WaShad's News Digest

2003-08-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Four killed, explosives found in mosque

Indian security forces shot dead four suspected Mujahideen in held Kashmir and recovered a cache of explosives hidden in a mosque, a police spokesman claimed on Monday.

2003-08-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Jakarta hotel bombing kills 13

A powerful car bomb exploded outside the Marriott hotel in downtown Jakarta today, killing 13 people and wounding nearly 150 in what an official said was likely a suicide attack. At least one foreigner—a Dutch citizen—reportedly was among the dead

2003-08-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

US Praises Kenya for Terror Arrests

The United States embassy in Kenya has praised local police for arresting two men with suspected links to the al-Qaida terror network.

2003-08-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

Possible al-Qaida Suspect Arrested In N.Y.

Possible Pakistani man who worked for import company picked up by FBI

2003-08-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

U.S. soldiers could be attacked in Turkey

Turkish government sources said the U.S. military command has relayed warnings that soldiers should limit their movement outside of bases. They said the command has raised the prospect that U.S. soldiers could come under attack in Turkey amid military tension between Ankara and Washington.

2003-08-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

Terror Suspect Detonates Grenade

A terrorist suspect detonated a hand grenade Friday as he was being arrested near Mombasa's central police station in Kenya, killing himself and a policeman, according to witnesses and police.

2003-08-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

Kadhafi: Iraq will be new US Vietnam

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi predicted Friday that Iraq will turn into another Vietnam for US troops because the Iraqi people will continue to resist regardless of the fate of ousted president Saddam Hussein. "Fighting will continue. It will be like Vietnam," Kadhafi said in an interview with ABC News.

2003-08-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

Evidence of WMD plotting found in Iraq

The United States has found evidence of an active programme to make weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, including "truly amazing" testimony from Iraqis ordered to dupe United Nations inspectors before the war, the man leading the hunt said yesterday.

2003-07-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

Coalition kills three Taliban in Afghanistan

“Three enemy personnel were believed killed after a 10-man enemy group was observed in the vicinity of the fire base at Asadabad last night,” Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Lefforge told reporters at Bagram Air Base. “The fire base fired mortar illumination rounds as a warning, then fired high explosive rounds, killing three personnel,” he said.

2003-07-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Gen. Myers: Iraq Yields Al Qaeda Data

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today that the Iraq conflict is providing important intelligence on the al Qaeda network rather than sapping resources from the war against international terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere, as some critics had predicted.

2003-07-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

al-Qaeda helped fund Jemaah Islamiah

The al Qaeda terror network helped to fund Southeast Asia's Jemaah Islamiah militant Muslim organisation, a leading radical told an Indonesian court on Thursday, outlining the clearest link yet between the two groups.

2003-07-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

US crafting North Korea proposal

The United States is preparing a proposal to address North Korea's "security concerns" but will not convey it to the communist state unless five-way talks are held on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, a senior Japanese government official says.

2003-07-30T00:47:00.000-07:00

35% of US deportees are Pakistanis

Most of the people deported from the US since Sept 11, 2001 are from Pakistan, a close US ally in the war against terror, a news report said on Tuesday.

2003-07-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Saudi police kill 6 terror suspects

Six suspected militants armed with guns and grenades were killed Monday in a firefight after the Saudi police raided their farm hideout north of the capital. Two police officers also were killed.

2003-07-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Kenya denies al-Qaeda plane claim

A Kenyan investigator on Sunday denied a claim attributed to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network that the group was responsible for a plane crash that left 12 Americans and two South Africans dead.

2003-07-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

Arab TV rejects bias claims

Two Arab TV stations reacted angrily Sunday to U.S. claims that their news coverage of the fighting in Iraq was biased, while one network suggested the poor translation of their bulletins was behind the false accusations being made by American officials.

2003-07-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Rockets fired at Pakistan gas wells

Unknown assailants on Sunday used rockets to blow up two oil wells Nos 37 and 38 in Balochistan’s Sui gas field despite the heavy presence of a 4,000-strong force of rangers, the Frontier Corps and police.

