From AFX: JAKARTA (AFX) – A terror group once led by bombmaker Azahari Husin is struggling for funds after cash from Saudi Arabia was cut off and now depends on selling cellphone vouchers to get by, Indonesia’s police chief General Sutanto said. Azahari was gunned down by anti-terror police at his hideout in East Java […]
Iran Votes to Block Nuclear Inspections
More “democracy in action” in Iran. From AP: Parliament approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block international inspections of its atomic facilities if the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency refers Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions. The bill was approved by 183 of the 197 lawmakers present at the session, which was […]
Morocco Dismantles Terror Network, Arrests 17
From Fox News: RABAT, Morocco “” Moroccan police have dismantled a terrorist network, arresting 17 people, including two former prisoners at the U.S. base in Guantanamo, Cuba, the official MAP news agency reported Sunday. At least some of the suspects were linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq. Brahim Benchekroun and Mohammed Mazouz — among five […]
Miniter: Sign of Al Qaeda Desperation
Richard Miniter writes in Front Page: Dead men tell no tales, but luckily for intelligence analysts, live women do. Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi was not able to detonate her bomb at the wedding party and fled with the guests as her husband exploded himself. Now, she is in the custody of the GID, Jordan’s intelligence […]
Violence alters Iraq, city by city
Sunnis and Shiites are rapidly separating in areas that were once mixed towns and neighborhoods. From the International Herald Tribune: Baghdad – Abu Noor’s town had become so hostile to Shiites that his wife had not left the house in a month, his family could no longer go to the medical clinic and mortar shells […]
Al-Zarqawi unlikely killed in Mosul gunfight, U.S. says
From the Seattle Times: BAGHDAD, Iraq “” U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight “” some by their own hands to possibly avoid capture. The White House said Sunday that it was “highly unlikely” that the terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi […]
Defense official: Rumsfeld given Iraq withdrawal plan
Plan calls for troops to begin pulling out after December elections, from CNN: WASHINGTON — The top U.S. commander in Iraq has submitted a plan to the Pentagon for withdrawing troops in Iraq, according to a senior defense official. Gen. George Casey submitted the plan to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It includes numerous options […]
US and China to cooperate more on terrorism
From Reuters, : BEIJING – The United States and China hope to strengthen shared efforts to fight terrorism and “pirate” copying of goods, Washington’s top justice official said on Saturday. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a news conference in Beijing he had discussed expanding cooperation with Chinese justice and police officials in talks before […]
Crown prince sees “˜end of terrorism” in Saudi in two years
From AFP, : DUBAI – Saudi Arabia, which has been battling a wave of violence, could put an end to homegrown terrorism in the next two years, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz said in remarks aired on Saturday. “I can assure you that the watchful eye of the security forces, the intelligence services and […]
Italy: Algerian Suspects Allegedly Planned To Kill 10,000
From AKI, : Brescia and Naples – The three Algerians detained on Tuesday in the Italian cities of Brescia and Naples were planning a massive terror attack – “on a ship as big as the Titanic, packed with explosives” – that aimed to kill “at least 10,000 people”, as well as an attack on “Italian […]