The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Nov. 4, 2003 -- Today's Daily Terrorism Report includes an article on a thwarted al Qaeda plan to attack Mecca pilgrims. And why are Australians using their tax dollars to pay for a film promoting the release of a terror suspect? Plus, an article on ongoing threats facing U.S. military aircraft in Iraq following last week's tragic helicopter crash. Also, more on foreign fighters infiltrating Iraq — and what are Iraq's neighbors doing to curb the problem?

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Arabia

Saudis Say Terror Attack on Mecca Pilgrims Foiled Saudi Interior Minister said Tuesday his country had thwarted a terror attack on pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca by militants believed linked to al Qaeda. Two militants were killed in the shootout with police. Al Hayat reports that one of them was Mohammed Salman Al Johany. Saudi forces also arrested six militants, including a Saudi whom Al Hayat identified as Mohamed Al Harkan. A member of a Saudi opposition group in London meanwhile claimed on Al Jazeera TV that four security men were also killed in the shootout. The Saudi paper Okaz reported that an explosives lab was also discovered in Mecca. (Reuters)

EgyptAl Jihad Members' Trials to Start Soon"Informed Egyptian sources" told Al Hayat that a group of 43 fundamentalists belonging to the outlawed Al Jihad group will appear in military courts within days and could face the death penalty. The suspects were arrested beginning of 2003 for planning attacks against Israeli and American targets. (Al Hayat)

MoroccoMorocco Charges Over 100 with Terrorism OffencesMoroccan authorities have charged over 100 people with links to terrorism over the past 10 days as part of a crackdown on hard-line Islamists that began after suicide bombings in May, judicial sources said yesterday. (Reuters)

PakistanPakistan's Musharraf Urges West to Tackle Root Cause of Terrorism Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf vowed to pursue extremists but warned that operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban were of short-term tactical value and that root causes of terrorism must be addressed. (AFP)

AFRICA

SomaliaU.N. Report: Al Qaeda Trained In SomaliaAl Qaeda terrorists who attacked a Kenyan resort hotel and an Israeli-owned airliner last year, plotted the attacks and obtained their weapons in neighboring Somalia and were able to hide out in the Horn of African nation afterward, a draft U.N. report concluded.(AP)

AMERICA

United StatesFBI Has Doubled Agents Assigned to Terror The number of FBI agents assigned to terrorism more than doubled just after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, reversing a long trend in which traditional crime dominated the FBI's work, according to a Justice Department report released Monday. (AP)

Editorial: Resist the Official Pol-Speak of Bush's 'War on Terror' From 'civilization' to 'WMD,' words are weapons in the global crusade. (The Guardian)

EUROPE

GreeceFBI to Vet Athens Site The director of the FBI will visit Athens on Thursday to look at security arrangements for the 2004 Olympics. (BBC)

FranceParis Bomber Appeals Conviction An Algerian man jailed for life for his part in a series of Paris bombings which left eight dead in 1995 has begun an appeal against his conviction. (BBC)

ASIA

MalaysiaPolice: Two Fugitive Malaysian Terror Suspects Close to Being Nabbed The two Malaysian terror suspects wanted in connection with a string of bombings in Indonesia are close to being arrested. Both were alleged to be key figures behind the August hotel blast in Jakarta and the Bali bombings last October. (Channel News Asia)

Indonesian Police Say Fugitive Terrorists Plan More AttacksTwo Malaysians being hunted for the Bali and Marriott hotel blasts are planning more terror attacks, Indonesian police warned. (AFP)

New Leader Vows Tough Terror StandMalaysia's new leader, in his first major policy-oriented speech since taking office, pledged yesterday to maintain his country's tough stance on terrorism and to speak out against global injustice. (AP)

AUSTRALIA

Grant Pays for Al Qaeda FilmAustralian taxpayers are forking out $185,000 for a documentary promoting the release of suspected terrorist David Hicks. The President Versus David Hicks, by Australian Curtis Levy, is a sympathetic portrait of the alleged Osama bin Laden follower from the perspective of his family. (The Courier-Mail)