2003-07-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Mostly-Peaceful Voting Ends in Cambodia

Polls have closed for Cambodia's third national election in 10 years. Voters were choosing a new National Assembly to determine the next government. The voting went relatively smoothly

2003-07-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Six dead in Kashmir shooting

PAKISTANI and Indian troops traded heavy artillery and mortar fire along the disputed Kashmir border today, killing six Pakistani civilians, including two young brothers.

Fifteen other people were injured on the Pakistan side of the border, police said.

2003-07-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

Taiwan seeks US Spartan anti-sub aircraft

Taiwan is closing in on a deal to buy US-made C-27J Spartan anti-submarine aircraft rather than the P-3C Orion and S-3 Viking, Jane's Defense Weekly says.

2003-07-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

Five Iranian agents held in Canadian's death

Authorities detained five Iranian security agents in connection with the death of a journalist from Canada who died in police custody, state-run Tehran radio reported Saturday.

2003-07-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Pro-Iranian Kurdish forces attacked

Turkish sources said U.S. military units have captured Kurdish insurgents who infiltrated from Iran. They said the operations were carried out amid Turkish complaints that pro-Iranian Kurdish forces were slipping into northern Iraq and destabizing the area.

2003-07-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

al-Qaida Operates in Many Different Ways

The al-Qaida of today is not solely a top-down network, in which potential terrorists report up through the hierarchy and, ultimately, to Osama bin Laden. Instead, it is like a Hydra ...

2003-07-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Theft prelude to terror?

Law enforcement agencies in five US states reported the theft or disappearance of hundreds of official uniforms, badges and ID cards in the first half of 2003, prompting federal authorities to warn on Thursday that terrorists may be seeking to acquire them for new attacks.

2003-07-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Key Al Qaeda Capture

The CIA has determined that al Qaeda's No. 3 leader and top military commander, Saif Al-Adel, has been in custody in Iran for several weeks, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS.

2003-07-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

Afghans, Pakistanis Vow Better Cooperation

Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali and his Pakistani counterpart vowed on Wednesday to enhance cooperation in the fight against terrorism and to remove recent strains in relations.

2003-07-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Widespread celebration across Baghdad

Widespread and sporadic gunfire crackled across Baghdad after dark on Tuesday as word spread that Saddam Hussein's feared and hated sons may have been killed in a gunbattle with U.S. troops.

2003-07-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Saudi toll free number aids terror crackdown

The Interior Ministry has said the toll free telephone line set up to allow citizens to provide security information played a productive role in cracking down on suspected terrorists.

2003-07-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Patriot Act abuse complaints: few credible

Justice Department investigators found that 34 claims were credible of more than 1,000 civil rights and civil liberties complaints stemming from anti-terrorism efforts, including allegations of intimidation and false arrest.

2003-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Iran, Syria Warned to Stop 'Terror' Support

President Bush accused Iran and Syria on Monday of supporting militants seeking to undo the fragile Middle East peace process and warned they would be held accountable.

2003-07-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

Money to terror-tied school halted

Private school tuition vouchers paid to an Islamic school with alleged terrorist ties were halted Friday pending an investigation.

2003-07-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

Document: Saddam supported Al-Jazeera TV

The controversial Arabic satellite station Al-Jazeera was paid 50,000 Euros a month by the ousted Iraqi regime, according to an alleged Iraqi document issued by the regime and posted Saturday by Kurdistannet.org.

2003-07-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

"Saudi Women Speak Out"

It was the first time that Saudi women were publicly discussing and debating issues that affected them, a swing from the closed decades of the eighties and nineties that had veiled them into muted ciphers rather than living and thinking beings.

2003-07-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

Taliban are targeting aid groups

Observers believe the Taliban are targeting aid groups in order to deepen the Pashtun vs. non-Pashtun divide and portray themselves as the only viable alternative to the Afghan government and its US backers.

2003-07-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

China moves toward transparency

The Chinese government made a remarkable U-turn after its news blackout and attempted cover-up of the SARS epidemic failed spectacularly.

2003-07-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Interpol: fake goods fund terror

"The link between organized crime groups and counterfeit goods is well established," states the written testimony of Ronald K. Noble, the secretary general of Interpol, in testmony to be presented Wednesday to the House Committee on International Relations.

