Diplomats: Construction of Underground Uraniam Plant Underway in Iran
February 2, 2007 -- IRAN
Diplomats: Iran Working on Underground Uranium Plant
Iran has begun putting down piping and electric cables for its underground uranium enrichment plant, diplomats said Friday, enlisting hundreds of workers in an effort to move ahead quickly with a program that can be misused to make nuclear arms. (AP)
IRAQ
Iraqi Government Figures Show 1,990 Civilians Killed In January, Its Highly Monthly Toll to Date
Iraqi government tallies showed that 1,990 civilians were killed in January, officials said Thursday, providing its highest official monthly toll in a year that has seen a sharp rise in sectarian violence. (AP)
Iraq Suicide Bombers Kill 60 and Wound 150 in Market in Southern City
Twin suicide bombers struck a market jammed with people in the southern Iraqi town of Hilla on Thursday, killing at least 60, wounding 150 and spraying body parts so far that the police were still scouring rooftops for them late in the night. (NY Times)
U.S. Reconfigures the Way Casualty Totals Are Given
Statistics on a Pentagon Web site have been reorganized in a way that lowers the published totals of American nonfatal casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. (NY Times)
Iraq at Risk of Further Strife, Intelligence Warns
A long-awaited National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, presented to President Bush by the intelligence community yesterday, outlines an increasingly perilous situation in which the United States has little control and there is a strong possibility of further deterioration, according to sources familiar with the document. (Washington Post)
U.S. Troops Say They Kill 18 Insurgents in Iraq
U.S. troops said they killed 18 insurgents in clashes in the volatile Iraqi city of Ramadi, and launched an air strike on Friday against an al Qaeda-linked insurgent cell in Baghdad responsible for suicide car bombings. (Reuters)
US Military Has Reports of Copter Down
The military said it was investigating reports that a U.S. helicopter went down Friday north of Baghdad, while U.S. forces said they killed 18 insurgents after coming under attack in a volatile city west of the capital. (AP)
AFGHANISTAN
An Afghan's Path from Ally of U.S. to Drug Suspect
In April 2005, federal law enforcement officials summoned reporters to a Manhattan news conference to announce the capture of an Afghan drug lord and Taliban ally. (NY Times)
Taliban Forces Retake Afghan Town
Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan have taken control of a town which British troops had pulled out of after a peace deal with local elders. (BBC)
Afghan's Arrest Shines Light On Dark Side of U.S. Terror Fight
In April 2005, federal law enforcement officials summoned reporters to a Manhattan news conference to announce the capture of an Afghan drug lord and Taliban ally. While boasting that he was a big catch — the Asian counterpart of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian cocaine legend, the officials left out some puzzling details, including why the Afghan, Haji Bashir Noorzai, had risked arrest by coming to New York. (International Herald Tribune)
TURKEY
Turkey Probes Dink Suspect Video
A probe has begun in Turkey after a man charged with killing a Turkish Armenian journalist appeared in a video posing with police and the national flag. (BBC)
PHILIPPINES
Muslim Rebels Storm Philippine Jail; 46 Escape
Suspected Muslim rebels stormed a jail in the southern Philippines early on Friday with grenades and rockets, blasted a hole in its wall and helped 46 prisoners escape, authorities said. (Reuters)
U.S.
Terror Chowder: Stir in Boston
In court Thursday, prosecutors calmly outlined why two young marketers were charged under a terror statute when they only intended to promote a cable TV cartoon, not "flip the bird" at the city. (ABC News)
U.S. – Israel
Two Men Acquitted of Conspiracy to Fund Hamas Activities in Israel
A federal jury in Chicago acquitted two men yesterday of charges that they were part of a long-running conspiracy to finance Hamas activities in Israel -- marking the latest defeat for the Justice Department in cases involving support for radical Palestinian groups. (Washington Post)
U.K.
Neighbors of British Terror Suspects Skeptical of Charges
Many residents in the area where nine people were arrested and accused of planning to kidnap, torture and behead a British Muslim soldier said Thursday that they were unconvinced of the accusations against them. (International Herald Tribune)
ON THE WEB
ABC News Extremist Website Monitoring
This is a daily update of some of what can be found on militant Islamist websites that are often used by al Qaeda and its sympathizers, insurgent groups in Iraq and other groups for propaganda, recruiting and communication purposes. (ABC News)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
No More Renditions
If the U.S. wants European allies to help in the war on terror, it has to respect their laws. (LA Times)
A Failed Cover-Up
By David Ignatius
Why was the White House so nervous in the summer of 2003 about the CIA's reporting on alleged Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Niger to build a nuclear bomb? That's the big question that runs through the many little details that have emerged in the perjury trial of Vice President Cheney's former top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. (Washington Post)
As U.S. Power Fades, It Can't Find Friends to Take on Iran
By Jonathan Steele
Washington has exaggerated Tehran's capabilities and intentions in Iraq. It is confused and frustrated. (The Guardian)
The Many Faces of the War in Iraq
By Amir Taheri
Over the past four years, the claim that Iraq is in a state of civil war or heading towards it has been a staple of the political debate in Washington. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Who's to Blame for the Killing
By Charles Krauthammer
This week the internecine warfare in Iraq, already bewildering -- Sunni vs. Shiite, Kurd vs. Arab, jihadist vs. infidel, with various Iranians, Syrians and assorted freelancers thrown into the maelstrom -- went bizarre. (Washington Post)
Ahmadinejad Held Hostage to Bazaar Politics
By M.K. Bhadrakumar
In the geography between the Arabian Sea and the Levant, there is only one country where it is possible to fancy that an elected government could tumble because of the price of tomatoes in the bazaar - Iran. (Asia Times)
Pulling the Palestinian Cause Out of the Iranian Maneuvers and Syrian Guardianship
By Raghida Dergham
It is of a decisive importance for US President George W. Bush to grasp the extent to which his convictions influence the fate of the entire Middle East and the future of his country to immediately act and carry out what is expected from him. (Al Hayat)
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.