U.S. Forces Step Up Efforts Against Insurgency
Sept. 27, 2004 — -- U.S. jets pounded suspected Shiite militant positions in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 46, news wires reported. In the northern city of Mosul, insurgents set off a car bomb that killed four National Guardsmen.
And in Pakistan this weekend, authorities captured and killed a suspected top al Qaeda operative wanted for his alleged role in the 2002 kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Amjad Hussain Farooqi, also accused in two attempts on the life of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in December 2003, died in a four-hour shootout Sunday at a house in the southern town of Nawabshah.
IRAQ NEWS
U.S. Jets Pound Militant Positions in Iraq; Car Bomb in Mosul Kills Four National Guardsmen
U.S. jets pounded suspected Shiite militant positions in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 46. In the northern city of Mosul, insurgents set off a car bomb that killed four National Guardsmen. (AP)
2 Car Bombs Explode Near FallujahTwo car bombs wounded American and Iraqi troops west of the capital Sunday and a few hours later the US military announced the arrest of a senior Iraqi National Guard commander on suspicion of ties to insurgents, underscoring the challenges to building a strong Iraq security service capable of restoring stability. (AP)
Powell: Iraq is `Getting Worse'Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged Sunday that the situation in Iraq is "getting worse," but he insisted hostile areas could be quelled to allow elections in January throughout the country. (Chicago Tribune)
Two Soldiers Charged With Murder in BaghdadThe 1st Cavalry Division announced that two Soldiers have been charged with the murder of an Iraqi civilian under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. The Army's Criminal Investigation Division is continuing an investigation into the allegations, but cannot comment on specifics concerning the charges due to the on-going inquiry. (MNF-I Public Affairs)
Egyptian Islamist in London Claims There's Hope for British HostageYasser Serri, an Egyptian Islamist living in London, claims to have contacted the group holding the British hostage Kenneth Bigley and says the group might release him soon. Serri had called on Al Tawhid Wal Jihad group to spare the hostage's life and says he knows the message reached them through mediators and there are sign of hope. (Asharq Al Awsat)
King of Jordan says Italian Hostages AliveJordan's King Abdullah said in an interview published on Monday he believed two Italian women kidnapped in Iraq three weeks ago were still alive and Jordan was trying to obtain their freedom. (Reuters)
Rumsfeld Mulls Withdrawal From IraqA day after saying more US soldiers may be needed in Iraq, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld has indicated the possible withdrawal of American troops from the country. (Al Jazeera)
U.S. Military Arrests an Iraqi CommanderThe American military said Sunday that it had arrested a senior commander of the nascent Iraqi National Guard, raising concerns about the loyalty and reliability of the new security forces just months before general elections are scheduled across the embattled country. (NY Times)
Key Terror Figure Dies In AttackA key member of a terrorist network led by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among 19 people killed in U.S. airstrikes Saturday in the insurgent-held city of Fallujah, witnesses and hospital officials said Sunday. (Washington Post)
War Blazed Imam's Path to ExtremismAbu Anas Shami lived in Jordan, teaching Islam and known as a moderate. He may have died in Iraq as spiritual aide to Zarqawi's band. (LA Times)
Heady U.S. Goals for Iraq Fall by WaysideDespite continuing violence and instability, President Bush has stuck doggedly to his central message on Iraq: There is no need to change course because the administration's plan for planting democracy in the Middle East is working. Yet behind the unwavering public posture, there is evidence that the Bush administration has altered its approach. (LA Times)
For Police Recruits, Risk Is Constant CompanionThe nascent Iraqi security forces are the key to U.S. plans for bringing the insurgency under control and ultimately drawing down American troops. But the recruits, almost uniformly poor, have become the primary targets for insurgents seeking to undermine that strategy. (Washington Post)
Blair Faces Iraq Pull-Out DebateTony Blair will face calls for him to set an early date for the withdrawal of British forces from Iraq when Labour conference debates the conflict on Thursday. (The Guardian)
Syria Seeking To Oust Iraqi Nuclear ScientistsSyria is making desperate efforts to persuade Iran to accept a group of 12 Iraqi nuclear scientists and their families who had sought refuge in Damascus before the US-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein. (Jerusalem Post)
Kidnapped Iranian Diplomat FreedAn Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Iraq in early August has been freed. (BBC)
Man Who Leaked Pentagon Papers Calling For Insiders To Do Same About War In IraqThe man who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War called for government insiders to provide similar classified documents about the war in Iraq. (AP)
Cat Stevens Urges Freedom For British HostageYusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, has urged Islamic militants in Iraq to free British hostage Kenneth Bigley. (Reuters)
THE WAR ON TERROR
INVESTIGATIONS
Pakistan
Pearl Slaying Suspect Killed in PakistanPolice stepped up patrols around foreign consulates and government offices in this volatile city Monday, fearing a backlash after Pakistani forces killed a suspected top al-Qaida operative wanted for his alleged role in the 2002 kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. (AP)
Farooqi Key Link Between Pakistan and Al QaedaAmjad Hussain Farooqi, who was shot dead by security forces on Sunday, was one Pakistan's most wanted men, a cohort of September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and a key link between al Qaeda and local Pakistani militants. (Reuters)
Profile: Amjad FarooqiPakistani intelligence services revealed in May that a massive manhunt was under way for Amjad Farooqi, alias Amjad Hussain. (BBC)
United StatesU.S. Takes Offensive To Thwart Terrorists In Election SeasonAgencies across the federal government are launching an aggressive and unusually open offensive aimed at thwarting terrorist plots before and during the presidential election in November. (Boston Globe)
