The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Nov. 10, 2003 -- — Today's DTR focuses on the investigation of this weekend's deadly attack on a Riyadh housing compound which claimed the lives of at least 17 people. ABCNEWS has new information on the collaboration of intelligence before the bombing and its impact on future attacks. Also, what does the choice of the target mean?

THE WAR ON TERROR

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi ArabiaIntelligence Upgraded?U.S., U.K, Saudi Arabia knew Riyadh attack was imminent, but not the target. (ABCNEWS)

Riyadh on Alert for Fresh AttacksSecurity is stepped up in the Saudi capital following Saturday's suicide attack on a foreign workers' compound. (BBC)

Saudis Blame Al Qaeda As Bomb Kills 17 Saudis blamed al Qaeda militants Sunday for the suicide car bombing of a Riyadh housing complex that killed 17 people, declaring it proof of the terror network's willingness to shed Muslim blood in its zeal to bring down the U.S.-linked Saudi monarchy. Al Hayat meanwhile reports that security was heightened in the capital hours before the attack, indicating that authorities may have anticipated possible attacks. Saudi interior minister Prince Nayef however denied this was the case. (AP)

U.S. Had Warning of Attack, but No DetailsOnly days before the bombing in Saudi Arabia on Saturday that killed at least 17 people, American intelligence agencies had been warned that such an attack by al Qaeda was imminent but the warnings lacked sufficient detail to disrupt the plot, officials said Sunday. (NY Times)

Armitage Says Al Qaeda Aims to Topple Saudi RoyalsU.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has told Al Arabiya television that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network wants to topple the pro-Western Saudi royal family. (Reuters)

Editorial: Show No Mercy to TerroristsThe terrorist attack on a housing compound in Saudi Arabia, leaving 17 people dead, is yet another proof that the perpetrators of the attack are outside any recognizable political agenda. (Gulf News)

U.S. Urges Saudi Cooperation After BlastTop U.S. diplomat urges Saudi cooperation on terror after car bombing that killed 17 in capital. (AP)

Shootout with Militants in Riyadh Last Thursday Asharq Al Awsat is reporting according to eyewitnesses that Saudi security forces were involved in a shootout with militants in the neighborhood of al Suwaidi on the night of Nov. 6. Resident report a heavy confrontation, as militants were shooting at Saudi helicopters that were circling over the area. There was heavy presence of security forces and armored vehicles in the neighborhood, they said. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Phone Number of Swiss Woman Puzzling Investigators Saudi investigators were puzzled to find the number of a Swiss woman on the cell phone of one of the May 12 Riyadh suicide bombers. After tapping her phone for two months, they still failed to understand the connection. The woman meanwhile complained in a Swiss court saying tapping her phone was considered an invasion of her privacy. (Al Watan)

Analysis: A Campaign to Rattle a Long-Ruling DynastyFor years, Osama bin Laden called for the violent overthrow of the Saudi royal family for allowing American bases in the holiest land of Islam. (NY Times)

AP: Recent Terror Attacks Around the World (AP)

JordanJordanian Security Forces on Alert for Possible Terror AttacksJordanian security forces have been on alert during the past 24 hours in anticipation of possible terror attacks by al Qaeda against Western targets in the country, according to "informed sources" who spoke to the Arab online news service Elaph. Security around foreign embassies and hotels has been heightened. Sources said that the Jordanian security forces have for the past two weeks been monitoring al Qaeda suspects who are allegedly planning "huge terrorist operations" in Jordan and neighboring countries. They were not arrested however, as Jordanian investigators are trying to uncover their plans and partners in other Arab countries, added the sources, explaining that the suspects were Jordanians, Syrians, Libyans and Saudis. (Elaph)

BahrainSaudi Attacks Spur Security Review Some embassies are reviewing the security situation in Bahrain following the Riyadh attack. Although Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait are now judged to be at higher security risk than before, the British government still does not view it to be as risky as Saudi Arabia, a spokesperson for the British embassy said. (Gulf Daily News)

PakistanPakistan Grills British Al Qaeda SuspectA British national suspected of links to al Qaeda is being interrogated by Pakistani authorities, the foreign ministry said on Monday. (AFP)

Military Operation Against Al Qaeda Suspended Till Islamic FeastThe political administration has suspended the ongoing military operation against Bargal Khel tribes till Eid ul Fitar (The Islamic Feast — around Nov. 25) on the assurance from the tribe elders that two members of the tribe involved in harboring al Qaeda and Taliban militants will be handed over to administration. (Pak Tribune)