The War in Iraq

Anti-Missile StrategyAmerican Aircraft Face Constant Threat in IraqWhenever or wherever U.S. helicopters and planes fly in Iraq there is enormous risk. (ABCNEWS)

Congress OKs $87.5B for Iraq, AfghanistanCongress gives final approval for $87.5 billion package for Iraq, Afghanistan with Senate voice vote. (AP)

Spain Withdrawing Embassy Staff "Temporarily" From BaghdadSpain, a key U.S. ally on Iraq, announced it was temporarily withdrawing embassy staff from Baghdad — officially for "consultations" at home though government sources blamed mounting insecurity for the move. (AFP)

Syria, Iran and Kuwait to Control BordersThe Iraqi Media Network reported according to "informed sources" at the Governing Council that Syria, Iran and Kuwait decided to sign agreements to control the borders with Iraq and stop infiltrations. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Policing the NorthStability improving in Northern Iraq but ethnic disputes still problematic. (ABCNEWS)

Iraq: Kurdish Force Arrests Five Ansar al-Islam Suspects Said Planning Attacks The security forces of Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) arrested five persons they said belong to the Ansar al-Islam organization while planning terrorist operations in northern Iraq cities. The arrested Ansar al-Islam operatives confessed they had sneaked into Iraq from Iranian territories. (MENA News Agency -from BBC Monitoring)

'Foreign Fighters' Drop Off in SyriaIn Damascus, Syria, there is little sign of 'foreign fighters' still heading to Iraq. (ABCNEWS)

Establishment of 'Ansar Al Sunna Army'In Baghdad, a previously unknown group calling itself 'Ansar Al Sunna Army" declared its establishment n a statement that was sent to Al Quds Al Arabi. In the statement, the group calls for jihad against the coalition forces. (Al Quds Al Arabi)

Seeking an Angle in the Sunni Triangle Iraqi insurgents and the U.S. military each hope to wear down the other side. (LA Times)

Cash Oiling Strategy to Win Iraq's Hearts and Minds On route 1, the main Mosul-Baghdad road, U.S. army bulldozers are clearing the central reservation of vegetation and debris. They are leaving the trees but everything else is going so traffic is clearly visible. (Financial Times)

Iraqis Seek Justice, or Vengeance, for Victims of the Killing FieldsNothing seems to preoccupy Iraqis quite like the urge to settle accounts with the old regime. (NY Times)

Iraqi Women Take Arms for PeaceWomen in Baghdad join police force to help maintain security during uncertain times. (ABCNEWS)

Analysis & Opinion:

Price Of Successes!It was expected that Washington would declare its insistence on persisting with the "war on terror" despite the heavy human loss, which it incurred Sunday. (Al Hayat)

Humility, Candor in Iraq The killing of 16 U.S. soldiers in a helicopter crash Sunday demands even more involvement by Iraqis in securing and defending their nation and less boasting about progress from Bush administration officials. (LA Times)

Iraqification: Losing Strategy Frustrated by the lack of quick progress on the ground and fading political support at home, Washington is now latching on to the idea that a quick transfer of power to local troops and politicians would make things better. Or at any rate, it would lower American casualties. It was called Vietnamization; today it's called Iraqification. And then as now, it is less a winning strategy than an exit strategy. (The Washington Post)

Why is Saddam Not Sending Letters or Audio Tapes Anymore?Al Quds Al Arabi tries to understand why the former Iraqi president stopped his communications by talking to a number of people who knew Hussein or are knowledgeable about the situation. One source said Hussein early communications served a purpose: to assure that he had not been killed in the strikes. Another source told the paper it was strictly for security reasons that he was not issuing any new letters or tapes. There's however speculation that the former Iraqi president will send a new tape on the day of the Islamic feast. (around Nov. 25) (Al Quds Al Arabi)

A Burden Too Heavy to Put Down During the coming months in Iraq, we must recognize the dark realities of human nature, while preserving our faith in a better Middle East. (NY 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 compiled from foreign and U.S. sources by the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed by outside sources do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.