The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Nov. 11, 2003 -- — Today, an article on FBI fears that despite tightened security around the country, terrorists could still obtain materials to make "dirty bombs." Plus, a look at the peacekeeping costs in Iraq and Afghanistan — should having more troops mean getting more money? Also, more on Saturday's deadly bombing in Riyadh which claimed the lives of 18 people. And is London the next target for a terrorist attack?

THE WAR IN IRAQ

U.S. Holds 20 Suspected Al Qaeda in IraqThe U.S. military has detained about 20 people suspected of links to al Qaeda, the commander of American forces said. (AP)

Iraqi Tribes, Asked to Help G.I.'s, Say They Can'tAs a tribal chieftain in Iraq's most rebellious city, Sheik Khamis el-Essawi has met more American commanders in the last seven months than he can remember. (NY Times)

Document Reveals Names of Jordanian Volunteers to Fight the U.S. in IraqA document obtained by an Iraqi journalist revealed that 120 volunteers from the Islamic Labor Party, known for its sympathy with the former Iraqi regime, who were willing to go fight the U.S. forces in Iraq. The document was dated July 17th, 2003. The Iraqi journalist told the Saudi Al Watan newspaper he had obtained the document from a Jordanian colleague. (Al Watan)

Get-Tough U.S. Bombs Suspected Rebel Site in IraqThe precision airstrike near Baghdad is the third such hit in recent days on locations linked to deadly attacks on American troops. (LA Times)

Cheney Theme of Qaeda Ties to Iraq Bombings Are Questioned by Some (NY Times)

Troops Find Talk is Key to Earning Trust of IraqisColonel stops daily attacks on patrols in Sunni heartland by freeing man accused of financing bombers. (The Guardian)

Iraq 'faces severe health crisis'The people of Iraq may have poorer health for generations as a result of the war, a report says. (BBC)

U.S. Blocks Payout to Gulf War VeteransThe Bush administration has blocked compensation for U.S. soldiers captured and tortured during the first Gulf war, arguing that the money was now needed for Iraq's reconstruction, veterans' lawyers said yesterday. (The Guardian)

Opinion & Analysis:

Defining the Resistance In Iraq — It's Not Foreign And It's Well PreparedUN weapons inspector saw 'blueprints' for Monday's insurgency. (CS Monitor)

Dreamers and IdiotsBritain and the US did everything to avoid a peaceful solution in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The Guardian)

Cheney's Long Path to WarThe Hard Sell: He sifted intel. He brooded about threats. And he wanted Saddam gone. The inside story of how Vice President Cheney bought into shady assumptions and helped persuade a nation to invade Iraq. (Newsweek)

The Resistance in the Sunni Triangle (1 of 5)The road of smuggling that has become the road of resistance for Iraqis and Arabs. The current situation in Fallujah today has a direct impact on the nature of things in this city. (Al Hayat)

THE WAR ON TERROR

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Forces Detain Riyadh Bombing Suspects Saudi security forces arrested suspects in a suicide bomb attack on a housing complex in Riyadh and the king of the world's biggest oil exporter vowed to strike with "an iron fist" at those trying to destabilize his country. (Reuters)

Report: Al Qaeda Behind Saudi BombingPurported al Qaeda operative tells magazine it's responsible for deadly bombing in Saudi capital. (AP)

Housing Compound Received Threats Before Attack One of the owners of the housing compound which was attacked Saturday leaving 18 dead and 120 injured said the compound's administration had received threats over the past month warning against a bombing. Khaled Abdel Rahman al Muhaya told Elaph, an Arab online news website, that they were faxed a number of unsigned threats which were not taken seriously. Al Jazeera meanwhile is reporting that there were two people in the suicide car. At the same time, "informed sources" told Asharq Al Awsat that the attackers painted their car to look like a police car and did not use a stolen police car, as earlier reports had indicated. In Mecca, more than 5000 "highly trained" Saudi security forces were deployed to secure the area till the end of the month of Ramadan. (Elaph, Al Jazeera, Asharq Al Awsat )

U.S. Offers to Help Saudis in Terror War Saying the bloody attack on a housing compound in Riyadh bore the earmarks of al Qaeda, the Bush administration on Monday offered to widen its support for Saudi Arabia in countering terror. (AP)

