New Information Revealed on bin Laden and 9/11

March 9, 2006 -- Testimony and new interviews and investigations reveal new information on Osama bin Laden, 9/11 hijackers, Moussaoui and fault lines within al Qaeda.

MOUSSAOUI TRIAL

Witness Ties Moussaoui To 'Dream' Terror Plot

Taped Session Recalls Meeting in Malaysia. (Washington Post)

9/11 HIJACKERS

Germany Says Sept. 11 Hijackers Called Syria, Saudi Arabia

The Sept. 11 hijackers made dozens of telephone calls to Saudi Arabia and Syria in the months before the attacks, according to a classified report from the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Chicago Tribune)

INTERVIEW

Osama Bin Laden Will Never Surrender, Says Ex-Jihadi

A Saudi Muslim scholar who spent years with Arab jihadis in Afghanistan said he knows Osama bin Laden well and that the Al Qaeda leader would never surrender, according to a report published Wednesday. (AFP)

Egyptian Al Jihad Group May Have Been behind Azzam's Assassination

Musa al-Qorni, the Saudi who was sometimes referred to as the "mufti" of the Arab Afghans, also told al Hayat newspaper that the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group may have been behind the 1989 assassination of Abdullah Azzam. In the interview, he talks about his time in Pakistan and discusses conflicts between the Arab fighters and Ahmed Shah Massoud, who had the support of Azzam but was hated by most Arab fighters who felt closer to Hekmatyar. Al Qorni says a trial was held for Massoud in absentia and Osama bin Laden participated in it. (Al Hayat)

IRAQ NEWS

US Says to Close Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison

The U.S. military will close Abu Ghraib prison, probably within three months, and transfer some 4,500 prisoners to other jails in Iraq, a military spokesman said on Thursday. (Reuters)

Bomb Kills Nine As Dust Storm Hits Baghdad

Car Bombs Kills at Least Nine People, Wounds Six in Baghdad As Dust Storm Envelops Iraqi Capital. (AP)

Confusion over Iraqi Guards' Fate

There is confusion about the fate of 50 security firm employees in Baghdad who were reported to have been seized by people wearing police uniforms. (BBC)

Iraqi Police Are Tied to Abuses and Deaths, U.S. Review Finds

Iraqi police units, often infiltrated and even dominated by members of sectarian militias, continue to be linked to arbitrary arrests and to the torture, rape and sometimes death of detainees, the State Department reported Wednesday. (NY Times)

Official Says Shiite Party Suppressed Body Count

After bombing of shrine, Iraq's Health Ministry ordered to stop tabulating execution-style killings. (Washington Post)

From the Blogs: Iraq's Fog of War

The release of the State Department's annual human rights report yesterday included some scathing takes on the Interior Ministry and police. (ABC News)

IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS

Iran Defies UN Nuclear Pressure

Iran says it will not be bullied into giving up its nuclear research, amid ongoing international pressure. (BBC)

Q&A: Iran Nuclear Stand-Off

The UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme. The BBC News website looks at the issues involved. (BBC)

Editorial: Facing Facts on Iran

The United States has very few other options when it comes to making Iran stop working on projects that could lead to nuclear weapons, and Iran knows it. (NY Times)

The United States and Iran: Intelligence Wars

There has been a clear uptick in tensions between the United States and Iran recently. (Stratfor)

PAKISTAN TALEBAN RAIDS

Terrified Villagers Flee As Bombers Strike At Taleban

Pakistan appears finally to be rooting out the insurgents on its border (The Times of London)

DUBAI PORTS DEAL

Bush Looks to Senate to Save Ports Deal

President Bush Hopes to Avoid Getting Steamrolled in the Senate Over Ports Deal. (AP)

Video: Ports Deal Turmoil
(ABC News)

U.S. DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE

FBI Cites More Than 100 Possible Eavesdropping Violations

Findings from a report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine may confirm concerns about the administration's policies in the war on terror. (Washington Post)

Analysis: Behind The Deal On NSA Wiretaps

Congress sidesteps battle with Bush over wiretaps, is adamant on ports. (CS Monitor)

IRISH BORDER CRIME INVESTIGATION

Police Raids Target Top Republican

Three people have been arrested in a massive security operation linked to a major investigation into organised crime on both sides of the Irish border. (London Telegraph)

AIDS MYSTERY

Answer to AIDS Mystery Found Behind Bars

It is one of the most puzzling mysteries of the AIDS epidemic: Why did blacks, in little more than a dozen years, become nine times as likely as whites to contract a disease once associated almost exclusively with gay white men? (Washington Post)

ZIMBABWE WHEAT SHORTAGE

Zimbabwe Days From Running Out Of Wheat

Zimbabwe is down to its last few days of wheat supplies and many bakeries have little or no bread. (London Telegraph)

SUDAN AID

Little Aid Being Spent In Sudan

Little of the $4.5bn pledged a year ago for reconstruction by donors has so far reached the southern Sudanese people. (BBC)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Jordan Jails Iraq Militant Agents

Eleven militants have been convicted in a Jordanian military court of running a network that recruited and smuggled fighters into Iraq to attack US forces. (BBC)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Face to Face With the Ugandan Crisis

Beyond the Ravages of Civil War, Relief Workers Deal With AIDS, Malaria, Lack of Education. (ABC News)

War on Opium Gives Golden Triangle a Different Hue

In the past five years, the opium poppy fields that for the last two centuries lent splashes of color to the pervading green of the jungle have become a thing of the past. (Reuters)

Negative Perception of Islam Increasing

Forty-six percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Muslims, higher than in the months after 9/11. (Washington Post-ABC News)

Islam's Tolerant Face

Given the monstrous crimes perpetrated in the name of Allah, it is easy to despair about the future of the Muslim world. Nonstop news about bombings, beheadings and general bedlam will no doubt lead more and more Westerners to conclude that we are at war with an entire civilization. (LA Times)

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.