FBI: AQ Operative Used New Jersey as Base
Oct. 14, 2004 -- THE WAR ON TERROR
INVESTIGATIONS
United States
FBI Says Al Qaeda Scout Used N.J. As Base
A senior al-Qaida operative lived in New Jersey and posed as a student to disguise his surveillance of financial institutions as possible terror targets, officials said Wednesday. The FBI's top agent in New Jersey, Joseph Billy Jr., confirmed that the operative led an al-Qaida mission to survey the physical layout and assess weaknesses of the Prudential Financial Inc. building in downtown Newark. (Bergen County Record —free registration required)
U.S. Port Security Is Found Lacking
The Department of Homeland Security's independent investigator has concluded that federal inspectors of oceangoing shipping containers still need to improve their detection equipment and search procedures to prevent terrorists from sneaking weapons of mass destruction into U.S. ports. (AP)
Report: Chechens entered U.S. via Mexico
A report that 25 Chechen rebels linked to Islamic terrorists entered the United States illegally via Mexico is under investigation, the Washington Times said. (UPI)
White House: Islamic Agency Aids Terror
The Bush administration on Wednesday accused a Sudan-based relief organization and five of its officials of helping finance Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. (AP)
Egypt
Egypt Probes Whether al Qaeda Suspects Arrested in Libya Linked to Sinai Bombs
Egyptian authorities are investigating whether 17 suspected al Qaeda members arrested while illegally entering Libya are connected to last week's co-ordinated bombings at Sinai tourist resorts that killed 34 people, an Egyptian official said Wednesday. (AP)
Pakistan
Hostage Killed in Pakistan Rescue
One Chinese hostage held by Islamic militants in South Waziristan has been killed and one freed in a dramatic rescue mission by Pakistani forces. (BBC)
U.K.
Plane Diverted After Security Scare
A Virgin Atlantic passenger jet travelling to Heathrow airport was this morning forced to make an emergency landing at Stansted following a security scare. (The Guardian)
IRAQ NEWS
Eight Dead in Iraq's Green Zone
Eight civilians have been killed in two blasts in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, the US military says. (BBC)
Falluja Threatened Over Militants
Iraq's interim leader Iyad Allawi has threatened an assault on Falluja if residents do not turn in Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (BBC)
French Hostages in Iraq Are Still Alive, Negotiations Underway: PM
Two French journalists taken hostage in Iraq in August are still alive, and "indirect" negotiations have resumed to try to free them, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told officials and party leaders Wednesday. (AFP)
UK Freezes Terror Group's Assets
The Bank of England has frozen the assets of a terrorist group that claimed responsibility for kidnapping and beheading two Americans and one Briton in Iraq, Treasury chief Gordon Brown said Thursday. (AP)
Zarqawi Group Beheads Two Iraqi 'Intelligence Agents'
A group loyal to wanted Jordanian Islamist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi posted a video on the Internet showing the beheading of two men it claimed were in the Iraqi intelligence service. (AFP)
Video: Kidnapped Turkish Driver Beheaded
A man identified as a Turkish driver kidnapped in Iraq was beheaded in a video shown on an Islamic Web site Thursday. (AP)
Hundreds of Kurds Found Buried in Iraq Mass Graves
US investigators uncover the bodies of hundreds of Kurds in first forensic exhumation of a mass grave in Iraq. (The Guardian)
U.S. Considers Reopening Inquiry Into Possible Abuse Before Iraq Prison Scandal
Several weeks after two major reports detailed the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, the Pentagon is reviewing whether to reopen an inquiry into the case of four Iraqis who said they were abused in January at an American base in Iraq. (NY Times)
Oil-for-Food Probe Gets $30m Fund
An investigation into corruption within the UN's oil-for-food programme for Iraq will be funded with $30m (£17m) from the programme itself. (BBC)
Egypt Trying to Get Iraqi Opposition and Resistance Reps To Attend Conference
A senior source at the Iraqi Islamic Clerics Association told al Hayat newspaper that the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad was in contact with Iraqi parties that oppose the government. He also said it was trying to contact the resistance in Fallujah, Samaraa, Ramadi and Baaquba through Iraqi Islamic figures to convince them to send representatives to an international conference about Iraq that will be held in Egypt next month. (Al Hayat)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Gloat at U.S. Failures, and While You're At It Wish Iraq the Worst
As America's efforts in Iraq have hit deep sludge, one can measure the ambient gloating on the Richter scale. But the real question lies elsewhere: If America fails in Iraq, if its soldiers pack up and leave for home, is that really so desirable for the Iraqis in particular and Middle Eastern democrats in general? (The Daily Star)
The Hardest Word
Unable himself to admit direct sorrow for the Iraq war, the prime minister has acquired a group of ready apologists, willing to spread qualified regret across Britain on his behalf. (The Guardian)
Zarqawi Brings Horror of Beheadings to Iraq
Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, whose handover the Iraqi government demanded of the people of Fallujah, has topped a US most-wanted list since Saddam Hussein's capture in December but proved elusive despite a huge reward and constant air strikes. (AFP)
Jason Burke Discusses al Qaeda and Radical Islam
Jason Burke, the Observer's award-winning chief reporter and author of Al-Qaeda: the True Story of Radical Islam, was live online on October 13. Read what he had to say. (The Guardian)
The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and developments 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.