2003-07-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Iran - enriched uranium detected

U.N. inspectors have found enriched uranium in environmental samples taken in Iran, which could mean Tehran has been enriching uranium without informing the U.N. nuclear watchdog, diplomats said.

2003-07-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

U.S. satellite feeds to Iran jammed

U.S. government officials as well as Iranian Americans and communications satellite operators confirm that all U.S.-based satellite broadcasts to Iran are being jammed out of Cuba, one of Iran’s major allies and a nation increasingly dependent on Iranian oil.

2003-07-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Cleric condemns suicide attacks

One of the world's most influential Islamic leaders has condemned all attacks by suicide bombers at an international conference for Islamic scholars.

2003-07-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

JI raid nets huge bomb cache

Sufficient explosives to build another round of Bali bombs had been seized from a factory linked to the terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiah, Indonesian police said last night.

2003-07-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Al-Qaeda adapts to survive

The war on terror, launched by President George W Bush and supported with vigour by Prime Minister Tony Blair, is now well into its second year.

2003-06-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

U.S. Diplomat Murder Trial Starts in Jordan

Eleven Islamists went on trial in Jordan on Monday for the murder of a U.S. diplomat last year but the alleged mastermind, who U.S. officials say has close links to Osama bin Laden, remained on the run.

2003-06-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Police letting non-Muslims visit Temple Mount

Israeli police in recent days have begun to allow non-Muslim members of the public to enter the Temple Mount grounds in the Old City of Jerusalem, under police escort, despite the fact that the Muslim Religious Trust (Waqf) has not agreed to the move.

2003-06-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

U.S. Detains 180 in Iraq Raids

U.S. forces detained 180 people in raids to stamp out resistance to their occupation in Iraq, the military said on Monday, as local residents reported a huge weekend blast at an arms depot killed at least 30 looters.

2003-06-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

U.S. Returns Syrian Border Guards

The United States repatriated five Syrian border guards who were wounded in an American assault on the Syrian-Iraqi border, Damascus said Monday, as both countries tried to put behind them a battle that had threatened to hurt already strained ties.

2003-06-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

'We must capture or kill him'

The chances of capturing toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein are "very high", Paul Bremer, the top US administrator in Iraq, said on Sunday.

2003-06-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Give it up, moms tell Qaeda sons

The mothers of several wanted Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia have appealed to their sons to give themselves up after the surrender of one of the main suspects.

2003-06-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

U.S. Moves To Crush Insurgents

The operation, dubbed “Sidewinder,” is taking place in a huge swath of central Iraq stretching from the Iranian border to the areas north of Baghdad, and is expected to last for several days, the military said.

2003-06-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

The IRS Takes on Saddam's Kin

Under interrogation, the dictator's half brother and financial mastermind, Barzan Tikriti, speaks out against the regime he served and gives U.S. investigators leads on where to find what may be billions of dollars in assets he helped hide

2003-06-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

China opposing U.S.-proposed U.N. statement: N. Korea

China is opposing U.S. efforts to persuade the U.N. Security Council to issue a statement denouncing North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, a senior North Korean administration official in New York said Friday.

2003-06-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

No proof of Iraq-al Qaeda link

The UN terrorism committee has found no evidence to support United States claims of a link between Iraq and al Qaeda, and the US has provided the committee with no proof, officials say.

2003-06-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Al-Qaeda joke sparks air scare

A SWISS air traffic controller jokingly put an "al-Qaeda" label on a French helicopter that strayed into restricted air space during the Group of Eight summit, nearly leading to a shootdown by the French air force, officials confirmed today.

2003-06-28T00:47:00.000-07:00

Iraqi police begin 'acting like cops'

Police were just doing their jobs when they arrested four men for shooting at a vegetable store owner in this dusty town near the Iranian border. But for the men of Charlie Company, the arrests were momentous.

2003-06-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

FBI Raids Target Terror Group Suspects

The FBI and U.S. Marshal's Service this morning executed a series of raids in three states targeting 11 men with ties to an anti-U.S. terrorist organization that aims to drive India out of the disputed region of Kashmir.

