The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Dec. 30, 2003 -- U.S. intelligence officials are concerned that more than a dozen terrorists who have flight training experience have either infiltrated foreign flight crews or have training that could help them take over cargo planes, ABCNEWS has learned. This information comes as the U.S. government orders foreign airlines to place armed law enforcement officers on certain flights to, from and over the United States. The request has triggered fears however, most strongly expressed in Britain, that guns on planes may be used against passengers and crew members. The British government had already responded by tightening security on its trans-Atlantic flights, including placing sky marshals when necessary. The measure is being resisted by the British Airline Pilots' Association, which called for an emergency meeting of the world's airline pilots to discuss the U.S. demands and urged British pilots not to fly with armed guards on board until an agreement was reached.

Also, the FBI issued an alert against people carrying almanacs, warning police nationwide that the reference book may be used by terrorists to plan for attacks.

And today an interesting story in the Los Angeles Times about how a Syrian company smuggled weapons and military hardware to Iraq between 2000 and 2003 in violation of U.N. sanctions. Documents found in Iraq reveal that the Syrian government assisted the company in importing at least one shipment that ended up in Iraq.

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS & ALERTS

United StatesFlight FearsMore than a dozen terrorists may have infiltrated airlines. (ABCNEWS)

U.S. Orders Foreign Airlines to Use Armed Marshals The new system goes into effect immediately for an estimated 800 to 1,000 passenger flights a day. (NY Times)

FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac CarriersFBI warning police to be alert for people carrying almanacs; could be used for terrorist planning. (AP)

Some Carriers Agree to Use Sky MarshalsSome international airlines say they will cooperate with U.S. requirement for sky marshals. (AP)

U.S. Air Marshals Demand ResistedA new order by the U.S. Government for foreign airlines to use armed guards if intelligence suggests a terror threat has drawn a mixed response. (BBC)

Guidelines for Foreign Air MarshalsThe new policy announced by the Department of Homeland Security would set some guidelines for foreign air marshals. (LA Times)

Airspace Over Las Vegas Strip to Be Restricted New Year's EveThe airspace over the Las Vegas Strip will be restricted New Year's Eve as tens of thousands of people celebrate in the street below, state and federal officials said Monday. (AP)

Lawmakers Urge Terror Alert Changes Top lawmakers charged with oversight on homeland security issues pressed Sunday for changes to the nation's color-coded terror alert system, including proposed warnings based on specific regions or industries. (AP)

U.S. Officials Fault French on Terror AlertOne or more terror suspects may have escaped due to a premature disclosure in France of the security concerns behind the cancellation of Christmas flights to Los Angeles, U.S. officials said on Friday. (Reuters)

United Kingdom

Britain Tightens Security on Some FlightsBritain tightens security for trans-Atlantic flights in response to U.S. terror alert. (AP)

Air Guards Threaten Flights ChaosNew U.K. policy on armed guards threatens chaos as pilots warn of boycott over 'rushed' proposals. (The Guardian)

Philippines

Philippines to Deport Two U.S. Brothers Philippine authorities said Tuesday they were set to deport two American brothers arrested for suspected links to terrorism and for allegedly meeting charity groups believed to be al Qaeda fronts in the country. (AP)

Saudi ArabiaAl Qaeda Links Seen in Attacks on Top Saudi Security Officials Islamic militants appear to be making a new effort to destabilize the Saudi government by assassinating top security officials. (NY Times)

British Warn Anew of Saudi Bomb Peril Britain warned Sunday of new terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and said such attacks could be "in the final stages of preparation." (AP)

Saudi Official Denies Suicide Pilots Report Saudi Arabia yesterday denied a British newspaper report that security forces seized two planes packed with explosives near Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport, foiling a plot to blow up a British Airways jet. (Arab News)

Saudi Arrests 4,000, Seizes Arms Near Yemen Border Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 4,000 people and seized large quantities of weapons and drugs in the south of the country, along the border with Yemen, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Saturday. (Reuters)