France
French Warned To Avoid Saudi ArabiaFrance on Monday warned its citizens to avoid travelling to Saudi Arabia after one of its nationals working for a defence company was gunned down on the weekend in what the kingdom's authorities described as a "terrorist attack". (Middle East Online)
GermanyGermany Struggles to Assess True Aims of Islamic GroupVery few Germans have heard of it, but there is a case slowly working its way through the administrative courts that could strongly influence Germany's strenuous and popular efforts to deal with what officials consider a threat from Islamic militants living here. (NY Times)
AfghanistanAfghans Are Fed Up With Security FirmThe entrance to Khailmohmad Safi's garage is blocked by about 200 sandbags, and a few feet away, behind 8-foot-high concrete barriers, several heavily armed men talk into their radios and peer out into the street. (LA Times)
Ex-Guantánamo Inmate Who Rejoined Taliban SlainA former inmate at the U.S. prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who returned to Afghanistan to rejoin the Taliban as a key commander, was killed along with two fellow fighters in a raid by Afghan security forces, two senior officials said Sunday. (AP)
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Police Arrest Militant After ChaseSaudi police arrested a militant after an overnight car chase and shootout in the streets of Riyadh, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Monday. (AP)
Saudi Arabia Still Battling TerrorismThe murder of a French citizen in Jeddah and another shootout on Monday between suspected Islamist militants and security forces in the Saudi capital have again spotlighted the terrorism battle being waged in the kingdom, diplomats said. (Middle East Online)
RussiaRussian School Seizure Draws Attention To Chechen Rebels' Links To Islamic ExtremistsThe brutality and meticulous planning of the school hostage-taking and other recent terror attacks in Russia have focused new attention on the growing influence of Islamic extremists over Chechen rebels and raised suspicions of a global terror connection. (AP)
Russia Wants Chechens Put On UN Terror ListRussia has circulated a draft resolution among Security Council members that would establish a new list of terror suspects, all of whom would be subject to extradition. (International Herald Tribune)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
The Kidnap WeaponThe Zarqawi terrorist network in Iraq has developed a powerful new weapon. It requires no munitions and no suicide zealots, runs no risk to terrorists of death or capture and provides cash to finance other operations. The weapon is publicized kidnapping. (NY Times)
Grisly Path to Power In Iraq's InsurgencyIn a video image posted on the Internet last week, a quivering, blindfolded American kneels on the floor of an empty room as five hooded men stand behind him, dressed in black. After reading a speech from a sheaf of white papers, the leader of the group pulls a long knife from his shirt and slices off the captive's head in a well-practiced manner. (Washington Post)
Powell, Then and NowSecretary of State Colin Powell, discussing the Iraq war during an appearance at The Times on Friday, did not have the crisp certitude of the general who assured us in 1991 that the first gulf war was going almost precisely as planned. (NY Times)
Iraq Held Hostage To TerrorHostage-taking has emerged as a powerful "smart weapon" in the Iraqi insurgents' arsenal. However, it does seem that its indiscriminate use could alienate Muslim opinion. (Asia Times)
Coming Unhinged?It is understandable that news coverage will focus on violence, and administration critics will spin events as negatively as possible. But if solid majorities of Iraqis believe conditions are improving, we should take them at their word. (National Review)
The End of Gitmo LimboThe legal limbo of the prisoners at Guantanamo is coming to an end. Spurred by the scandalous revelations from Abu Ghraib in late April and three Supreme Court decisions in late June, the administration is belatedly putting in place several layers of due process intended to ensure that the 585 detainees in the war on terror are being justly held. It remains to be seen how adequate and durable these arrangements will prove to be, but they are at the very least important steps. (Weekly Standard —subscription required)
Fellow BritonsAll must hope that the mission by two senior British Muslims to secure the release of Ken Bigley proves successful. Until now, moderate Muslims have done far too little to distance themselves from the religious extremism that is an insult to Islam. (The Times London —subscription required)
Is CIA at War with Bush?A few hours after George W. Bush dismissed a pessimistic CIA report on Iraq as ''just guessing,'' the analyst who identified himself as its author told a private dinner last week of secret, unheeded warnings years ago about going to war in Iraq. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Change the Iraq ConversationPresident Bush and would-be president John Kerry seem to agree that what America needs in Iraq is a new set of allies. They're right —but only to a point. What America needs far more urgently is a new set of goals for Iraq and a new way of thinking about international terrorism. (Washington Post)
The Najaf Peace DealAccording to the Najaf peace deal, there is a need of a census to be taken to prepare for election, which is expected in Iraq by January 2005. This shows how firm Muqtada al-Sadr is on his one of the major four August 12, 2004 demands: the Iraqi transitional Government should be replaced with a Shia theocracy. (Pakistan Times)
So Much For StrategyRichard Armitage was being questioned by a committee member on some of the Bush administration's missteps in Iraq. One such misstep, Armitage volunteered, was that the US was not aware of, and was wrong-footed by, the "tribal influences" in that country. This admission of error —is truly astonishing. How can it be true? (Jordan Times)
Bush or Kerry: Who's Really Osama's Boy?We're suddenly having a national debate about who Bin Laden and Al Qaeda support for president. Bin Laden's opinion, if only we could know it, would probably affect the judgment of fellow voters more than that of any other independent thinker except, of course, John McCain. (LA Times)
The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DTR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.