October U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Highest in a Year

October 26, 2006 -- IRAQ NEWS

U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Worst in a Year

The number of American troops killed in Iraq in October reached the highest monthly total in a year Thursday after four Marines and a sailor died of wounds suffered while fighting in the same Sunni insurgent stronghold. (AP)

Deadly Attacks on Police In Iraq

At least eight Iraqi police officers have been killed in clashes with gunmen in the Iraqi town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, Iraqi and US officials say. (BBC)

AFGHANISTAN

60 Civilians Said Killed in Afghanistan

At least 60 civilians were killed during NATO operations in a volatile southern area of Afghanistan this week, two government officials and a civilian said Thursday. (AP)

'US and Afghan Troops Have Quit another Area In A Deal'

Taliban spokesman Dr Muhammad Hanif has claimed that US and Afghan soldiers pulled out of an area in eastern Afghanistan under a deal with tribal elders – the second in a week. (Daily Times)

GERMANY

Germany Identifies Six Soldiers in Afghanistan Skull Scandal German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said the army has identified six soldiers suspected of desecrating a human skull in BAfghanistan and promised that they would be punished. (AFP)

CIA TORTURE

CIA Tried To Silence EU on Torture Flights

The CIA tried to persuade Germany to silence EU protests about the human rights record of one of America's key allies in its clandestine torture flights programme, the Guardian can reveal. (The Guardian)

FRANCE

French Court Jails Moroccan in Sept 11-Linked Trial

A French court on Thursday gave a nine year prison sentence to a Moroccan man accused of associating with hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks, an official at the Paris prosecutors office said. (Reuters)

Bus Attacks Rattle Paris Suburbs

Youths forced passengers off three buses and set them on fire in suburbs around Paris in nighttime attacks that raised tension Thursday in rundown, immigrant-heavy neighborhoods a year after riots shocked the nation. (AP)

NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR/SOUTH KOREA

South Korea Takes First Step in Sanctions on North

South Korea announced on Thursday it would ban the entry of North Koreans who are part of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme, the first step taken by Seoul to adhere to U.N. sanctions. (Reuters)

INDIA TRAIN BOMBING

Four 7/11 Blasts Accused Confess To Their Roles

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Mumbai police on Thursday claimed that four of the six accused in the July 11 Mumbai train blasts confessed to the exact roles played by them in the incidents. (Times of India)

1994 BUENOS AIRES BOMBING

Iran Charged Over Argentina Bomb

The Iranian government and Lebanese militia group Hezbollah have been formally charged over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires. (BBC)

U.S.

Bush Signs Mexico Fence into Law

US President George W Bush has authorised 700 miles (1,125km) of new fencing along the US-Mexico border, in a move to curb illegal immigration. (BBC)

GAZA

AP Photographer Details Hours as Captive

I was supposed to spend Tuesday photographing scavengers picking through Gaza's abandoned Jewish settlements. (AP)

FOLEY SCANDAL

Foley Checked into Pricey Arizona Rehab Center

Former Rep. Mark Foley checked himself into the Sierra Tucson Treatment Center in Arizona two days after he resigned from Congress in disgrace, ABC News has learned. (ABC News)

Washington Education Rights Group Fires Publisher of Foley E-Mail

A liberal gay rights group said Wednesday that one of its employees, acting anonymously, had created the Web site that first published copies of unusually solicitous e-mail messages to teenagers from former Representative Mark Foley, which led to his resignation. (New York Times)

AUSTRALIA

Muslim Cleric Blames Women for Rape

A senior Muslim cleric compared women who go without a head scarf to "uncovered meat" left out for scavengers, drawing widespread condemnation and calls Thursday for his resignation. (AP)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

'Stability First': Newspeak for rape of Iraq

By Pepe Escobar

Iraq is not simply a US electoral issue. It's a human tragedy of biblical proportions. Hence the urge at this point to situate the tragedy in a historical context. (Asia Times)

Money Down the Drain in Iraq

When the full encyclopedia of Bush administration misfeasance in Iraq is compiled, it will have to include a lengthy section on the contracting fiascos that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars in the name of rebuilding the country. It isn't only money that was lost. (New York Times)

What Comes First, Peace Or Justice?

By Nick Grono

When the interests of peace and justice conflict, there are no easy answers. In northern Uganda these issues are being starkly confronted in the ongoing peace talks between the rebel Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government. (International Herald Tribune)

What Osama Wants

By Peter Bergen

The French saying, often attributed to Talleyrand, that "this is worse than a crime, it's a blunder," could easily describe America's invasion of Iraq. But for the United States to pull entirely out of that country right now, as is being demanded by a growing chorus of critics, would be to snatch an unqualified disaster from the jaws of an enormous blunder. (NY Times)

Dumb Diplomacy

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her tour of Asia expected to find China her biggest challenge, but it was South Korea that voiced most resistance to imposing tough measures against North Korea, Reuters said Sunday. (ChosunIlbo)

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.