The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Sept. 7, 2004 -- Following last week's dramatic Russian school hostage siege that killed at least 335 people, Russian investigators are reviewing evidence which may link Chechens to the al Qaeda terrorist network. Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected any dialogue with Chechen separatists, as hundreds of thousands in Russia joined rallies against terrorism, news wires report.

And in Iraq, U.S. forces battled insurgents loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Tuesday, in clashes that killed 34 people, including one American soldier, and wounded 193, U.S. and Iraqi authorities said.

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS

Russia

Al Qaeda Tie To School Hostage-Takers Probed

Among the wilted flowers brought to celebrate the first day of classes in the now blackened wreckage of Beslan's School No. 1 were signs of a sophisticated terrorist operation. That evidence is sparking a re-examination of Chechen links to the al Qaeda terrorist network. (Christian Science Monitor)

Mass Rallies For Beslan Victims

Tens of thousands of people are attending a rally against terrorism in Moscow, as the nation mourns victims of the school siege in southern Russia. (BBC)

Hostage Takers in Russia Argued Before Explosion

The guerrillas who took over a school in southern Russia last week argued heatedly with each other over whether to abandon the siege in the moments leading up to the firestorm of explosions and shooting that killed hundreds of children and adults, Russian officials said Monday. (Washington Post)

Death Toll Rises to 10 in Moscow Subway Attack

The death toll from a suicide bombing outside a Moscow subway station last week rose to 10 on Monday as a 20-year-old man succumbed to his injuries, Russian news agencies reported. (AP)

United States

Security Scares Force Los Angeles Airport To Shut 4 Terminals

Four terminals at Los Angeles International Airport were shut down for more than three hours after a passenger bypassed security at one terminal and two flashlight batteries exploded during screening at another, the authorities said. (AP)

Pakistan

Pakistan: U.S. Official's Osama Claim Was 'Political'

Pakistan Tuesday dismissed a claim by a U.S. counter-terrorism official that the United States and its allies were closing in on the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. (Reuters)

9/11 Commission

9/11 Proposals Lead the Agenda Facing Congress

After weeks of being overshadowed by presidential politics, members of Congress return Tuesday for a charged march to Election Day that has been complicated by the call to reorganize the nation's intelligence agencies. (NY Times)

Nepal

Hijack Alert For Nepal Flights

An airport alert has gone out in Nepal and India, warning of a possible hijacking by Nepalese Maoist rebels, official sources said Tuesday. (UPI)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

United States

Terror Prosecutions A Mixed Bag

The collapse in Detroit of the Justice Department's first post-Sept. 11 prosecution of an alleged terrorist sleeper cell has left the Bush administration with few high-profile major criminal victories in the war on terrorism —and a growing list of losses and questionable cases. (AP)

Yemen

Court Heedless To Suspect's Transport Permit

The Yemeni Prosecution in the tribunal of the USS Cole bombing suspects' refuted the document presented by the defense lawyer which allegedly facilitated the task of the prime suspect. (Yemen Times)

IRAQ NEWS

Fierce Clashes In Iraq Kill 34 People

U.S. forces battled insurgents loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Tuesday, in clashes that killed 34 people, including one American soldier, and wounded 193, U.S. and Iraqi authorities said. (AP)

Suicide Blast Kills 7 Marines

The car bombing near Fallouja is the deadliest attack on U.S. troops since April. It raises the unofficial toll to 990 since the war began. (LA Times)

Baghdad Governor Escapes Attack

Baghdad's governor has survived an attack on his convoy while the son of another governor in a northern Iraqi province has been killed in a separate attack. (Al Jazeera)

Ransom Demanded For French Hostages

A purported statement by Iraqi militants holding two French journalists hostage demanded a $5mn ransom yesterday and set a 48-hour deadline. (Reuters)

British Soldier Charged With Murder of Iraqi Civilian

Police today charged a 21-year-old British soldier with the murder of an Iraqi civilian, the first civilian murder charge in connection with the war in Iraq. (Guardian)

France Hopes Stance Aids Captives In Iraq

As France awaits word on two journalists being held hostage in Iraq, officials have made it clear that they expect to benefit from their stand against the U.S.-led invasion and occupation. (Washington Post)

Ibrahim 'Not In Government Custody'

The comedy of errors performed by Iraqi officials recounting the alleged capture of Saddam's right-hand man has plunged the new government into deep embarrassment and further tarnished its credibility. (AFP)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Russia Now Grapples With Terror As A Symptom Or Ideology

Two very different gatherings Monday in Europe and the Middle East reflect two very different approaches to the problem of terrorism and how to defeat it. One sees terror as a transnational ideology that can be defeated by war, and another sees terror as the criminal manifestation of other underlying problems that must be treated in order to reduce or end terror. (Daily Star —Lebanon)

Russia's Caucasus Quagmire

Nothing whatsoever can explain or justify the unspeakable cruelty of the terrorists, who remain solely responsible for the wholesale massacre of children in the school in Beslan. (BBC)

Russia's Putin Faces Enormous Challenges On All Fronts

Vladimir Putin's solemn weekend broadcast to the Russian people struck many popular chords and will have satisfied most of his compatriots, but it left unclear what concrete changes in policy will come in the wake of the catastrophe of Beslan. (Arab News)

We Can Win —And We Must

The instant flap in the media and the Democratic campaign when the president said we might never win the war on terrorism shows just how much 9/11 has changed our political dialogue. Americans wake up every day knowing they are threatened by Islamic radicals willing and eager to die in a holy war against "The Great Satan." Our national commitment to defeating them will brook no equivocation. (U.S. World & News Report)

One by One, Iraqi Cities Become No-Go Zones

At a recent meeting with a group of tribal sheiks, an American general spoke with evident frustration about the latest Iraqi city to fall into the hands of insurgents. (NY Times)

The Day Before

On a Tuesday morning in September three years ago, four planes separated nearly 3,000 people from their loved ones. They also separated life into "before" and "after." The "after" is a dangerous, delicate work in progress. But do you remember before? (Washington Post)

Cautious Progress On the Road To Peace

Despite the war of words over Kashmir which threatens to complicate the wide-ranging talks, the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, Natwar Singh and Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri, yesterday made a positive start to two days of talks on confidence-building measures. (Gulf Times —Qatar)

The AIPAC Spy Affair

Now, with the unfolding of the Larry Franklin spy scandal, the bright light of a lot of unwelcome publicity is being shone onto AIPAC and its operations. And especially onto Rosen: he is one of two AIPAC staffers who have been interviewed by the FBI in connection with the Franklin allegations. (Al Hayat)

An Opening to Iran

One of the three parts of President Bush's "axis of evil," Iraq, is chewing up U.S. money and troops. A second, North Korea, probably has nuclear weapons and shows no sign of giving them up. The third, Iran, is the one to which the Bush administration should be giving a lot more attention. (LA Times)

BOOK REVIEWA Case Not Yet ClosedTurn The Page: In a new book, Sen. Bob Graham examines the embers of 9/11. (Newsweek)

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.