The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Sept. 13, 2004 -- U.S. warplanes pounded a suspected hideout of several al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah on Monday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 12, officials and witnesses said. The strike came a day after a surge in violence killed nearly 60 people across Iraq, the AP reported on Monday.

And London's daily Sunday Telegraph report that it has learned that fanatics from the Islamic terror faction blamed for last week's suicide attack on the Australian embassy in Indonesia are planning to hijack an oil tanker or freighter and turn it into a floating bomb.

IRAQ NEWS

Suspected Militant Hideout Bombed in IraqU.S. warplanes pounded a suspected hideout of several al-Qaida-linked militants in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah on Monday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 12, officials and witnesses said.. (AP)

25 Reported Killed in U.S. Strike on Rebel Base in FallujaAmerican warplanes made what the military called a precision strike on a meeting place of terrorists believed linked to Al Qaeda in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja today, killing an estimated 25 militants. (NY Times)

Violence Escalates Across IraqA bloody and chaotic day of violence across Iraq —including at least three suicide car bombings and an exchange of gunfire between an Iraqi crowd and a U.S. helicopter crew —killed dozens and injured scores of others Sunday. (LA Times)

Iraq Elections To Go Ahead On Schedule, Says Interim PremierIraq's elections will go ahead as scheduled in January even if some Iraqis are unable to vote due to the security situation in the country, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said. (AFP)

Palestinian Reporter Dies in Baghdad Battle On the final day of his life, Mazen al-Tumeizi —of the Al Arabiya television channel —woke to the sound of battle. (LA Times)

Islamic Group Threatens to Kill Italian Hostages, Sets DeadlineAn Islamist group has threatened to kill two Italian women held hostage in Iraq if Rome does not withdraw its troops from the war-torn country within 24 hours, according to an internet statement. (AFP)

Iraqi Kidnappers Release Turkish JournalistKidnappers have released a Turkish journalist in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul three days after her abduction, CNN Turk television has reported. (Reuters)

GCC Slams Terror Wave in IraqThe six-member Gulf Cooperation Council yesterday denounced terrorist attacks in Iraq and reiterated the group's support for efforts to restore security in the war-ravaged Arab country. (Arab News)

Turkey Summons U.S. Envoy On Tall AfarThe Turkish foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador Eric Edelman on Monday over the situation in the mostly Turcoman populated Iraqi town of Tall Afar, where US strikes have claimed more than 50 lives. (Turkish Press)

Seized By Iraqi Gunmen: My Survivor's GuideBritish journalist Stephen Farrell writes about his own Iraq-related kidnapping experience —and how he talked his way to freedom. (Times of London, subscription required)

Falluja Policy Criticized by Former CommanderThe outgoing commander of U.S. Marines in Iraq said that he disagreed with the order that sent his troops to invade the restive city of Falluja in early April and with the decision to halt the attack days later when he believed they were nearing victory. (International Herald Tribune)

Al Qaeda Group Downs U.S. Spy Plane On Sunday, a previously unknown group, the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen (holy warriors) in Iraq, claimed to have shot down a US. Marine drone near Fallujah —but the US military has reported no such loss near the embattled Iraqi city. (AP)

Through All Their Ordeals, Iraqis Bank on Free FoodIraq may be tormented by ethnic and religious divisions, but one thing still unites the entire populac. What nearly every Iraqi family gets, regardless of income and no matter whose guns rule the local streets, is the central government's monthly gift of free food. (Washington Post)

U.S., Syria Working To Secure Iraq BorderU.S. official William Burns said on Sunday after a trip to Damascus that Washington and Syrian officials were looking at ways to secure Syria's border with Iraq with the aim of stopping alleged militants crossing into the war-wracked country. (AFP)

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS

AfghanistanU.S.-Led Forces Kill 22 Militants In Afghanistan Twenty-two suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, including three Arabs, were killed in a fierce gun-battle with US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, the US military said. (Channel News Asia)

IndonesiaEvidence Uncovered in Indonesian BombingPolice said Monday that they have uncovered a key piece of evidence that will strengthen their case against two of Southeast Asia's most wanted terror suspects blamed for the lethal suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Indonesia. (AP)

Al Qaeda Terrorists 'Plan To Turn Tanker Into A Floating Bomb'Fanatics from the Islamic terror faction blamed for last week's suicide attack on the Australian embassy in Indonesia are planning to hijack an oil tanker or freighter and turn it into a floating bomb, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.United States intelligence has passed on warnings about the plot to launch an attack in the region's busy shipping lanes to several countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. They acted after intercepting communications between activists from Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a network linked to al-Qaeda. The terrorists have been discussing plans to seize a vessel using local pirates. The hijacked ship would be wired with explosives and then directed at other vessels, sailed towards a port or used to threaten the narrow and congested sea routes around Indonesia. (Sunday Telegraph —London —subscription required)

