The Al Quds: Iran's Elite Secretive Guard

February 15, 2007 -- IRAN/IRAQ

The Al Quds: Iran's Elite Secretive Guard

The United States has proof that the al Quds unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is involved in arming Shiite militias in Iraq, President Bush told reporters today. The president added, however, that he did not know whether Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was giving direct orders to the al Quds unit. (ABC News)

MADRID BOMBINGS/SPAIN

Trial in '04 Madrid Train Bombings Opens

A trial into Spain's worst terrorist attack opened Thursday amid heightened security, with 29 suspects facing charges for the brutal 2004 bombings that killed 191 rush-hour commuters. (AP)

U.S.

Man Without a Name Faces 60 Years

A man whose true identity remains unknown pled guilty in a federal courtroom in Brooklyn today to charges of illegally possessing national defense documents that included details on U.S. firepower and convoy protection in Iraq, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced. He faces a maximum sentence of 60 years. (ABC News)

Monster of a Case: New Wave of Corporate Indictments Expected

The former top lawyer for the Internet job search site Monster.com is expected to enter a guilty plea tomorrow growing out of his role in backdating stock options at the company, federal officials involved in the case tell ABC News. (ABC News)

Grand Theft Options

The former CEO of the video game company that produced the blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" has pled guilty to criminal charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney and settled civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the District Attorney announced today. (ABC News)

'The Bishop' May Be Behind Two Pipe Bombs

When a mail clerk at American Century Investments, a Kansas City investment company, opened up a package sent to the company in late January, it read: "BANG YOU'RE DEAD." (ABC News)

IRAQ

Iraq Invasion Plan 'Delusional'

The US invasion plan for Iraq envisaged that only 5,000 US troops would remain in Iraq by December 2006, declassified Central Command documents show. (BBC)

Republicans Only Need Apply?

The Pentagon rejected qualified experts for reconstruction work in Iraq because they were not deemed loyal to the Republican party, according to the former chief of staff of the Washington Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Frederick Smith. (ABC News)

U.S., Iraqi Forces Expand Operation

U.S. and Iraqi forces expanded a security sweep to a southern Baghdad neighborhood Thursday, but suspected Sunni insurgents struck back with car bombs that killed four people. British troops sealed off the southern city of Basra and closed two border crossings to choke off what the Americans say are weapons from Iran. (AP)

Car Bombs Kill 7 Amid Iraq Crackdown

U.S. and Iraqi troops moved into a Sunni neighborhood in southern Baghdad on Thursday, while insurgents struck back with car bombs that killed seven people. In southern Iraq, British troops sealed off the border with Iran to prevent weapons smuggling. (AP)

CIA SECRET PRISONS

CIA Sounded-Out Italy About "Renditions" In 2001

The CIA spoke with Italy's spy chief about kidnapping terrorism suspects in Italy and flying them abroad days after the September 11 attacks, according to testimony being used to prosecute U.S. and Italian agents. (Reuters)

INDIA

Busted: The Online Narcotics Dealers

First it was "phishing" to gather personal information to sell for profit. Then the world discovered that unscrupulous elements in India's famed information technology industry were sweet-talking their American clients into parting with millions of dollars from their bank accounts or credit cards. Now, an Indian software company and its American counterpart are accused of peddling narcotics over the Internet to addicts all over the world. (Asia Times)

PAKISTAN

Pakistan Ex-MP 'Illegally Held'

A former member of Pakistan's parliament has been held in illegal detention for three months, a political ally says. (BBC)

EGYPT

Egyptian Brotherhood Mass Arrests

The opposition Islamist group in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, says at least 73 of its members have been arrested in overnight raids across the country. (BBC)

SOMALIA

Insurgents Fire Mortars in Somalia

Insurgents fired mortars at three areas where Ethiopian troops hold strategic positions in Somalia's capital on Thursday, leaving at least four civilians dead, witnesses said. (AP)

AIDS THREAT

AIDS Virus Weakness Detected

Scientists have captured an image of the AIDS virus in a biological handshake with the immune cells it attacks, and said on Wednesday they hope this can help lead to a better vaccine against the incurable disease. (Reuters)

ANALYSIS &OPINION

The Quiz Top U.S. Officials Fail

By Hoda Osman & Elizabeth Sprague"Can you tell a Sunni from a Shiite?" is the famous question used by reporter Jeff Stein to expose the ignorance of some U.S. counterterrorism officials about basic issues related to the Middle East. (ABC News)

Outlines of a New Policy in Declining Afghanistan

There is growing concern among the Western coalition forces about the worsening situation in Afghanistan. The insurgency has recently shown its bloodiest face since the Taliban's ouster in 2001 and represents a ticking time bomb for the collapse of US policies in the country. (The Daily Star)

Doubts on Dismantling N. Korea's Arsenal

By Donald Greenlees For decades, North Korea badgered its communist allies to supply it with a nuclear reactor and the technical know-how that could have allowed it to build a nuclear bomb. It eventually achieved both. (International Herald Tribune)

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.