2003-06-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

Top Osama men 'held by Iran'

Ayman Zawahiri, right-hand man of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, and Suleiman Abu Ghaith, spokesman of the terror group, are among Al-Qaeda members detained in Iran, it was reported here yesterday.

2003-06-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Imam held in Italy terror swoop - BBC

An imam and five other men have been arrested in a series of anti-terror raids in Italy. Police say they are investigating possible links with Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terror network.

2003-06-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

[Malawi map]

Malawi violence over deported al-Qaida suspects

Police fired tear gas Friday to disperse a violent crowd protesting the secret removal from Malawi of 5 Muslim foreign nationals suspected of being al-Qaida agents.

2003-06-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

North Korea Warns Security Council

North Korea sharply criticized the United States Friday in a letter warning the U.N. Security Council to take a neutral stance regarding Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

2003-06-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

Does Iran's Parliament Have Any Clout?

The parliament and the president, though democratically elected, are far less powerful than Iran's clerical establishment, which is headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

2003-06-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

Iraqi Soldiers to Get Pay

2003-06-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Italy 'could send troops to Libya'

Italy is close to signing an accord with Libya to send troops there to curb illegal immigration via the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said.

2003-06-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Mastermind of Terrorist Bombing Arrested in Saudi Arabia

An al-Qaida mastermind of the May 12 terrorist bombing in Riyadh has been arrested in Saudi Arabia, U.S. and Saudi officials said Thursday.

2003-06-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Pakistanis replace westerners in Saudi Arabia

Gulf defense sources said Riyad agreed to permit additional Pakistanis for a number of projects as well as to replace some of the Westerners who have left the kingdom over the last year.

2003-06-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

Kurdish children's march brutally stopped in Damascus

While more than 200 Kurdish children accompanied by some parents, sisters and brothers carrying roses and chanting in Kurdish for peace and equality were marching towards the UNICEF offices, at 10.45 more than 400 police officer besieged them and stopped their march some 100 meters from UNICEF headquarters.

2003-06-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

Twelve die in Yemen attack on militants

Yemeni troops besieged the Islamists' hideouts in the mountainous Sarar area [Yemen map] in Abyan province on Monday, where an estimated 80 members of the militant Yemeni group Islamic Jihad, which aims to topple the government, were said to be hiding.

2003-06-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

1,000 Saudi preachers sent back to school

Saudi Arabia has suspended more than 1,000 preachers until they are retrained to promote religious moderation and reject the "extremism" of Al Qaida militants, a government official said yesterday.

2003-06-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Drug Production Flourishing in Afghanistan

Illicit drug production is on the wane in Myanmar, Laos, Colombia and Peru but flourishing in Afghanistan, feeding a growing heroin market in Central Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe, U.N. drug experts said Wednesday.

2003-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

DNA tests being done on 85 remains from Samawa

The Criminal Evidences Department of the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry, is carrying out DNA tests on the remains of 85 bodies brought from the Iraqi Samawa mass grave. Such remains are believed to belong to Kuwaiti POWs, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khaled Al-Sabah announced Monday evening as he patronized the ninth anti-drugs awareness forum.

2003-06-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

'Enemy combatant' met bin Laden to offer aid

The Qatari native held as an "enemy combatant" because of suspected ties to terrorists personally met in Afghanistan with Osama bin Laden and other senior al Qaeda members, where he pledged his loyalty and offered himself as a martyr, federal authorities say.

2003-06-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

Bin Laden hunt still on

It's only a matter of time before Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein are captured or accounted for, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday as he announced $3 billion (U.S.) in military and economic aid to reward Pakistan for its help in the war on terror.

2003-06-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

Land of No Return

For Iraqi Kurds Displaced by Arabs -- and Vice Versa -- Home Is a Place in the Distant Past

2003-06-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

Poll: Majority Backs Use of Force in Iran

Most Americans would support the United States taking military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons despite growing public concern about the mounting number of U.S. military casualties in the aftermath of the war with Iraq, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

2003-06-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Iran bans street protests

2003-06-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Taliban form 'resistance force'

The elusive leader of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime, Mullah Omar, has named a 10-member council to organize resistance to U.S. and allied forces in the country, a news report said Tuesday.