Peru

'Threat' Forces British Embassy In Peru To Close The British embassy in Peru is to remain closed for two days due to a "reported threat", the Foreign Office said today. (The Guardian)

Pakistan

Second Musharraf Suicide Bomber an Afghan Militant Investigators have identified the second suicide bomber involved in the Christmas Day attack on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as an Afghan militant, news reports said yesterday. (Arab News)

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda Blueprint ExposedAl Qaeda has turned its terror sights to the sea, targeting luxury cruise liners in an expansion of its "jihad" against the West. (The Courier-Mail)

Drug Money Sustains Al QaedaOsama bin Laden's al Qaeda network has become deeply involved in international drug trafficking, using the money to buy arms and, possibly, radioactive material for use in a so-called "dirty" nuclear bomb, senior U.S. officials say. (Washington Times)

Afghanistan

U.S. Winds Down Biggest Post-War Afghan OperationU.S.-led forces have ended their largest post-war operation in Afghanistan saying they have reduced the threat from militants during a key constitutional debate in Kabul. (Reuters)

Afghan U.S.-Led Forces Kill Four Al Qaeda SuspectsU.S.-led troops killed four al Qaeda suspects in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Khost on Saturday after the militants ambushed and killed a senior Afghan intelligence officer, officials said. (Reuters)

5 Afghan Security Officials Killed When Terror Suspect Detonates ExplosivesA suicide bomber killed five Afghan intelligence agents Sunday when he detonated explosives hidden under his clothes while sitting inside their vehicle after his arrest, police said. (Canadian Press)

Taliban Says Behind Attack Remnants of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban claimed responsibility on Monday for a suicide attack in Kabul that killed five security officials and two bombers, and vowed to launch a fresh wave of violence aimed at cities. (Reuters)

Iran

Al Zawahiri's Aide Held in Iran?An Egyptian fundamentalist leader who is in charge of al Qaeda's "Special Committee" is being held in Iran, fundamentalist sources in London told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper. Ahmed Hassan Abul Kheir is also believed to be Ayman al Zawahiri's right hand man. Abul Kheir's real name is Abdullah Mohammed Ragab Abdul Rahman, according to the same sources. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Revolution Guards Spokesman Denies Al Qaeda Leaders In Iran Brig-Gen Mas'ud Jazayeri, spokesman of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, speaking to a reporter of the Iranian Labour News Agency, ILNA, has denied the report about the presence in Iran of senior al Qaeda members. A British daily newspaper had reported that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahri were sighted in Iran. (Iranian Labour News Agency - as monitored and translated by BBC Monitoring)

Foreign Tourists Told They Were Held By "Qaeda-Linked" KidnappersOne Irish and two German tourists kidnapped in southeast Iran told the press after being released their captors said they were "Talibans linked to the al Qaeda terrorist group." "They tried to confuse us, we were never sure who they were," Aidan James Leahy told a news conference in Tehran Monday. (AFP)

Cyprus

Pakistanis Rearrested in CyprusFive Pakistanis who had been freed after being held for two days by police for acting suspiciously at an airport near Paphos on the western coast, we rearrested immediately after their release, reports CyBC 1 TV, according to BBC Monitoring. (BBC Monitoring)

Indonesia

U.S. Trains Indonesian Anti-Terror Squad Gunfire crackles and smoke wafts across a valley as an elite police unit storms a house filled with terrorists, rescuing the hostages and shooting dead the abductors. (AP)

Yemen

No U.S. Objections to Yemeni Government's Dialogue With Militants There are no Western or U.S. objections to the initiative by the Yemeni government to engage in a dialogue with al Qaeda suspects, the head of the dialogue committee told Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper. He explained however that the only exception relate to the suspects involved in the attack on the USS Cole and the French supertanker Limburg. (Al Quds Al Arabi)

France

French Defend Their Approach to Terror Threats Noting history of attacks and defensive measures; experts dismiss U.S. suggestions security is lax. (Washington Post)

