29 Killed During Holiday Festival in Iraq

January 30, 2007 -- IRAQ NEWS

Bombs Kill 29 in Iraq During Ashoura

At least 29 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded Tuesday in attacks against Shiites in two cities near the Iranian border, including a bomb targeting members of the Islamic sect as they performed rituals on the Shiite calendar's holiest day. (AP)

Executions on Tape: Iraqi vs. Iraqi

A new propaganda video posted by Sunni insurgents on the Internet shows graphic scenes of the execution of more than a dozen captured fighters who were supposedly working with Iranian agents in Iraq to attack Sunni neighborhoods. (ABC News)

Missteps by Iraqi Forces in Battle Raise Questions

Iraqi forces were surprised and nearly overwhelmed by the ferocity of an obscure renegade militia in a weekend battle near the holy city of Najaf and needed far more help from American forces than previously disclosed, American and Iraqi officials said Monday. (NY Times)

U.N.: 700 Palestinians Stranded in No-Man's Land at Iraq-Syria Border

Some 700 Palestinians are stranded at the Iraq-Syria border, living in inhumane conditions in no-man's land after fleeing violence in Iraq, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. (Haaretz)

LITVINENKO INVESTIGATION

Russian Special Forces Used

They were the best of the best of Russia's special forces – and they were shooting Alexander Litvinenko. Images of elite Spetsnaz troops using pictures of the murdered former Russian spy for target practice prompted fresh accusations yesterday that the Kremlin was behind his killing. (London Times)

U.K.

More Images of Failed Bombing in London Released Today

More images from the failed July 21, 2005 bombing attempt in London were released today at the trial of the six men accused of trying to mount a deadly bomb attack there just two weeks after the deadly subway and bus bombings that are often referred to as the U.K.'s 9/11. (ABC News)

Terror Police 'Found 9/11 Speech'

A speech by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found at a London flat used by the alleged 21 July plotters to make rucksack bombs, a court has heard. (BBC)

TURKEY

Suspected Al-Qaeda Leader In Turkey Detained In Raid: Report

A man suspected of running Al-Qaeda's operations in Turkey was among 48 people detained in nationwide raids earlier this week, the Anatolia news agency has reported. (AFP)

Turk Police Warned of Editor Murder Plot: Press

Turkish police were warned a year ago about a plot to kill Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, media said on Tuesday, the latest suggestion authorities could have prevented a murder that has shocked the nation. (Reuters)

U.S.

Attack of the Drones

Call them UAVs, drones, remote-controlled aircraft, or robotic air vehicles–it's clear that this new generation of weaponry increasingly is playing a key role in the U.S. arsenal. And what we've seen so far is nothing compared with what's in the pipeline. (USA Today)

AFGHANISTAN

Group: Over 1,000 Afghan Civilians KilledMore than 1,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2006, most of them as a result of attacks by the Taliban and other anti-government forces in the country's unstable south, a rights group said Tuesday. (AP)

Driving the Taliban Off Nipple Hill – Again

Royal Marines came under Taliban rocket attack in Kajaki overnight, and at dawn yesterday 16 insurgents carrying rifles and rocket-propelled grenades could be seen scurrying from their firing position. (London Times)

RUSSIA

Emergency Shutdown at Russia Nuke Plant

An unspecified safety problem prompted an emergency shutdown at a Russian nuclear power plant, but no increase in radiation levels were reported, federal officials said Tuesday. (AP)

ALGERIA

Islamists Battle Algeria's Army

Fifteen people have been killed in a clash between Islamist militants and Algerian security forces in the eastern region of Batna, local media report. (BBC)

JORDAN

U.N. Investigator Says Torture 'Routine' in Jordan

A UN human rights investigator charged on Tuesday that torture is both widespread and routine in Jordan, especially to extract confessions from terror suspects, while security forces enjoy total impunity. (Reuters)

GUANTANAMO BAY

Uighurs' Detention Conditions Condemned

Chinese Uighurs who have been imprisoned for the past month at a new state-of-the-art detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are being held around the clock in near-total isolation, a circumstance their lawyers say is rapidly degrading their mental health, according to an affidavit filed in federal court yesterday. (Washington Post)

U.S.-IRAN

U.S. Rejects Iran Nuclear 'Timeout'

The US has rejected a call from the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog for a "timeout" in the showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. (BBC)

NIGERIA

Nigerian Militant Attack Frees 125 Inmates

Nigerian separatist militants released 125 inmates when they stormed a police station in Port Harcourt in an attack to free their leader that claimed at least two lives, police said on Tuesday. (Mail & Guardian)

TAIWAN

The 'Black Hole' of Taiwan Criminals

When the driver of an armored security van, identified as Lee Han-yang, 45, allegedly drugged his colleague and fled Taiwan to the mainland city of Kunming with NT$56 million (US$1.72 million) in early January, it seemed as if he had pulled off a perfect heist. (Asia Times)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

To Ban the Bomb, Sign the Peace

By Paul B. Stares

Of all the crises facing the new United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, the fraying nuclear nonproliferation system is arguably the most consequential. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has warned of 30 "virtual new weapons states" on the horizon. (NY Times)

Russians Are Cunning: They're Why America's Defense Must Never Rest

By Peter Brookes

The Russians are going ballistic over the possibility the United States will deploy a missile-defense system in Central Europe in the coming years. (Boston Herald)

The Writing's On the Wall for Iran

By Leon Hadar

Rejecting the notion that the United States was planning to attack Iran and Syria, White House spokesman Tony Snow called it a myth or an "urban legend." (Asia Times)

The Ba-Da-Boom Crew

By Eugene Robinson

If you've been following the Lewis "Scooter" Libby perjury trial, I can understand how you might confuse Dick Cheney with Tony Soprano. Cheney's office is beginning to sound a lot like the Bada Bing, minus the dancers. (Washington Post)

Developing the Tribal Belt

By Shabid Javed Burki

There is now a raging debate on the role Pakistan is playing — or not playing — in the revival of the Taliban in the southern districts of Afghanistan. The debate is being conducted in a number of different forums. (Dawn)

It Is No Easy Thing Being Lebanon

By Frederic C. Hof

Six months after the 2006 summer war, Lebanon is essentially the same place it was six months and (for that matter) 60 years before the war: a non-state entity trying to make a go of confessional coexistence in a very rough neighborhood. (The Daily Star)

Defending Guantanamo

By Mohammed Al Shafey

Asharq Al-Awsat interviews Guantanamo Bay Spokesman Robert Durant on alleged prison torture, inmate conditions and why there is no need for a Muslim preacher at the camp that holds approximately 400 Al-Qaeda and Taliban members.(Asharq Alawsat)

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.