ministry official said on Friday. (Reuters)
TAINTED GOODS FROM CHINA
China Says Some Imported Baby Goods Unsafe
A quarter of imported children's milk bottles and teats failed a recent random quality test in southeast China, Xinhua news agency said on Friday, amid an overseas scare about Chinese food, drug and other products. (Reuters)
Panama 'To Blame for Fatal Syrup'
China has blamed Panamanian firms for passing off a Chinese industrial solvent for use in medicines, so causing dozens of deaths in Panama. (BBC)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
The Back Door for Terrorists
By Richard A. Clarke
Amid all of the xenophobia and nativism surrounding the immigration debate, there is a real security concern. In the language of the bureaucracy, the problem is referred to as the "OTMs," or Other Than Mexicans. (International Herald Tribune)
Witness Protection
A catalog of cooperating witnesses in criminal cases is probably not what Internet pioneers had in mind when they touted the Web's potential. But like bomb-making instructional videos on jihadi sites, it is the unfortunate reality. (NY Times)
What I've Learned
By Tony Blair
Ten years ago, if you had told me I would spend a significant part of my premiership on foreign policy, I would have been surprised, a little shocked and probably, politically, somewhat alarmed. Even today, we all run for office concentrating on domestic issues. "Foreign" policy rarely wins votes, and can easily lose them. Yet nowadays the reality is increasingly that we are obliged as leaders to think, work and act internationally. (Economist)
My Run for the Fake Border
By Parque EcoAlberto
The Senate talks; I act. While they were hammering out their compromise immigration bill, I deployed on a mission to see why Mexicans are crossing our borders. To send back money? To join our culture of optimism and progress? To see TV actors express emotions in ways other than opening their eyes as wide as they'll go? (LA Times)
Syrian Government Press in Reaction to Security Council Resolution to Establish International Tribunal for Al-Hariri Assassination: Resolution Entails 'Great Dangers' and 'Dangerous Repercussions' for Lebanon
On May 30, 2007, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1757 establishing an international tribunal to prosecute the killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad attacked the resolution and said that it would destroy stability in Lebanon. Two Syrian government dailies also sharply attacked the resolution, and wrote that it entails "great dangers" for Lebanon and may have "dangerous repercussions for Lebanese national unity." Both Al-Miqdad and the government press reiterated Syria's stance that the tribunal does not have jurisdiction over its citizens. The following are excerpts from Al-Miqdad's statements and the Syrian government press: (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.