Report about Osama's Son Viewed as Not Credible by Analysts

August 4, 2006 -- AL QAEDA

Report about Osama's Son Viewed as Not Credible by Analysts

Terrorism analysts and counter-terrorism officials voiced extreme skepticism today in reaction to the report that Osama bin Laden's oldest son, Saad, has been released from custody in Iran and sent to Syria to recruit Lebanese refugees into Hezbollah. (ABC News)

US Treasury Names Suspected Al Qaeda Fund-Raisers

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday named the Philippine and Indonesian branches of the International Islamic Relief Organization as fund-raisers for al Qaeda and other terror groups. (Reuters)

Philippines Says Kills Seven Militants in South

Philippine soldiers, backed by U.S. intelligence and equipment, killed seven members of a Muslim rebel group with ties to al Qaeda in fierce fighting on the southwestern island of Jolo, an army general said on Friday. (Reuters)

MIDEAST CRISIS

Israeli Forces Pound Hezbollah Positions

Israel's pounding of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon expanded Friday with missiles targeting bridges in the Christian heartland north of Beirut for the first time, an attack that further isolates Lebanon from the outside world. (AP)

Israeli Warplanes Bomb Road Bridges North of Beirut

Israeli warplanes wrecked four bridges Friday along the coastal highway in north of Beirut in an apparent bid to further isolate Lebanon and pounded new targets in the southern suburbs in a blistering succession of early morning raids. (AFP)

Israeli Air Raid Kills 27 Civilians in Lebanon

An Israeli air strike killed at least 27 civilians in northeastern Lebanon on Friday and Hizbollah fired scores of rockets into Israel in an escalating conflict that world powers have failed to halt. (Reuters)

One Killed, One Critically Hurt in Katyusha Attacks

One person was killed as Hezbollah fired more than 135 Katyusha rockets into northern Israel on Friday afternoon. (Haaretz)

Iranian and Syrian Reactions to the Latest Developments in the Middle East Crisis

-In statements made over the last few days, various Iranian figures referred to Iran's connection to the war in Lebanon. Iranian Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai called to increase Iran's involvement in the war. Hujjat Al-Eslam Ali Akbar Mokhtashemi-Pour, one of the founders of Hizbullah-Lebanon, stated that the Hizbullah fighters had acquired some of their training in Iran. He added that Hizbullah is equipped with Zilzal-2 missiles and has the courage to use them. -Syrian government dailies harshly criticized the Arab leaders, saying that "they are not worthy of treading the ground they walk on, or of occupying the seats they occupy." The Arab leaders were also characterized as "the worst leaders the Muslim nation has ever had" since the dawn of the Islamic era. The following are excerpts from Iranian and Syrian reactions. (MEMRI)

Analysis: The Fate of Hezbollah between Syrian Interests and Iranian Bargaining

By Raghida Dergham

The Security Council will not agree to cease all hostilities for a period of time during which negotiations would be conducted to reach a framework for a political solution that would lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.(Dar Al Hayat)

QANA INVESTIGATION

Israeli Military Accused of Whitewash

An Israeli military investigation into the Qana bombing, which killed at least 28 people, yesterday found that the air force did not know there were civilians in the building and blamed Hizbullah for using "human shields." (The Guardian)

Analysis: Massacres in Qana: Israel's Error, Then and Now

By Avi Shlaim

Lebanon is the victim of the cruel geopolitics of the Middle East, with the massacre of innocent civilians a recurrent feature of Israeli military intervention in this fragile, democratic, multiethnic republic. The history of Israel's involvement in the affairs of its northern neighbor is replete with lessons about the perils of intervention. (International Herald Tribune)

IRAQ NEWS

Top US Generals and British Diplomat Warn Iraq Could Slide into Civil War

Sectarian violence 'as bad as it has been in Baghdad.' Leaked memo to Blair paints grim picture. (The Guardian)

Analysis-Leaked Memo Shows Outgoing British Ambassador Sees Trouble Ahead For Iraq

Iraq is more likely to slide into civil war than turn into a democracy, Britain's outgoing ambassador to Baghdad wrote in a diplomatic cable that was leaked Thursday. (Daily Star)

At Least 18 Die in Attacks in Northern Iraq

At least 18 people died in violence in northern Iraq on Friday, police said, including a senior policeman in the country's third largest city Mosul. (Reuters)

WAR CRIMES IN IRAQ

Six Marines Charged in Iraq Assault Case

Six U.S. Marines were charged with assault late on Thursday in connection with suspected assaults on several Iraqi civilians in Hamdania, days before the alleged kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian there. (Reuters)

Accused US Troops Branded 'War Criminals'

A military prosecutor branded four US soldiers who have been accused of murdering Iraqi prisoners "war criminals" on Friday and demanded they face a court martial. (Middle East Online)

IRAN

Iran Criticized Over Prison Death

The death in custody of a well-known Iranian student activist has brought international condemnation. (BBC)

AFGHANISTAN

Fighting 'Leaves 25 Taleban Dead'

There has been a lot of fighting in the south of the country Afghan and US-led coalition forces have killed 25 Taleban militants in an operation in the southern province of Helmand, the coalition says. (BBC)

Canadian Convoy Struck a Day After Deadly Attacks Killed 4, Injured 10

A Canadian military convoy was rocked Friday by two roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan, a day after Canada suffered its highest-ever number of casualties since sending troops to the war-torn country. (CP)

