The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Dec. 12, 2003 -- — President Khatami said today that Iran is ready to extradite some of the 130 al Qaeda detainees arrested and currently held in detention there. In the past, the United States has expressed its wish to see the detainees extradited to the United States, their countries of origin or third countries for further interrogation and trial. Reports over the weekend said that Jordan's King Abdullah was trying to broker an agreement between the two countries over the issue of the detainees.

And authorities in Minneapolis have identified the jailed man suspected of having ties to al Qaeda, particularly to suspected 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui. A newspaper in Minneapolis reports that the suspect, Mohammed A. Warsame, a 30-year old Canadian citizen of Somali origin, was arrested as a material witness, though it remains to be seen whether or not he will testify against Moussaoui.

THE WAR ON TERROR

INVESTIGATIONS/ARRESTS/THREATS

IranKhatami: Iran Ready to Extradite Some of 130 Al Qaeda DetaineesIran has arrested 130 suspected members of the al Qaeda network and is ready to extradite some of them, President Mohammad Khatami said. (AFP)

United StatesSuspected of Al Qaeda Ties, Man is Identified, DefendedThe man arrested in Minneapolis on suspicion of associating with al Qaeda has been identified as a Canadian citizen and college student of Somali descent, a newspaper reported. (AP)

Bioterror Preparedness Still Lacking, Health Group Concludes Only Florida and Illinois are prepared to distribute vaccines in the event of a major outbreak. (Washington Post)

Community On Edge Friends and family of Jaber A. Elbaneh await word on his capture and on what evidence led the United States to offer a $5 million reward. (Buffalo News)

United KingdomPolice Foiled Major Terror Attacks in U.K., Met ClaimsIntense efforts by British security forces have prevented major terrorist attacks which could have resulted in mass murder in the U.K., Scotland Yard said yesterday. (The Guardian)

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Terror Killing FoiledOsama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network attempted this week to assassinate one of the key Saudi figures cooperating with the Bush administration's war on terror, heralding a new, all-out campaign by the group to topple the House of Saud from power, administration officials said. (UPI)

Background of the Most Wanted Terrorists: Part 2 (Arab News)

KuwaitLetter Bomb Targets Outspoken Kuwaiti Newspaper Editor An explosive parcel addressed to editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti Al-Siyasah daily Ahmad al-Jarallah went off when his secretary, a Lebanese, attempted to open it. The explosion ended up with injury of his secretary named Walid Dahduh, of Al-Jarallah. (Kuna news agency, Kuwait monitored by BBC monitoring)

YemenSaudi Officials in Yemen to Follow Investigation of Al Qaeda Suspect A group of Saudi investigators is currently visiting Yemen to follow the interrogations with al Qaeda suspect Mohammed Ahmed Al Ahdal, Yemeni government sources said yesterday. (Asharq Al Awsat)

PhilippinesTerror Group Training Philippine RecruitsIndonesian members of the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah have been training Filipino rebels in bomb-making and other tactics toward its goal of creating a pan-Islamic state, the Philippines' defense chief said Thursday. (AP)

IndonesiaTerror-Linked Students Return to Indonesia Six Indonesian students arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorist links have arrived back in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. (Radio Australia)

KenyaU.N. Criticizes Kenya Over Terrorism ReportsFor the third time in the past four months, the United Nations is criticizing Kenya for failing to report on its efforts to combat terrorism. (The East African)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

GermanyGerman Judge Frees Qaeda Suspect; Cites U.S. SecrecyThe United States' refusal to allow testimony from a jailed Qaeda figure prompted a Hamburg judge on Thursday to order the release of a Moroccan accused of aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers. (NY Times)

Guantanamo'Australian Taliban' Meets LawyerAn Australian prisoner at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is believed to have met his lawyer for the first time. (BBC)

CanadaOttawa Defends Forced Testimony, Secret Hearings in Terrorism CasesForcing reluctant witnesses to testify at secret court hearings is an acceptable practice in the fight against terrorism and doesn't violate anybody's rights, federal lawyers argued Thursday. (Canadian Press)

TERROR FUNDING

Lack of Progress Sited in Terror Fund HuntA report by congressional investigators has found serious weaknesses in efforts by federal authorities to track the financing of terrorists. (AP)

THE WAR ON TERROR — ANALYSIS & OPINION

Critics Question Success of Some U.S. Anti-Terror MovesOnce touted as major advances in the U.S. war on terrorism, a number of high-profile cases have later fallen short, leading critics to ask whether officials exaggerated their successes in the first place. (Reuters)

Al Qaeda: Reality or Hoax?Critical eyes throughout the world have been analyzing the picture that America and her major allies in the war against international terrorism have been painting for the last two years about the worldwide terrorist activities of this mysterious organization. They have found a number of bubbles in this picture that burst at the very first penetrating touch of those in search of truth. (Hi Pakistan)

THE WAR IN IRAQ

Halliburton May Have Overcharged MillionsSources: Pentagon probe finds Halliburton may have overcharged as much as $61m for gas in Iraq. (AP)

Bush Defends Policy On Iraq ContractsPresident Bush defended his policy of freezing out opponents of the Iraq war from competing for $18.6 billion in U.S.-financed reconstruction contracts — a stance complicating his new campaign to ease Baghdad's debt burden. (AP)

Hundreds of Iraqis 'Killed By Cluster Bombs'Cluster bombs used in Iraq by US and British forces caused "hundreds of preventable civilian deaths", many of them in cities, despite pledges to avoid such indiscriminate weapons in populated areas, a human rights group alleges in a report published today. (The Guardian)

CIA Sends More Agents to Iraq Many in the agency say they are frustrated with their inability to crack the insurgency. (LA Times)

Gulf Troops Put At Risk By FailuresWatchdog says vital equipment missing. (The Guardian)

Iraqi Army Walkout Over Pay Recruits' mass resignation hits U.S. plan to build up local forces. (The Guardian)

U.S.-Iraq 'Intermediary' Facing ChargesA Lebanese-American businessman who acted as a conduit for a last-ditch peace offer from Iraq to the United States faces federal charges of attempting to bring weapons on a commercial aircraft. (AP)

THE WAR IN IRAQ — ANALYSIS & OPINION

A Deliberate DebacleThe Bush administration's hard-liners are deliberately sabotaging reconciliation between America and its allies. (NY Times)

Boomerang Diplomacy Yes, of course, President Bush's latest initiative on Iraq is arrogant and self-defeating. But that's not the most remarkable aspect of his decision to exclude companies from a number of countries that are important U.S. allies from bidding on reconstruction contracts. (Washington Post)

Should Iraq Put Its Former Rulers on Trial? After months of soul-searching it now seems certain that the Iraq Governing Council is prepared to put the fallen Baathist regime on trial. (Arab News)

An Iraqi Timetable This timetable seeks to reconcile between two sets of interests. (Al Hayat)

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.