Analysis & Opinion:

Terror for TerrorWith the new terrorist strike in Riyadh, the random face of the perpetrators becomes clear. (Al Hayat)

Among Saudis, Attack Has Soured Al Qaeda SupportersThe bombing of a housing compound whose residents were almost entirely Arab and Muslim late on Saturday has appalled Saudis far more than other terrorist attacks, evaporating expressions of support for Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network that were vaguely whispered or occasionally even shouted over the last two years. (NY Times)

Battle for Arab Minds The suspected al Qaeda bomb blasts in Saudi Arabia on Saturday took aim at one particular Arab street. But the attack that killed 17 and wounded 122 had a wider target: the entire "Arab street." (USA Today)

Terrorism in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia will have to be prodded to take the drastic steps needed to keep the world's leading oil producer from descending into violent turmoil. (NY Times)

AfghanistanBomb Damages U.N. Office in Afghanistan A car bomb exploded outside a United Nations office in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Tuesday, wounding at least one person, a U.N. official said. (AP)

New Coalition Afghan Operation UnderwayIn the first fighting of a new anti-terror operation, American and Afghan troops clashed with two small bands of enemy forces in a mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan, killing one and causing the others to retreat, the U.S. military said Tuesday. (AP)

Afghani Warlord Warns U.S. and PakistanA statement issued by warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and received by Al Hayat newspaper, warns the U.S. against increasing its operations in Afghanistan. Hekmatyar allegedly also threatens Pakistan because of its support to the U.S. The paper is also reporting that sources in the province of Kunar, where the latest coalition operation took place, claim 13 soldiers from U.S. and Afghani forces were killed in confrontations. (Al Hayat)

AMERICA

United StatesFeds Concerned About Dirty BombsDespite tightened security, terrorists still have a "very significant" chance of obtaining enough radioactive ingredients to create a dirty bomb, federal investigators conclude. (AP)

Disparity in Iraq, Afghanistan War Costs Scrutinized The United States has about 141/2 times as many troops in Iraq as in Afghanistan, yet the average monthly cost of U.S. military operations in Iraq has been running at about four times the cost of operations in Afghanistan. (Washington Post)

Bay Area Civilian Vanishes in Iraq $40,000 Found in Car Left Behind by Army Contractor A Moss Beach man working as a contractor for the U.S. Army in Iraq has mysteriously disappeared while driving along an isolated road north of the country's violence-plagued Sunni Triangle. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Analysis: Inmates' Limited VictoryFor the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court is stepping into the controversy surrounding the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. (BBC)

Editorial: Terrorism Fight Not a 'Vietnam'Since the advent of television wars, which started with Vietnam, many Americans only accept our military incursions if they are fast with few casualties. Anything else is perceived to be "another Vietnam." (LA Times)

EUROPE

United KingdomLondon More at Risk of Terror Attack Than New York and WashingtonLondon is more at risk from a terrorist attack by Islamic extremists than either New York or Washington, according to a study. (AFP)

Special Investigation: Blunders in the War on Terror Culture of Muddle Hinders Fight (Part One)Continuing his major series on the criminal justice system, Nick Davies investigates the policing of the world's biggest threat, terrorism, and finds alarming signs of defects in the UK's defenses. (The Guardian)

Culture of Muddle Hinders Fight (Part Two) (The Guardian)

FranceAustralian Police to Question BrigitteAustralian Federal Police agents (AFP) have been sent to Paris to interview al Qaeda suspect Willie Brigitte, the AFP said. (The Age)

ASIA

IndonesiaA New Terror Tactic? Regional Muslim militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) — blamed for bombings across the region, including the devastating attack in Bali a year ago — appears to be on a chilling new tack in its fight to establish an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. (Time)

MalaysiaStudents Linked to Al Qaeda Held Upon ReturnMalaysia has locked up 13 students for suspected links to terror groups after they were deported from Pakistan, where they were caught up in a sweep that also netted the brother of Southeast Asia's most notorious terrorist. (AP)

AUSTRALIA

Conference Hears Media Coverage May Inspire Copycat TerrorA university lecturer believes media organizations have to make an ethical decision about their coverage of terrorist attacks. (ABC — Australia)

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 daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.