Bahrain

Bahrain GP May Face Terror Threat - U.K.The Bahrain Grand Prix is a potential terrorist target, the British Foreign Office has warned organisers of the first ever Formula 1 race to be held in the Middle East. (AFP)

Italy

Berlusconi Denies Vatican Christmas Attack CommentsItalian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday denied quotes attributed to him in a newspaper report that said he had received information about a plan to attack the Vatican on Christmas Day. (Reuters)

Syria

U.K.-Based Organization Says Syrian Disappeared After Deportation from PakistanA Syrian Islamist who was deported from Islamabad to Damascus in May 2002 has since disappeared, the London-based Islamic Media Centre claimed. Bahaa Mostafa Baghal had been arrested in Pakistan in January of 2002, but was released and deported to Syria after Pakistani intelligence and American investigators found no evidence of connections to al Qaeda or the Taliban. (Asharq Al Awsat)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

United States

Two Years GonePost-9/11 detainee still held without charges. (ABCNEWS)

Canada

U.S., Canada '100% Sure' Arar Trained With Al QaedaFamily spokeswoman accuses intelligence officers of anonymous smear campaign. (Ottawa Citizen)

Spain

Spain Urged To Extradite Terror SuspectsA high-profile judge called on the Spanish government yesterday to seek the extradition of four suspected Al Qaeda members who are being held at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. (Toronto Star)

TERROR FINANCING U.N. Adds Bosnian Charity Director to Al Qaeda ListThe United Nations on Monday added the director of a Bosnian charity to its list of individuals whose assets should be frozen due to suspected ties to Osama bin Laden or his al Qaeda network. (Reuters)

ON THE WEB

Assessing Islamist Web Site Reports Of Imminent Terror Attacks In The U.S.Recently there has been an increase in postings on Islamist Web forums regarding imminent large-scale terror attacks in the U.S. However, beyond their general religious leanings, it is not known whether these forums are actually affiliated with al Qaeda. In order to assess the credibility of these threats, there is a need to examine their content. (MEMRI)

THE WAR IN IRAQ

Banned Arms Flowed Into Iraq Through Syrian FirmFiles recovered in Iraq describe deals violating U.N. sanctions and offer a glimpse into the murky world of weapons smuggling. (LA Times)

Iraqi Official: Saddam Gives Info on Weapons, FundsSaddam Hussein has given his U.S. captors information on hidden weapons and as much as $40 billion he may have seized while he was Iraq's president, an Iraqi official was quoted as saying on Monday. (Reuters)

U.S. Kills Three in Iraq Suspected of Al Qaeda LinksU.S. forces said they had killed three suspected members of a group linked to al Qaeda in a gunbattle in Iraq, and U.S. allies Thailand and Bulgaria vowed their soldiers would stay on despite coming under deadly attack. (Retuers)

In Iraq, Pace of U.S. Casualties Has Accelerated The number of U.S. service members killed and wounded in Iraq has more than doubled in the past four months compared with the four months preceding them, according to Pentagon statistics. (Washington Post)

Bremer Retreats From Comprehensive Iraq Plans The Bush administration has decided to reduce its ambitious initiatives to transform Iraq's economy, political system and security forces - due to the decision to shorten the timetable for U.S. civil occupation, increasing American losses there and the focus on approaching U.S. November presidential elections. (Arab News)

Bush's $1m Bounties For Saddam MenThe U.S. sought to regain the initiative in its battle with the increasingly well-organized Iraqi resistance last night by announcing $1m rewards for 12 of Saddam Hussein's closest allies. (The Guardian)

Blair WMD Claim a 'Red Herring', Says Bremer America's top man in Iraq pours scorn on PM's allegation. (The Guardian)

Flaws Showing in New Iraqi Forces As U.S. scrambles to recruit, some see hiring safeguards breaking down. (Washington Post)

