The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Dec. 3, 2003 -- — Turkish papers are reporting that two of the masterminds behind the Nov. 15 and Nov. 20 bombings in Istanbul met with Osama bin Laden's chief deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri several times before the suicide attacks which killed more than 50 people. A suspect currently in Turkish custody alleges that these two individuals received their instructions from Zawahiri himself. Also, new terror threats coming from Saudi Arabia — U.S. Embassy officials issued a warning yesterday that a housing compound in Riyadh remained a target for terrorists — will Saudi Arabia be the site of another terror attack less than a month following its last one?

THE WAR ON TERROR

TERROR INVESTIGATIONS

Turkey Istanbul Bombings Linked to Bin LadenReports: Istanbul suicide attack ringleaders met with Bin Laden's right-hand man. (AP)

TERROR ALERTS

Saudi ArabiaAl Qaeda Suspects Had Targeted Saudi Royals, Officials SayMembers of a suspected al Qaeda cell that plotted a foiled car bombing last week were planning to kill senior members of the Saudi royal family and also had staked out a Western-style residential compound, according to U.S. and Saudi intelligence officials. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Saudia Arabia, KenyaSaudi, Kenya Attacks Possible, U.S. WarnsU.S. embassies warn of possible terror attacks on Kenyan hotels and Saudi Arabian compound. (AP)

ARRESTS

Saudi ArabiaSaudis Announce Arrest in Riyadh BombingsPolice detained a man in connection with the Nov. 8 terror bombings against a Riyadh housing compound, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday, the first arrest in the attack that killed 17 people. (AP)

United Kingdom14 Detained Under Terror Act After Dawn RaidsAnti-terrorist police yesterday arrested 14 people in dawn raids in London, Cambridge and the West Midlands, as the clampdown against al Qaeda suspects continued. (The Guardian)

IndonesiaSix Indonesian Terror Suspects to Be Detained After Pakistan DeportationSix Indonesian students suspected of terrorist links will be held for questioning when they arrive home after being deported by Pakistan, police said. (AFP)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

United States Oral Arguments to Start in Moussaoui CaseVa. court to hear arguments about whether gov't has right to seek death penalty in Moussaoui Case. (AP)

U.S. Fires Guantanamo Defense TeamMilitary lawyers recruited to defend alleged terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay were dismissed by the Pentagon after members rebelled against the unfair way the trials have been designed. (The Guardian)

Pentagon: Terror Suspect Can See Lawyer Reversing course, Pentagon officials have decided to allow a U.S.-born terrorism suspect access to a lawyer, the Defense Department announced Tuesday. The Defense Department will make arrangements over the next few days for a lawyer to visit Yaser Esam Hamdi ``subject to appropriate security restrictions,'' a Pentagon statement said. (AP)

United KingdomMan in Court On Terror ChargeA 36-year-old man is due in court on Wednesday charged under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act, which relates to the possession of articles for terrorist purposes. (BBC)

KuwaitThree Kuwaitis With Suspected Al Qaeda Links Freed On Bail Kuwait's court of appeals Tuesday released on bail three citizens accused of being members of Afghanistan's deposed Taliban regime and of having links with al Qaeda, their lawyers said. (AFP)

COUNTER-TERRORISM

United StatesTerror Watch Center Opens, But Lists Lag A center that will consolidate a multitude of terrorist watch lists began operations this week, but it will be months before it will provide security personnel the promised "one-stop shopping" to identify suspected terrorists, Bush administration officials said Tuesday. (AP)

Think Tank Urges Information SharingNetwork could help combat terrorism. (Washington Post)

Saudi ArabiaPreparations for the Surrender of Terror SuspectsSecret negotiations are currently underway for the surrender of a number of Saudi terror suspects, reports Al Hayat. This comes after Saudi interior ministry promised to give lighter sentences to those who surrender. (Al Hayat)

Saudi Source Denies Any Cooperation With Israel in Terror Fight A Saudi security source has strongly denied a report which was carried by Al Quds al Arabi newspaper in which it quoted a member of Likud party in the Israeli Knesset as saying that there is an arrangement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel to fight terrorism. (Saudi Press Agency)

United Kingdom British Police Accused of Terror ExcessesA British man detained by anti-terror police in London was himself reportedly terrorized despite making no attempt to resist arrest, claimed his lawyer. (Al Jazeera)

THE WAR ON TERROR — OTHER STORIES

GuantanamoRumors Fly About Teen Brother's FateOf the hundreds of "enemy combatants" still under U.S. guard at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 17-year-old Omar Khadr is now the lone Canadian citizen. (National Post)

SpainPilot Who Trained Two 9/11 Hijackers Publishes BookThe Spanish pilot who trained Mohammed Atta and Marwan al Shehhi published his book. (Elaph)

THE WAR ON TERROR — ANALYSIS & OPINION

Special Report: People the Law Forgot It is almost two years since the Guantanamo prison camp opened. The Guardian's James Meek has spent the past month talking to former inmates and some of those involved in operating the Pentagon's Kafkaesque justice system. (The Guardian)

Gun Loophole Hurts Anti-Terror Efforts Keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists is a top priority for the U.S. government. Ditto for getting information quickly to federal agents when a suspected terrorist tries to buy a gun — or worse, succeeds. (USA Today)

THE WAR IN IRAQ

After Raids, U.S. Denies Capturing Hussein AideAmerican forces mounted a series of raids on Tuesday intended to kill or capture a top member of Saddam Hussein's government, but denied reports afterward that they had succeeded. (NY Times)

U.N. Reports Al Qaeda in IraqSays missile export to terrorists possible. (Boston Globe)

CIA Stands Firm On Iraq AssessmentThe U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has issued a spirited defense of the now-suspect assertions that Iraq had secret arsenals of germ and chemical weapons, and says second-guessing its work may undermine analysts' willingness to make bold assessments in the future. (Globe and Mail)

U.S. Resistance to Direct Vote Galvanizes Iraq's Shiite ClericsWith a suddenness that seems to have caught American officials by surprise, Shiite Muslim clerics who for decades ministered in the quiet obscurity of the back streets of this holy city are now driving key decisions about the future governance of the nation. (LA Times)

Iraq Disputes U.S. Casualty FiguresOfficials in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra have disputed the U.S. accounts of the number of people killed in a gun battle on Sunday. (BBC)

U.S. to Form Iraqi Paramilitary Force Unit will draw from party militias. (Washington Post)

DHL Resumes Flights, Service to BaghdadThe global package delivery service DHL said Tuesday it had resumed flights to Baghdad, after one of its planes was hit by a missile on its approach to the airport. (AP)

THE WAR IN IRAQ — ANALYSIS & OPINION

Phase Three: Civil WarThe post-occupation power struggle in Iraq may yet be the bloodiest chapter in the conflict. (The Guardian)

Interim Government or Not, Iraq Needs U.S. for Long HaulJust as U.S. troops remain in South Korea and Germany — they'll remain in Iraq. (CS Monitor)

Can We Win the Guerrilla War?There are moments in war that strip away the maneuvering, the rhetoric and the confusion that inevitably surround any conflict. One such moment occurred this week in the town of Samarra when Iraqi bandits ambushed a U.S. convoy and were repulsed with heavy losses. (Washington Post)

Iraq's Hidden TreasureReserving a role in government for the many well-educated women in Iraq will foster security, democracy and stability. (NY Times)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Iraq By now, it should be apparent to everyone that Iraq was not a cakewalk. (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.