Al Qaeda Attack Video Appears to Be Staged

February 16, 2007 -- AGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN

Al Qaeda Attack Video Appears to Be Staged

An al Qaeda-produced video claiming to show how U.S. and Afghan forces were driven out of a heavily defended base in the last few weeks appears to be a phony. (ABC News)

New Al Qaeda Leader is U.S. Prison Escapee

An al Qaeda figure who escaped from a U.S. military prison 18 months ago has re-emerged as a field commander leading attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, ABC News has learned. (ABC News)

Taliban Deploy 10,000 Fighters for Attack: Commander

The Taliban have deployed 10,000 fighters for a spring offensive of "bloody attacks" against foreign troops in Afghanistan, a rebel commander said on Friday. (Reuters)

Pakistan Braces for Another Attack

Amid intelligence reports that terrorists were planning a third strike on the Pakistani capital today, anti-terrorist police were posted on street corners, and traffic cops searched vehicles that headed down roads leading to government offices and the heavily-fortified diplomatic enclave. (ABC News)

OBL in Pakistan -- Depends on Who You Talk to

There has been no trace of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, according to the governor of the Northwest Frontier Province there. (ABC News)

IRAQ

U.S. Says No Sign Al Masri Killed, Hurt

A spokesman said Friday the U.S. military has no indication that the al-Qaida in Iraq leader was killed or wounded in a raid, while an Iraqi army officer said his deputy has been jailed for a week. (AP)

Civilian Deaths in Iraq Drop Overnight

The number of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's sectarian violence fell drastically overnight, an Iraqi military official said Friday, crediting the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation that began in force just days ago. (AP)

US-Iraqi Forces Meet Little Resistance in Baghdad

U.S. and Iraqi forces are meeting little resistance as they sweep through Baghdad, a U.S. officer said on Friday, a day after Iraq's president said a Shi'ite militia had ordered its leaders to leave the country. (Reuters)

Iranian Border Points Closed in Iraq

Iraqi and British forces in southern Iraq closed border crossings with Iran on Thursday in an attempt to choke off smuggling networks that Washington says are used to supply militant groups. (AP)

Dispute Over Iraqi Cleric, Said to Have Gone to Iran

Questions and accusations continued to swirl about the whereabouts of the militant Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr on Thursday, and American and Iraqi forces deepened their security push in Baghdad. (NY Times)

U.S.

FBI Reportedly Investigating Nevada Governor Over Contractor's Gifts

The FBI is investigating whether Nevada's governor failed to report gifts from a military contractor that he received while serving in Congress, law enforcement officials said yesterday. (Washington Post)

Feds Hit 21 with Probe of Nevada Pol

The number of investigations into lawmakers from the 109th Congress has grown to 21. (ABC News)

Critics: Dems' Money Madness Would Boost Lobbyist Power

Watchdogs worry that increased fundraising pressures on Democratic lawmakers could make them more beholden to lobbyists and other special interests. (ABC News)

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)

RUSSIA

Report: Russia May Exit 1987 Arms Treaty

A top Russian general said Thursday that Moscow may unilaterally opt out of a Soviet-era arms reduction treaty with the United States, Russian news agencies reported. (AP)

2 Suspects Absent in Moscow in Retrial Over Editor's Killing

The retrial of three men charged with murdering Paul Klebnikov, the American editor of the Russian-language Forbes magazine here, opened in confusion on Thursday as two of the suspects failed to appear in court and the judge postponed the beginning of jury selection for a month. (NY Times)

U.K.

Coroner Won't Show 'Friendly Fire' Video

A coroner reluctantly agreed Friday to a U.S. government request not to show in open court a cockpit video capturing an exchange between two American pilots in Iraq after they fired on British troops, killing one. (AP)

CANARY ISLANDS

Pilot and Passengers Overpower Hijacker

A fast-thinking pilot with passengers in cahoots fooled a gunman who had hijacked a jetliner flying from Africa to the Canary Islands, braking hard upon landing then quickly accelerating to knock the man down so travelers could pounce on him, Spanish officials said Friday. (AP)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Gulf States Plan Weapons Buying Binge

Deep fears about the war in Iraq and growing tension between the United States and Iran are driving the wealthy oil states of the Persian Gulf to go on shopping sprees for helicopters, ships and tanks, officials say. (AP)

CHINA

China Covers Up Detention of AIDS Doctor

The photograph and article in Tuesday's Henan Daily could have been headlined "Happy Holidays." Three high ranking Henan Province officials, beaming and clapping as if presenting a lottery check, were making an early Lunar New Year visit to the apartment of a renowned AIDS doctor, Gao Yaojie. (NY Times)

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Russia's Course: Still Uncertain

By David Ignatius

Think of the new Russia as a highway: People used to drive on the left side of the road; now, officially, they are supposed to drive on the right, but the change has been uncomfortable (especially for the authorities). So the country straddles the middle -- which is understandable, but also dangerous. (Washington Post)

It's Not Too Late To Stop Iran

By Gareth Evans

No one should be surprised at the European Union's internal assessment, leaked this week, that little can now be done to stop Iran from acquiring the capacity to produce enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. (International Herald Tribune)

Pakistan: The Contradiction of Musharraf's Strategy

Is Pakistan becoming the major new battlefield in the global war on terrorism?With the recent multiplication of terrorist attacks, including at least six suicide bombings in the past two weeks alone, the question is no longer academic. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Iran Can Learn From Lebanon, Not N Korea

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

The welcome news of North Korea's agreement in principle to disarm in exchange for economic aid and international recognition has unleashed a flurry of interest in whether the administration of US President George W Bush can replicate this diplomatic breakthrough with Iran. A related issue is the lessons Iran could learn. (Asia Times)

Insurgents -- They Buy American

By Rosa Brooks

The administration's latest memory lapse is remembering where our enemies in Iraq got their weapons. (LA Times)

Fears Over China Military Build-Up

By Daniel Griffiths

China's recent missile test has raised fears about the country's growing military capabilities. (BBC)

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.