American Passports Found on Bodies of Al Qaeda Fighters in Somalia

January 05, 2007 -- Al QAEDA/SOMALIA

American Passports Found on Bodies of Al Qaeda Fighters in Somalia

A senior official in the Somali government's new Ministry of the Interior told ABC News government forces had recovered "dozens of foreign passports," including several American passports, on the bodies of al Qaeda fighters killed in combat between forces affiliated with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Ethiopian forces in Somalia. (ABC News)

Al Qaeda's No. 2 Gets an Early Start in 2007

Al Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman al Zawahri, is starting off the new year with a statement entitled, "Rise Up to Bring Victory to Your Brothers in Somalia," according to an extremist Website. (ABC News)

IRAQ NEWS

U.S. Civilian Contractor Said Kidnapped In Iraq

An American civilian contractor and two Iraqi translators have been taken hostage near the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Iraqi officials in Basra said on Friday. (Reuters)

U.S. Team In Charge Of Iraq Is Reshuffled

President George W. Bush has revamped the team leading U.S. military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq while still mulling over changes in actual policy promised for next week. (BBC)

Iranians 'Up To No Good' In Iraq

Five Iranians arrested by US troops in Baghdad last month were on a covert mission to influence Iraq's government, British officials have told the BBC. (BBC)

2006 LONDON PLOT

Pakistan Court Remands London Plot Suspect in Custody

A Pakistani judge ordered on Friday that a Pakistani-British man suspected of involvement in an al Qaeda plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners be remanded in custody. (Reuters)

NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR

North Korea Prepping Nuclear Weapons Test

North Korea appears to have made preparations for another nuclear test, according to U.S. defense officials. (ABC News)

AFGHANISTAN

Fifteen Taliban Killed In Afghan Clash: Police

NATO and Afghan government troops killed 15 Taliban fighters in a clash in a restive southern province, police said on Friday. (Reuters)

LITVINENKO INVESTIGATION

Polonium-210 Found In Restaurant

The radioactive element believed to have killed ex-Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko has been detected in another central London restaurant. (BBC)

AUSTRALIA

Weapons Link to Australian 'Plot'

Australian police have arrested a man they suspect of involvement in the theft of military rocket launchers and their alleged sale to a terror suspect. (BBC)

THAILAND

More Coup Rumours Rattle Bangkok

The New Year bombs that killed three people in the Thai capital were part of a concerted bid to undermine the post-coup government, the army chief said on Friday after rumours of another military putsch swept the jittery city. (Reuters)

News Analysis: Thailand A Country in Commotion

By Seth Mydans

A string of lethal bombs that disrupted New Year's celebrations here has brought into the open a simmering confrontation between the ruling military junta and the opponents it unseated in a coup three months ago. (International herald Tribune)

SPAIN

Police Find More Explosives in Basque Country

Police found another stash of explosives in the Basque Country on Friday as rescue workers tried to uncover the body of a second man killed by a huge ETA car bomb at Madrid airport last Saturday. (Reuters)

BIRD FLU

Vietnam Warned On Bird Flu Threat

Vietnam's latest outbreak of bird flu poses a huge threat to public health, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the country says. (BBC)

DUKE LACROSS INVESTIGATION

Lacrosse Player Sues Duke

In the first of a potential series of legal actions against Duke University, a former lacrosse player filed a civil lawsuit today, claiming a Duke professor failed him because of accusations by a hired dancer that she'd been sexually assaulted at a team party last March. (ABC News)

POLAND

New Polish Archbishop in Spy Row

The Roman Catholic Church in Poland says the new archbishop of Warsaw was a collaborator with the former communist regime, amid an escalating row. (BBC)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

In Iran the Debate Is Over Escalation

By Amir Taheri

To escalate or not to escalate? In Tehran's ruling circles, these days, that is the question. The question has come up in response to the resolution passed by the United Nations' Security Council in the dying days of last year, imposing a range of sanctions on the Islamic Republic. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Good Times or Good Governance

By David Ignatius

Now that the Democrats have taken control of Congress, President Bush has decided it's time for fiscal discipline and a balanced budget. That's shameless, even by local standards. Who does Bush think was in power when the big deficits of the past six years were created? (Washington Post)

America's New Puppet

By Cameron Duodu

If the 20th century taught us anything, it was that powerful armies can be brought to their knees by small groups of fighters who are not afraid to die. Small Vietnam humiliated mighty America, and the "stone-age" mujahideen of Afghanistan sent the Soviet army packing. With all this so apparent, why has the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, sent his army into Somalia? (The Guardian)

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.