GermanyGerman Authorities To Closely Watch Islamic Congress German authorities will be closely watching an "Arab Islamic Congress" in Berlin next month, an interior ministry spokesman said Monday, amid claims the meeting is aimed at recruiting terrorists. (AFP)

PhilippinesTrial of Suspected JI Bombers Postponed The trial of three alleged Filipino Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members for a deadly bombing attack in Manila in 2000 was postponed Monday after the lawyer of two of the accused failed to appear. (AFP)

PakistanHerat Under Curfew After Seven DeadThe western Afghan city of Herat was placed under a night curfew on Sunday after bloody clashes between US and Afghan forces and supporters of a powerful commander sacked as governor, Herat TV reported. (Pakistan —Dawn)

Pakistan Agrees To Share Intelligence With Russia On Chechen MilitantsPakistan pledged to share with Russia detailed information on all Chechen militants arrested on its soil as part of a broader co-operation between the two countries' intelligence agencies, senior government officials said yesterday. Pakistani officials said the agreement, announced during a visit by Pakistan's foreign minister to Moscow, was an important step forward in the informal co-operation that has seen the two countries occasionally share intelligence information.The Russians are keen for information on Chechen fighters active in Afghanistan or in Pakistan's tribal areas where many al Qaeda activists have taken refuge. (Financial Times —subscription required)

United StatesWTC Agency Sues Saudis Over 9/11The agency that owns the site of the World Trade Center in New York says it is suing Saudi Arabia for damages suffered on 11 September, 2001. (BBC)

Critics Fault Bush's C.I.A. Nominee as Championing Budgets Over Watchdog RoleAs chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Porter J. Goss, Republican of Florida, watched over American intelligence agencies through all seven years that George J. Tenet was running them. But even in those turbulent times, Mr. Goss cast himself more as a rebuilder than as a watchdog. (NY Times)

AP Interview: Powell Thinks Bin Laden Is Still Alive, Al Qaeda Still a ThreatThree years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday he believes Osama bin Laden is still alive —although he has no proof —and thinks his al Qaeda terror group remains a threat. (AP)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

TurkeyTurkish Terror Suspect TestifiesA Turkish terror suspect testified Monday that members of an alleged Turkish al Qaeda cell met with Osama bin Laden and other top leaders of the network in Afghanistan and hinted the group funneled $150,000 to fund suicide bombings in Istanbul. (AP)

GuantanamoRice Says She Wasn't Warned of Guantanamo Prison AbusePresident Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, yesterday denied assertions in a new book that she and other top administration officials ignored warnings about the abuse of prisoners at the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (AP)

As Trial Nears, Case Against Airman Is Marked by MisstepsInvestigator errors force the military to drop half the charges against a former translator. (LA Times)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

After Success in Bosnia, Why Failure in Iraq?Though ethnic tension remains, and many administrative issues must be resolved, Bosnians now focus on living their daily lives. The contrast with the evolving turmoil in Iraq could not be much starker. (International Herald Tribune)

Lessons From the Jakarta Blast

The post-September 11, 2001, breed of al Qaeda watchers tend to hype up every act of terrorism, thereby creating an unwarranted perception of al Qaeda's continuing anti-state potency and the seeming helplessness of the state in countering this threat. By doing so, these al Qaeda watchers tend to play into the group's hands and give it an image that helps it in its self-perpetuation. (Asia Times)

From Kind Teacher To Murderous Zealot: Acquaintances Saw Hijacker TransformAt 8:30 on the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, police in Hamburg, Germany, learned via a faxed request for information from the FBI that their city had spawned the horror that for the past 17 hours had transfixed the world. (Chicago Tribune)

How Many Deaths Are Too Many?In the fall of 1965, the death toll for American troops in Vietnam quietly passed 1,000. The escalation in the number of American forces was just underway, the antiwar movement was still in its infancy and the word "quagmire" was not yet in common usage. (New York Times)

Terror Threat May Be Mostly a Big BluffThe facts point to overestimation by a frightened U.S. Just what is the evidence for this alleged terrorist threat that now dominates foreign affairs and the presidential election? (LA Times)

What The Neo-Cons Can't Tell AmericansBush's foreign policy advisers are driven by Cassandra-like visions of a dangerous future. (Asia Times)

Book Review: Rumsfeld's Dirty War On Terror (Part 2)This is an edited extract from Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib, by Seymour M Hersh, published today by Penguin Press. (Guardian)

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.