Germany Warns of Suicide Attacks, Increased Security

June 22, 2007 -- GERMANY

Germany Warns of Suicide Attacks, Increased Security

The German government has received reports from U.S. intelligence sources that militant Islamists are threatening to commit suicide attacks on German soil. (ABC News)

AFGHANISTAN

25 Civilians Killed in Afghan Violence

Taliban militants attacked police posts in southern Afghanistan, triggering NATO airstrikes that left 25 civilians dead, including three infants and the local mullah, a senior police officer said Friday. (AP)

1 NATO Soldier, 8 Taliban Killed

A NATO vehicle rolled over a mine in eastern Afghanistan Thursday, triggering a blast that killed one soldier, the 90th foreign military fatality in a year of surging violence. (AP)

U.S.

U.S. Agency is Target in Cheney Fight on Secrecy Data

For four years, Vice President Dick Cheney has resisted routine oversight of his office's handling of classified information, and when the National Archives unit that monitors classification in the executive branch objected, the vice president's office suggested abolishing the oversight unit, according to documents released Thursday by a Democratic congressman. (International Herald Tribune)

Documents Offer Unflattering View of CIA

Little-known documents now being made public detail illegal and scandalous activities by the CIA more than 30 years ago: wiretappings of journalists, kidnappings, warrantless searches and more. (AP)

U.S. Army Pulls TV Recruitment Ad Containing Falsehood

The U.S. Army has quietly pulled a television recruitment ad that falsely claimed it could train recruits to become pharmacists, a spokesperson for the Army has confirmed to ABC News. (ABC News)

Police: 3 or 4 People Fatally Beat Man

About three or four people — not a mob of up to 20 — beat a man to death after the car he was riding in struck and injured a toddler, police said Thursday. (AP)

911 Tapes: S.C. Fire Began Behind Store

Passing motorists and a store worker frantically called authorities about a fire behind a furniture store the night nine firefighters perished inside, according to 911 tapes and transcripts released Thursday. An employee said the area was where workers took smoke breaks. (AP)

IRAQ

US Troops Face Tough Baquba Fight

US forces engaged in an offensive north of the Iraqi capital are facing fierce resistance, a US general says. Hundreds of al-Qaeda-linked militants are ready to fight to the death against thousands of US troops operating around Baquba, said Gen Mick Bednarek. (BBC)

In Sweep of Iraqi Town, Sectarian Fears Percolate

After two days of clawing their way toward insurgent strongholds in western Baquba, American troops on Thursday began one of the most delicate phases of the operation: reintroducing the city's residents to their own army. (NY Times)

SPAIN

Summer Terror Reigns in Spain: Cease-Fire Ends, Bomb Campaign Expected

A carload of explosives that intelligence sources say belongs to the Basque separatist terror group, ETA, was seized just inside Spain's border Thursday. Spanish and U.S. authorities tell ABC News the incident is the clearest evidence the terror group plans a bombing campaign against Spain's cities this summer. (ABC News)

MEXICO/U.S.

Mexico Moves to Send Ex-Governor to U.S. on Drug Charges

Mexico took the first steps on Thursday toward extraditing the former governor of Quintana Roo to the United States, where he is wanted in New York City on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering. (NY Times)

SEPTEMBER 11TH AFTERMATH

9/11 Families Angry that Remains of Victims Still at Garbage Dump

Six years after the 9/11 attacks, frustrated families of 9/11 victims say the unidentified remains of their loved ones are still at an area landfill and have sued New York City in an attempt to have the remains moved to a garbage-free area. (ABC News)

GUANTANAMO BAY

White House Denies Guantanamo Closure Imminent

The White House has denied a US media report that it is close to a deciding the closure of the Guantanamo Bay "war on terror" prison camp. (AFP)

Yemen Receives 4 Detainees from Guantanamo Bay Prison

Yemen has received four of its citizens who were transferred from Guantanamo Bay prison, where the U.S. had held them since 2002 for suspected al-Qaida links, security officials and rights advocates said Thursday. (AP)

NORTH KOREA

North Korea Promises to Close Nuclear Facility

North Korea has promised to "promptly" shut down its main nuclear facility, the most senior US envoy to visit the country in five years said today. (The Guardian)