MUMBAI BOMBINGS

7/11: Key Let Militant Arrested in J&K

In a significant development in the July 11 Mumbai blasts probe, police have arrested a Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) militant, who was entrusted with the task of establishing a terror network in Mumbai, from Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said on Friday. (Times of India)

NORTH KOREA MISSILES

North's New Missile Sites 'Target Japan'

North Korea is building new bases on its east coast, possibly to deploy ballistic missiles targeting Japan and its U.S. military installations, a state-run South Korean think tank said. (AP)

U.S. PORT SECURITY

Problems Arise With Port Worker IDs

A Department of Homeland Security plan to require port workers to carry tamperproof photo ID cards has numerous security problems that threaten to delay it, investigators said Thursday. (AP)

TURKEY

Explosions Wound 13 People in Turkey

Thirteen people, including five police officers, were injured in two explosions in the southern Turkish city of Adana, the state news agency Anatolian said on Friday. (Reuters)

Analysis: Bombings in Turkey: TAK, Not Hezbollah, Tops the Suspect List

Two bombs exploded within minutes of one another Aug. 4 in the southern Turkish city of Adana, injuring 13 people. Although the fighting in Lebanon has prompted concerns that Hezbollah will attack Jews or Israeli diplomatic targets in other countries, these bombings likely have no Hezbollah connection. Instead the attack likely was the work of Kurdish militants who are escalating their campaign against the Turkish government. (Stratfor)

BIRD FLU

New Asia Outbreaks Fan Fears Bird Flu Spreading

New outbreaks of bird flu in Thailand and Laos are fanning fears the disease is flaring up again in Asia, although concerns the virus was mutating in Indonesia have subsided. (Reuters)

KATRINA

Billions of Dollars in Donations Post-Katrina, Yet Very Little ReliefA year ago, Americans donated over $4 billion for Katrina relief. But a new report from a charity watchdog group warns that much of the money was used ineffectively, if at all. (ABC News)

SRI LANKA

Tigers Bait Sri Lankan Government

With both the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pushing into territory under the other's control, the conflict in Sri Lanka has taken a giant leap toward the resumption of civil war. (Asia Times)

CUBA

Havana Security Keeps U.S. In the Dark

At a time when Fidel Castro is ill and his brother-successor is mysteriously missing from public view, the Bush administration is admitting that it's in the dark on what's really going on in the island 90 miles from Key West. (Miami Herald)

Analysis: Cuba's Transition

By Alvaro Vargas Llosa

Whether Fidel Castro's condition is terminal or not, Cuba's transition has begun. Nobody at this stage knows what kind of transition it will be or how long it will take, but the symbolism of Fidel Castro handing over power to his brother is sufficient to tell us that half a century of one-man rule on the island is over. (Washington Post)

SERBIA

Serbia Intelligence Friends Protect Mladic

Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic has not been arrested because he has friends in Serbian intelligence services, a media report said. (UPI)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Ominous Signs of the War's Potential Regional Consequences

Events as momentous as the current war between Israel and Hizbullah, and Israel's assault on all of Lebanon, have a tendency to impact on the entire region, where the political repercussions are likely to be serious. (Daily Star)

China and Darfur

A strong United Nations force is needed to halt the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. If it is not sent soon, it may be too late for many thousands of potential victims. The immediate cause of the delay is the refusal by Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to agree to a U.N. force, which he preposterously claims would attempt to recolonize his African nation. He is able to get away with this largely because China, a permanent member of the Security Council, continues to protect him with the threat of using its veto. (New York Times)

What the TV Networks Say

By John Plunkett

TV news teams face a tricky balancing act in covering the Lebanon crisis, with cries of pro-Israeli bias sitting side by side accusations that broadcasters are flying the flag for Hizbullah. But what are the networks actually saying? (The Guardian)

We Can't Let the Khmer Rouge Escape

By Alex Hinton

Ta Mok, the former military commander nicknamed "The Butcher," died two weeks ago today. In doing so he joined Pol Pot in passing through life without serving trial for the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. (Washington Post)

Arab Despots, Not Israel, are Now Under a Greater Threat

By Jonathan Steele

Hizbullah's resistance will affect Egypt, Jordan and even Syria. (The Guardian)

South Korea's Growing Isolation

By Bruce Klingner

South Korea is becoming increasingly marginalized in Northeast Asian policymaking because of the collapse of inter-Korean talks and its growing estrangement from the United States, Japan and China. (Asia Times)

Rallying Behind Hizbullah

By Lucy Fielder

Support for Hizbullah among the Lebanese is at an all time high. (Al Ahram Weekly)

From the Saddam Trial, Vital Lessons

By Mark S. Ellis

As the world awaits a verdict in the Saddam Hussein trial, the Iraqi High Court is itself under scrutiny for lessons learned in the conduct of a high-profile war-crimes trial. (Internation Herald Tribune)

Interview: Nasr: Iran Sees Lebanon Strife as Way to Pressure Washington

Vali R. Nasr, a leading CFR expert on Iran and Shiites, sees the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as a way for Iran to demonstrate its ability to hold off any Israeli or U.S. military moves and pressure Washington to open wide-ranging normalization talks. (Council on Foreign Relations)

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 Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.