The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

May 27, 2004 -- Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri was arrested in London on Thursday, his lawyer said. London police confirm he is being held on extradition charges. Al-Masri has been accused of supporting terrorist groups, including al Qaeda. He is also wanted in Yemen for allegedly planning terrorist activity from London. Finsbury Park Mosque of which Al-Masri is the spiritual leader has been linked to terrorist suspects, including Sept. 11 suspect Zacarias Moussaoui and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.

And in Pakistan on Thursday, President Pervez Musharraf said junior army and air force personnel were involved in an assassination attempt against him in December and that the suspects have been captured. Musharraf did not delve into details surrounding their capture or their role in the assassination plot but did say that they are to soon face trial in military court. This announcement is a departure from Musharraf's statement in March, when he suspected al Qaeda to be behind the attacks.

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS

U.K.Radical Muslim Cleric Al Masri Arrested

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri arrested on extradition warrant, police sources say. (AP)

Note: There are a number of witnesses who will testify against Abu Hamza including James Ujamaa, a Seattle resident who was indicted in 2002 on charges of conspiring to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, ABCNEWS has learned.

Pakistan

Musharraf: Assassination Suspects Arrested

Pakistani President Musharraf says junior army, air force personnel were behind plot to kill him. In March, Musharraf said a Libyan member of al Qaeda was behind the attacks. But in the Thursday interview he said the mastermind was Pakistani and the only suspect still at large. (AP)

On the LookoutSearch for Terrorists Continue Worldwide

From Islamabad to Panama, worldwide search for terrorism suspects as U.S. on high alert. (AP)

Terror Threat Suspects

A look at suspected al Qaeda operatives U.S. officials believe may be part of a plot to attack America. (AP)

South Africa

S.Africa Says Foiled Al Qaeda-Linked Plot

South Africa foiled an al Qaeda-linked plot to disrupt last month's general elections and passed along information that led to security swoops in Jordan, Syria and Britain, Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi said. (Reuters)

Japan

Japan Detains Five Foreigners in Al Qaeda Probe

Japanese police on Wednesday arrested five foreigners after raiding 10 locations they suspect may be connected to a member of the al Qaeda terrorist network. (Financial Times)

Yemen

Trial of 14 Terror Suspects to Begin

The trial of 14 terror suspects will start on Saturday, according to Yemeni judicial sources. The file for the attack on the USS Cole has also been handed to court and trial is expected to begin next week. (Al Hayat)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Germany

Islamist in Germany Facing Extradition

A German court ruled Wednesday that the leader of a radical Islamist group can be extradited to Turkey, saying he did not face human rights abuses in his home country, court officials said. (NY Times)

ON THE WEB

Saudi 'Qaeda' Leader Calls for Guerrilla Warfare

A top al Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia issued a battle plan on Thursday for an urban guerrilla war in the kingdom, already reeling from a recent spate of militant attacks on Western and security targets. (Reuters)

Note: This statement is not new. It was first published two months ago in the 6th issue of Al Battar Camp, the online magazine issued by al Qaeda's group in Saudi Arabia. The statement however was re-posted on a message board today by one of the users who thought it was "al Muqrin's most important statement."

THE WAR IN IRAQ

Shia Cleric Offers Najaf Pull-Out

Radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has conditionally offered to pull his fighters out of the battle-scarred Iraqi holy city of Najaf. (BBC)

Prison Report's Missing Pages Include Reference to Rumsfeld

U.S. officials said that among documents regarding the Iraq-prison scandal that the Pentagon failed to give Congress is one described as a "draft update for the Secretary of Defense" on interrogation rules. (The Wall Street Journal — subscription required)

New Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos Shown On TV

New photographs said to depict abuse of naked Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison were shown on the NBC network on Wednesday. (Novinite — Bulgaria)

Prison Interrogations in Iraq Seen as Yielding Little Data On RebelsThe questioning of hundreds of Iraqi prisoners last fall in the newly established interrogation center at Abu Ghraib prison yielded very little valuable intelligence, according to civilian and military officials. (NY Times)

U.N. Council Members Want Iraqis at Negotiations

France, Germany, Russia and China insisted Wednesday that Iraq's new interim leaders be allowed to participate in Security Council negotiations on the terms of a U.S. and British resolution on the country's political transition, potentially delaying plans to put the text to a vote as early as next week. (Washington Post)

U.S. General Says Iraqi Security Will Run Abu Ghraib by August

The U.S. military plans to vacate Abu Ghraib prison by August, handing over operation of the facility to Iraqi security forces and transferring the remaining detainees 300 miles to the southeast, prison authorities said Wednesday. (Washington Post)

Al Baath Says Resistance Will Continue After June 30

A statement allegedly issued by "the Baath Socialist Party" insisted that the resistance will continue after the June 30th handover of power to an Iraqi government. The statement said the new government, as well as foreign troops in Iraq, are going to be targets. (Al Quds Al Arabi)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Analysts Say U.S. Threat Warning is Back-Covering

A vague new U.S. warning that al Qaeda may be planning a massive attack smacks of political back-covering and campaigning, not just a call for heightened vigilance, analysts and former government officials say. (Reuters)

Poll: Terror Suspect Treatment

Most Americans oppose torture techniques. (ABCNEWS)

Making Them Talk: The Moral Debate

Some say 9/11 justifies coercion; others call that a slippery slope. (CS Monitor)

Zarkawi's Pledge of Obedience

The accused of planning the attack on government buildings in Jordan, testified that they intended to use bombs and chemical explosives. I paused long at one of the statements the president of this group said, "I pledge to Abu Musaab Al Zarkawi that I shall abide by his orders obediently." (Al Hayat)

A U.S. Ally Caught Between Two Goals in IraqIf insurgency splinters the country, ethnic Kurds will have to weigh Washington's dream of unity against their own dream of independence. (LA Times)

Iraqi Abuses: The Things Bush Didn't Mention in His Speech

I can't wait to see Abu Ghraib prison reduced to rubble by the Americans — at the request of the new Iraqi government, of course. (The Independent)

The Fall of the Vulcans Iraq may spell the end of an evangelical belief in American military power. (The Guardian)

Politics and Prose in Iraq

This week the president, in an agreeably prosaic frame of mind, turned U.S. policy in Iraq in a direction for which Americans are ready. (Washington Post)

The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and the war in Iraq. The DTR is edited from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The outside views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.