Insider 12/22/04: Mosul Attack Analysis

Dec. 22, 2004 -- The deadly attack on the U.S. base near Mosul yesterday seems to have been based on precise intelligence and reflects the persistence and growing sophistication of the insurgency, experts tell the Washington Post. The insurgents are learning more about how the U.S. military operates and where its vulnerabilities lie, says the paper. One of experts suggested the facility may have been infiltrated as it was attacked at the exact time when the largest number of soldiers would be present.

The BBC looks at how the U.S. press reacted to the attack, noting that it's being viewed as a possible turning point in the fight with the insurgents in Iraq.

And an editorial in the New York Times argues that the increasing attacks are evidence of the difficulties the U.S. is facing in creating a representative Iraqi government. It argues that for the U.S. to save the elections it needs to pay more attention to the needs of Iraq's Sunni population and suggests postponing the elections scheduled for Jan 30th.

INVESTIGATIONS

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Exile Denies Terror Links

The US has frozen the assets of two Saudi Arabian citizens, including a top UK-based dissident, after accusing them of supporting al Qaeda financially. (BBC)

Saudis Rebuke Libya Over 'Plot'

Saudi Arabia has recalled its envoy to Libya over an alleged plot to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah. (BBC)

U.S.

The Bush administration is facing a wave of new allegations that the abuse of foreign detainees in U.S. military custody was more widespread, varied and grave in the past three years than the Defense Department has long maintained. (Washington Post)

U.S. Pledges New Jail Abuse Inquiry

The White House has said fresh allegations of abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay by U.S. military personnel will be "fully investigated". (BBC)

Report Assesses Risks of Attack on Tankers

Terrorist attacks on tankers carrying liquefied natural gas into a U.S. port could trigger a fire that could burn the skin of people a mile away and cause "major injuries and significant structural damage" within about a third of a mile, according to a government study released yesterday. (Washington Post)

Canada

The federal government was slammed Monday for blocking the release of new details on the role of Canada's spy service in the deportation of Maher Arar, including information that could help to clear the name of the Ottawa-based engineer. (The Globe and Mail)

Egypt

The trial of an Iranian diplomat and an Egyptian businessman charged with spying for Iran will start on January 29th. The Iranian will be tried in absentia. The Egyptian had confessed to having worked for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The two are accused of planning to assassinate a number of Egyptian personalities and carry out attacks in the country. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Mali

The kidnappers of two Qatari men who were freed yesterday may be members of the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat, al Hayat reports today. The group probably kidnapped the men to get a ransom, sources told al Hayat. (Al Hayat)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Tanzania

A Tanzanian court has acquitted and released a man charged over the 1998 U.S. embassy bombing in Dar es Salaam. (BBC)

Australia

A Melbourne man allegedly recruited to work for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network has been refused bail in the Victorian Supreme Court. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Morocco

A judge Tuesday charged a Moroccan with terrorism and mass killings for allegedly helping plan the March 11 Madrid train bombings, court officials said. (AP)

IRAQ NEWS

U.S. Sweeps Through Mosul After Attack

U.S. troops backed by armored vehicles swept through virtually empty streets of Mosul amid an undeclared curfew in Iraq's third largest city Wednesday, a day after an insurgent strike on a nearby base killed 22 people and wounded 72 in one of the deadliest attacks on American troops since the war began. (AP)

Military Updates Mosul Attack Casualty Toll

13 of 22 who died were U.S. soldiers; about 70 wounded in blast. (Washington Post)

U.S. Contractor Pulls Out of Reconstruction Effort in Iraq

For the first time, a major U.S. contractor has dropped out of the multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild Iraq, raising new worries about the country's growing violence and its effect on reconstruction. (LA Times)

Freed French Hostages Head Home

Two French reporters who were released after being held hostage for four months in Iraq are heading home to a hero's welcome. (BBC)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Profile of Terror Group Jaysh Ansar Al Sunna

Underground terror network takes credit for deadly Mosul attack. (ABCNEWS)

Precision of Base Attack Worries Military Experts

In April 2003, as the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was ending, the Pentagon projected in a formal planning effort that the U.S. military occupation of the country would end this month. (Washington Post)

Grim Realities in Iraq

This week's mayhem in Iraq is stark evidence that the effort to create a new Iraqi government that represents all population groups and can defend itself still has a long way to go. (NY Times)

U.S. Press Review: Mosul Blast

The US press reacts with shock and anguish to one of the deadliest attacks on American troops in Iraq after a bomb killed 18 soldiers in a mess hall near the northern city of Mosul. (BBC)

The Elections and the Sunni-Shiite Crisis

So far, the political inclinations and political alliances are still being formed and crystallized in the following manner: First the Shiites are rallying around the Unified Iraqi Coalition List which carries 228 members seeking to be elected for membership in the parliament. (Al Hayat)

Quiet, Or I'll Call Democracy

Iraqi women were long the most liberated in the Middle East. Occupation has confined them to their homes. (The Guardian)

Financial Front Intensifies In The War Against Terrorism

Tackling terror by freezing individual assets, filing private lawsuits, and earmarking federal monies to cities. (CS Monitor)

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 Brinda Adhikari of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.