AfghanistanTwo U.S. Helicopters Destroyed in East Afghanistan?Afghani opposition and Pakistani tribal sources confirmed to Al Hayat that a U.S. helicopter was destroyed in a missile attack on an American air base in the province of Orgon, east of Afghanistan and that another was downed in the area of Asad Abad. (Al Hayat)

U.S., Afghan Forces Launch New OperationU.S.-led coalition, Afghan forces launch new anti-terror operation aimed at killing insurgents. (AP)

SudanU.S. Closes Embassy in Khartoum, Citing 'Credible Threats'The United States has announced it is closing its embassy in Sudan due to what it calls "credible and specific threats" against U.S. interests. (VOA)

AMERICA

United StatesSupreme Court to Hear Guantanamo AppealsThe Supreme Court will hear its first cases arising from the government's anti-terrorism campaign following the Sept. 11 attacks, agreeing Monday to consider whether foreigners held at a U.S. Navy base in Cuba should have access to American courts. (AP)

Another Al Qaeda Plot?Officials: Al Qaeda interested in hijacking cargo planes. (ABCNEWS)

As Terror War Spreads Into Money-Moving Network, an Ice Cream Shop Takes Center Stage

At dawn on Jan. 18, FBI agents converged on an unlikely front in the war on terrorism: an ice cream shop in Brooklyn. (AP)

Spy Suspect Faces Court-MartialA military translator at Guantanamo Bay prison is accused of trying to pass documents to Syria. (LA Times)

Charges Reinstated Against Jordanian StudentIn a victory for the government's use of the Material Witness Statute after the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal appeals court on Friday reinstated charges against a Jordanian whose name and telephone number were found in a car belonging to a hijacker. (Newsday)

Comment: U.S. Needs Arab Help to Beat Al Qaeda (Financial Times)

CanadaSecond Canadian Jailed in Syria May be Added to Arar InvestigationOfficials of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission plan to alert complaints commissioner Shirley Heafey to the case of Abdullah Almalki, an Ottawa man incarcerated in Syria. (The Ottawa Citizen)

Editorial: Let's Fish for the TruthDoes Prime Minister Jean Chrétien not care how a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, came to be arrested at a New York airport, bundled off to Syria and jailed and tortured? (Toronto Star)

EUROPE

Northern IrelandAl Qaeda Suspect in Belfast CourtAn Algerian man arrested in Northern Ireland on suspicion of having links with al Qaeda has appeared in court accused of receiving bomb-making instructions. (Reuters)

GermanyRoommate in German Terror Case TestifiesThe roommate of a Moroccan accused of supporting the Hamburg-based Sept. 11 hijackers told a German court Friday that videos calling for holy war seized from their apartment belonged to him. (AP)

ASIA

MalaysiaU.S. Warns of Terror Threat in Malaysia The U.S. State Department on Saturday warned about risks to American citizens and interests in Malaysia, citing terrorist threats in Southeast Asia. (AP)

SingaporeSingapore Steps Up Fight Against Terrorism At Sea With New Legislation Since the Sept. 11 attacks, many terrorism experts have warned that maritime targets are likely to be next. (Channel News Asia)

THE WAR IN IRAQ

U.S.-Appointed Iraqi Council Leader KilledIraqis marched in anger through the streets here today after the killing of an American-appointed local Iraqi council leader by U.S. military guards under disputed circumstances. (Washington Post)

U.S. 'Wants Iraq Council Scrapped'Reports from the United States suggest the Bush administration has become so frustrated with the Iraqi Governing Council, it may be looking to scrap it. (BBC)

U.S. Nabs 35 in Baghdad Hotel Attack, Using Iraqi Informers to Trap BombersU.S. forces arrested 35 people thought linked to a deadly rocket attack on U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's hotel, as the U.S.-led coalition turns increasingly to Iraqis to help defeat its opponents. (AFP)

U.S. Troops Clash With 'PKK Rebels'American troops have clashed with suspected Turkish Kurd rebels based in northern Iraq. (BBC)

Red Cross Cuts Iraq OperationsThe International Committee of the Red Cross is temporarily ending its operations in much of Iraq amid concerns over the safety of its staff. (BBC)

Iraq Contracts 'For Select Few'As few as three main contractors will be chosen by February to handle as much as $15 billion of public works projects in Iraq, according to U.S. media reports. (Al Jazeera and News Agencies)

Fighting a 'Battle of Perceptions' General says Iraqi resisters create false impression of strength. (Washington Post)

Analysis & Opinion:U.S. War Against Iraq Achieved the Opposite of Its Goals?After the attack on a U.S. helicopter in Fallujah, President George W. Bush changed the tone of his political rhetoric. (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 compiled daily from foreign and U.S. sources by the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.