Japan Is Willing to Forgive Iraqi Debt Providing a critical boost to the U.S. campaign to win debt relief for Iraq, major creditor Japan pledged Monday to forgive ``the vast majority'' of its Iraqi debt if other Paris Club nations do the same. China later said it would consider the idea. (AP)

Saddam Has Legal Options for His Defense Even Saddam Hussein has legal options. The deposed Iraqi leader could harken back to the trials of Nazi leaders and Japanese commanders after World War II to fight expected charges of genocide and war crimes, claiming he never personally killed anyone or that he had no control over atrocities committed in his name, U.S. defense lawyers and scholars say. (AP)

U.S. Sees Tide Turn On Iraq InsurgentsViolence is down in the Tikrit region, the heartland of the insurgency. Yet further south a bomb killed 13 on Saturday. (CS Monitor)

U.S. Winces as Iraqi Council Flexes Its MusclesThe U.S.-appointed body is increasingly defying the coalition and pushing its own vision of a free and self-governing Iraq. (LA Times)

'Don't Call Me Osama,' Iraqi Imams Tell U.S. Troops Iraq's Sunni Muslim imams have a message for U.S. troops -- don't call us Osama. (Reuters)

Army Stops Many Soldiers From Quitting Thousands of U.S. soldiers are forbidden from retiring from military service under the Army's "stop-loss" orders, intended to stanch the seepage of troops from a military stretched thin by its burgeoning overseas missions. (Washington Post)

$40m of Iraq Contract Fund Stolen Iraq's interim Trade Ministry is investigating alleged corruption of up to $40 million by members of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority and senior ministry officials. (AFP)

Iraqi Official Says Public Trial of Saddam UnlikelyIyad Allawi, a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, told Al Hayat newspaper it was unlikely that the trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would be public, because "it's possible that he mentions the names of countries and individuals whom he was giving money." (Al Hayat)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

The Terrorists Lost In 2003 - And Will Go On Losing We are winning the war on terror. To some this statement might appear somewhat rash in view of how 2003 is drawing to a close. (The Telegraph)

Pakistan: The West's Soft Centre If Musharraf is assassinated, the war on terror will also be a victim. (The Guardian)

The Tightrope Is Fraying Under the President of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf may be forced to reconsider his simultaneous support for the U.S. and his reluctance to confront the militants more directly. (NY Times)

U.S. Seeks Bin Laden Here, There And Everywhere (Financial Times)

Living Dangerously, But What Other Option Is There? Britain faces a terrorist attack and ministers cannot ignore that threat. (The Guardian)

Three FBI Agents On Trying To Prevent Another 9/11A rare look at the FBI's counterterrorism clique. (CS Monitor)

The Thinning of the Army The White House must recognize the damage its unilateralism is inflicting on the Army and change course before the damage becomes harder to undo. (NY Times)

Ending Horrors Justifies the Iraq WarRegardless of Washington's reasons, taking down the tyrant was right. (LA Times)

Yet Another WMD Claim Explodes in Blair's Face Tony Blair has done it again. Not for the British prime minister the adage "once bitten twice shy." (Arab News)

Bloody Week Shows Iraq Far From Peace Despite Saddam's CaptureDeadly attacks in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Karbala climaxed a particularly bloody week in Iraq, confirming US warnings that Saddam Hussein's arrest would not immediately end the violence. (AFP)

Where Are Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction? There are no such weapons, and President George Bush is getting prepared for this possibility. (Al Hayat)

Do Saddam's Supporters 'Belong to a Nation That Loves Executioners?'A selection of views from the Middle East and North Africa, compiled and translated by The Daily Star. (The Daily Star - Lebanon)

The U.S. Winked at Hussein's EvilSometimes democracy works. Though the wheels of accountability often grind slowly, they also can grind fine, if lubricated by the hard work of free-thinking citizens. The latest example: the release of official documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, that detail how the U.S. government under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush nurtured and supported Saddam Hussein despite his repeated use of chemical weapons. (LA Times)

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.