The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Apr. 15, 2004 -- — In a new al Qaeda audiotape from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden aired today on the Arabic news network Al Arabiya, he offers a "truce" to European countries that do not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their soldiers leave Islamic nations. The tape, which ran in full at more than seven minutes, also vowed revenge against America for the Israeli assassination of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin and denounced the United States as using the Iraq war for engaging in profit-making ventures, specifically mentioning the private U.S. contractor Halliburton.

And the Italian government confirmed that Iraqi militants killed one of four Italian hostages being held there. Italian officials Thursday confirmed that a videotape sent to Arab satellite network Al Jazeera showed the killing of Fabrizio Quattrocchi. Al Jazeera did not air the footage, calling it gruesome, said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. The killing of the Italian, a security guard, is the first known execution of a foreign hostage in Iraq and could further dissuade international aid workers, contractors and journalists, some of whom are already restricting their activities in the country, news wires report.

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS

New Bin Laden TapePurported Bin Laden Tape Offers 'Truce'

Purported Osama Bin Laden tape offers 'truce' to European countries that don't attack Muslims. (AP)

Purported Bin Laden 'Truce' is Rejected

A man identifying himself as Osama bin Laden offered a "truce" to European countries that do not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their soldiers leave Islamic nations, according to a recording broadcast Thursday on Arab satellite networks. (AP)

CIA Says Voice on Terror Tape Likely Al-Qaeda Chief Bin Laden's

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said the voice on an audiotape threatening Israel and offering European countries a cease-fire is likely that of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. (Bloomberg)

9/11 Commission

Sept. 11 Panel Unsure How to Enact Reform

The reasons behind the pre-Sept. 11 intelligence failures just kept growing: not enough staff, poor technology, inadequate information-sharing, a piecemeal approach to intelligence analysis. (AP)

Saudi Arabia

Security Officer Shot Dead by Militants Near Riyadh

A security officer was shot dead and another wounded by gunmen who opened fire on their patrol yesterday at Shoaib Al-Haysa near the entrance of Wadi Al-Hanifa on the outskirts of Al-Uyaynah town, 45 kilometers northwest of Riyadh, security sources said. (Arab News)

Singapore

Singapore Steps Up Anti-Terror Measures

Singapore has stepped up its anti-terrorism measures with an awareness campaign on public trains and buses and extra police at commercial buildings and areas popular with expatriates, officials said Thursday. (AP)

Australia

Sydney Man Arrested On Terrorism ChargesA 21-year-old man from Sydney's west has been charged with a terrorism offence. (ABC News Online — Australia)

Hicks Rejected Suicide Role

Australian terror suspect David Hicks is a "continuing threat", according to a military interrogator, despite refusing al Qaeda demands to become a suicide bomber and never engaging in combat against the U.S. (news.com — Australia)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

U.K.

Ottawa Man Linked to U.K. Terror Plot ChargesThe first Canadian charged under new anti-terror legislation was named as a co-conspirator today in a British terror plot. (CTV)

Six British Terror Suspects To Remain in Custody

Six British men arrested last month during an anti-terror swoop were ordered to remain in custody until a July hearing after a brief appearance in court on Thursday. (Xinhuanet — China)

U.S.

Army Clears Guantanamo Chaplain

The U.S. army has quashed convictions against a Muslim chaplain initially accused of spying at the U.S. detention camp in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. (BBC)

THE WAR IN IRAQ

Fallujah Truce Shaken; Hostage is Killed

Fallujah truce shaken by heavy fighting; Italian hostage killed by captors in Iraq. (AP)

Italian Hostage 'Defied Killers'The Italian hostage killed by kidnappers in Iraq was a defiant "hero" in his final moments, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says. (BBC)

Three Japanese Hostages in Iraq Freed

Three Japanese Hostages Freed a Day After Iraqi Militants Execute Italian Captive.(AP)

Iraq Death Toll Reaches New HighThe last two weeks have been the bloodiest yet for U.S. soldiers in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi deaths are much harder to track, but an Associated Press estimate puts the total since 1 April at 880. (BBC)

Iranian Diplomat Shot Dead in Baghdad, Police Say

A senior Iranian diplomat was shot dead close to Tehran's diplomatic mission in Baghdad on Thursday, Iraqi police and diplomatic staff said. (Reuters)

Pakistan May Consider Sending Troops to Iraq

Pakistan said yesterday it was considering a U.S. request to send troops to Iraq. Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said Islamabad received the request from Washington last week. "We are considering it," he told a news briefing. (Arab News)

Source: Iran Decides to Stop Support to Al Sadr

In its last meeting, the beginning of last week, the Supreme Council of National Security in Iran took a drastic decision to change its relationship with all parties in Iraq, according to a senior Iranian official close to the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamaneini. Asharq Al Awsat reports that the U.S. recently warned Iran through a British personality about its support of groups in Iran. In response, Khamanei supposedly asked that all financial support to Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr and his group (Asharq Al Awsat)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Bin Laden Plays Divide and Rule

By offering a "truce" to Europeans if they pull troops out of Muslim nations, Osama bin Laden is maneuvering, with canny timing, to split the U.S.-led coalition and scare wavering members out of Iraq. (Reuters)

Al Qaeda Will Want Bush Back As we approach November, Bin Laden and his associates will increase the frequency and intensity of their attacks to ensure that George W Bush Wins. Al Qaeda will be determined to make security a bigger issue than economy. (Daily Times)

Old Weapons, New Terror WorriesRussian and US experts meet this month to assess terror tactics, from hacking into systems to seizing a weapon. (CS Monitor)

The Price of Incuriositymericans knew George W. Bush was an incurious man when they elected him, but the hearings of the 9/11 investigating commission, which turned yesterday from the F.B.I.'s fecklessness to the C.I.A.'s blurred vision, have brought that fact home in a startling way. (NY Times)

Coalition Loses the 'Psy-Ops' Advantage in IraqProgress simply isn't registering, and the U.S. is partly to blame. (LA Times)

From Gaza to BaghdadSomething is brewing in Gaza that may help U.S. officials think through how to deal with what is boiling in Iraq. (NY Times)

America's Ayatollah The term of the moment in Washington is "the wall." This is the legal barrier that once separated the CIA and its investigators from the FBI and its investigators, and which may have contributed to the confusion that enabled the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Washington Post)

Waiting for BrahimiAn upsurge of violence in Iraq shows more vividly than ever that the US and its allies are not really waging war against gunmen, bombers, and kidnappers but fighting a political battle for legitimacy. (CS Monitor)

Iraq's Future: Allow Me to Be Different

Affected by what is happening in Iraq, Arab analysts carefully studied a year of occupying Iraq. (Al Hayat)

Post-War Iraq Resembles Lebanon In 1982 A daily selection of views from the Middle East and North Africa, compiled and translated by The Daily Star.(The Daily Star)

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.