Report: Iran's President Survived Assassination Attempt
INVESTIGATIONS
Iran
Sources Confirm President Escaped Assassination Attempt
Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad survived an assassination attempt last week, informed sources in Tehran told al Hayat. Two people accompanying him were killed in the clashes with a group of armed men, including a member of the Iranian revolutionary guard. Sources said there were ten attackers and some of them were killed or injured. (Al Hayat)
Iran Denies Media Reports of Attack On President
Iran denied on Monday media reports that a firefight last week in the country's lawless southeastern borderlands was an assassination attempt on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (The Daily Times)
Iran: Assassination, Confusion or Disinformation?
Iran denied Dec. 19 that an ambush against the presidential motorcade Dec. 14 in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan was an assassination attempt on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The contradictory reports on the incident raise more questions than answers, and are likely part of a disinformation campaign launched by Tehran to downplay any potential threats against the Iranian president. (Stratfor)
U.S.
FBI Papers Show Terror Inquiries into PETA; Other Groups Tracked
Counterterrorism investigators are monitoring domestic U.S. advocacy groups engaged in antiwar, environmental, civil rights and other causes, the ACLU charged Monday as it released new FBI records. (Washington Post)
Explosives Heist One of the Biggest in Recent History
According to federal officials, the theft of 400 pounds of high-powered plastic explosives in New Mexico is one of the largest high explosives heists in recent history. (ABC News)
U.S. Plans Downsizing in Iraq, Afghanistan
The Defense Department plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by about 2,500 over the next few months, a 13 percent drop that will reflect an increasing NATO presence there, officials said yesterday. (Washington Post)
U.K.
Man Arrested Over 21 July Attacks
A London man is arrested at Gatwick Airport while getting off a flight, over the 21 July failed attacks in London. (BBC)
The Maldives
Watchdog Demands Release of Journalist
Reporters Without Borders say photojournalist Jennifer Latheef is being held in 'appalling' conditions in a Maldives prison. (AP)
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
Belgrade
Serbs Tried Over Srebrenica Video
Five former members of a Serbian police unit called the Scorpions have gone on trial in Belgrade for their alleged part in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. (BBC)
U.S.
Lawmakers Don't Rule Out Patriot Act Deal
Scolded by President Bush for failing to renew the Patriot Act, lawmakers explored possibilities Monday for a compromise to temporarily extend portions of the anti-terrorism law due to expire Dec. 31. (AP)
Anti-Terror Squad Created Prosecution Plan
Prosecutors across the country now have a large arsenal of laws to pursue people suspected of ties to terrorism, but that wasn't the case when Ramzi Yousef decided to try to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993. (AP)
Canada
Khadr Bail Hearing Postponed
A bail hearing for a Canadian man accused by the U.S. of supplying weapons to al-Qaeda has been delayed until later this week in a court hearing Monday that sparked his brother to charge his family is being persecuted for visiting Afghanistan. (CBC)
Chile
Chilean Court Upholds Pinochet Indictment
Chilean Court Upholds Pinochet Indictment in the Disappearance of Three Dissidents. (AP)
Germany
War Crimes Suspect, 88, Freed After Judge Doubts Evidence
Former captain admits massacre of Slovaks but judge doubts evidence. (The Guardian)
IRAQ NEWS
Returns Show Shiites Lead in Iraq Election
Preliminary Returns Show Shiites Have a Commanding Lead in Iraq's Parliamentary Elections. (AP)
US Freeing Saddam's 'Dr. Germ' and 'Mrs. Anthrax'
U.S. forces in Iraq are freeing "Dr Germ and "Mrs. Anthrax," two of Saddam Hussein's leading biological warfare experts, following the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, lawyers said on Monday. (Reuters)
Ukraine Pulling Remaining Troops in Iraq
Ukraine began pulling its remaining 876 troops out of Iraq on Tuesday, the defense ministry said, making it the latest nation to wind down its presence in the U.S.-led coalition. (AP)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Iran Wins Big In Iraq's Elections
With the likely emergence of a solid Shi'ite block in the new Iraqi parliament, and the defeat of the "secular" candidates with links to the US, Iran has every reason to be pleased. Similarly, Tehran will take heart from the gains of Hamas in Palestinian polls. Islamism has clearly placed itself in the vanguard of the Middle East's democratization. (Asia Times)
Indicators of an Iraqi Day
The Iraqis came to vote, proving their ability to engage in a peaceful practice invalidating the bloody violence that taint their daily lives and contradict trends the former regime tried to impose. (Al Hayat)
In the End, a Painful Choice In Yemen, the question of building a democracy via U.S.-backed programs turns out to be a decision about whom to ignore. (Washington Post)
The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Ellen Gustafson of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.