U.S./JAPAN

U.S. Congress Sex Slave Resolution Will Harm Ties: Japan Envoy

Japan's ambassador to the U.S. reiterated Wednesday that the passage of a resolution in the U.S. Congress to seek a clear apology from Tokyo over the Japanese military's use of sex slaves during the war would harm bilateral relations. (Kyodo)

HAMAS VS FATAH

Hamas Denies it Plans to Kill Abbas

Hamas has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' accusation that it is planning to assassinate him. (CNN)

LEBANON

Lebanon Defense Minister: Militants at Camp Crushed

Lebanon's defense minister declared victory Thursday over the Fatah Islam militant group, saying it had been crushed after a month-long military assault on its stronghold in a northern refugee camp and only mopping up remained. (AP)

NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA

Russia Will Get N. Korea $25million on Friday: Itar-Tass

Russia will take charge of $25 million in unfrozen North Korean funds on Friday, Russia's deputy foreign minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying on Friday, part of a nuclear deal. (Reuters)

SADDAM HUSSEIN TRIAL INVESTIGATION

Iraq: Dujail Judgment Marred by Serious Flaws

The judgment in the Dujail trial of Saddam Hussein reflects serious factual and legal errors made by the Iraqi High Tribunal's Trial Chamber, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. Human Rights Watch commissioned its own translation of the 300-page judgment and an analysis of it is now available. (Reuters)

ARMS DEALS

Britain and U.S. Sign Defense Deal

Britain and the United States signed a treaty Thursday to cut red tape on arms deals and improve the compatibility of military equipment. (AP)

AUSTRALIA/IRAN

Aussies 'Repelled Iran Gunboats'

Australian navy sailors used "colorful language" and aggressive tactics to repel five Iranian gunboats in an incident prior to the capture of 15 British sailors in March, Australian defense officials said on Friday. (Reuters)

KENYA

Might Drink Your Blood, but Otherwise Not Bad Guys

The mystery of the Mungiki, a secret society that is part Sicilian Mafia, part Chicago street gang, is sweeping across Kenya and taking a lot of lives with it. (NY Times)

Kenya Jails Ex-Leader of Killer Sect

A Kenyan court on Thursday jailed the former leader of a banned sect blamed for a string of beheadings and murders in recent months, judicial sources said. (Mail & Guardian)

SOMALIA

Somalia Imposes Curfew as Killings Mount

Somali authorities have announced plans to impose a curfew on the capital, Mogadishu, where at least five people were killed on Thursday in the latest violence to undermine government attempts to restore law. (Mail & Guardian)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Analysis: Hamas Conquest of Gaza Disturbs Arab World With Echoes of Recent Splits and Alliances

By Michael Slackman

The conquest of the Gaza Strip by Hamas has frightened Arab leaders because it was characterized by the same dynamics that have been agitating the region. (NY Times)

Fighting al Qaeda in Iraq

The largest offensive combat operation in Iraq since the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 is now underway outside Baghdad and in the city of Baquba, the command center of al Qaeda in Iraq. The Baquba operation is an offensive involving 10,000 U.S. soldiers backed by attack helicopters, close-air support, Strykers and Bradley fighting vehicles. Their mission is to capture or kill members of Al Qaeda in Iraq in and around the capital of the terrorist regime calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq. There are thought to be as many as 2,000 of them in and around Baquba. (Washington Times)

The Bones We Carried

By Lori Andrews

The White House visit today by President Nguyen Minh Triet of Vietnam will take place just a few miles from the resting place of some of his countrymen. When American G.I.'s returned from the Vietnam War, some tried to smuggle home the skulls of Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers. The graffiti-covered skulls served as ashtrays, candle holders and trophies. Six skulls were seized by the Customs Service. They remain in limbo, relegated to a drawer on the campus of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. (NY Times)

The Tortured World of US Intelligence

By Roger Morris

In this three-part series, Roger Morris, formerly a senior staffer of the National Security Council, provides not just a portrait of the real Robert Gates, but a history of America's global covert action and intervention. (Asia Times Online)

Palestinian MP From Hamas Dr. Yunis Al-Astal on Women's Participation in Jihad - from Islam's Beginnings to Modern Female Suicide Bombers

The following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Yunis Al-Astal, a Palestinian MP representing Hamas, which aired on Al-Rafidein TV on June 17, 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.