2003-06-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Syrians want to be relevant

These are tough times for a country that was once seen as a crucial party to any lasting peace in the Middle East. But since the halt in Israeli-Syrian peace talks in 2000, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has found itself watching events from the outside.

2003-06-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

"Frightening" radioactivity in Iraqi villages

Environmental group Greenpeace called on the US-led coalition governing Iraq to clean up villages surrounding a nuclear site outside Baghdad that have been contaminated by "frightening levels" of radioactive material.

2003-06-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

Baby names a game of chance

What's in a name? Nothing, according to a study showing that blind fate can boost some monikers to popularity and consign others to history.

2003-06-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

US turns to former enemies to restore order

The increasing reliance on former regime figures to govern locally occurs as US troops come to terms with the fact that they cannot maintain security themselves.

2003-06-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Saudi leader vows to crush extremists: 44 arrested

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah has urged the Saudi citizens "to fulfil their religious and national duty" by informing authorities about members of militant groups or those who support and sympathize with them. As the momentum against the extremist elements picked up throughout the kingdom, the Prince Abdullah vowed to crush such extremist elements.

2003-06-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

New Iraqi army plans unveiled

The US-led administration in Iraq has announced plans for the creation of a new army for the country.

2003-06-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Riots in Jordan over results of elections

The Jordanian Petra News agency quoted sources at the Jordanian Ministry of the Interior that in Na'our area which is affiliated to Amman, that members of al-Ajarema tribe whose candidates failed to win the seat allotted to the area carried out acts of riots and set fire in farms and trees, but the riot fighting groups controlled the situation and arrested those who were behind these acts.

2003-06-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Pyongyang warns of 'merciless strikes'

North Korea warned of "merciless strikes" against US-led moves to clamp down on its alleged illicit activities Monday after ditching its only regular ferry run to Japan for the second time in two weeks. Man Gyong Bong-92, the ship at the centre of spying and smuggling allegations, would not arrive as scheduled in Niigata on Monday from the North Korean port of Wonsan, a group of pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans said.

2003-06-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

Saddams's 'terms for surrender'

THE senior aide of Saddam Hussein being held by the US forces has handed over a letter containing the former dictator's terms of surrender, it was claimed last night. In the letter, Saddam is said to have offered to order the end of rebel attacks which have claimed more than 40 lives since the official end of the war

2003-06-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

US and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan Launch Offensive

A U.S. military spokesman, Colonel Rodney Davis, says U.S. forces conducted an air assault and ground movements Saturday as part of "Operation Unified Resolve" aimed at blocking infiltration of al-Qaida and Taleban fighters from Pakistan.

2003-06-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

Iraqi group office raided for second time

U.S. commandos have raided an office of Iraq's main Shiite group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), in Baghdad and detained three members, SCIRI said yesterday.

2003-06-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Attacks In Iraq Traced to Network

Groups of armed fighters from the Baath Party and security agencies of ousted president Saddam Hussein have organized a loose network called the Return with the aim of driving U.S. forces out of the country, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. The officials said the group is partially responsible for the string of fatal attacks on American soldiers in recent weeks.

2003-06-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ex-US ambassador praises Iraqi Kurdistan

Peter Galbraith, the ex-US ambassador to Croatia, has said in a meeting of the American foreign relations team regarding Iraq that “Kurds have aided the USA in the recent war and they have supplied the military support that Turkey refused to do. Iraqi Kurdistan is now one of the USA’s greatest allies in the world”.

2003-06-22T04:42:00.000-07:00

Pipeline blast 'was sabotage'

An explosion that ruptured a fuel pipeline 90 miles north-west of Baghdad was caused by sabotage, Iraqi officials said yesterday.
The blast, the second to hit a pipeline this month, raised fears that opponents of the US-led occupation are striking at targets vital to Iraq's economic recovery.

2003-06-22T02:37:00.000-07:00

Saddam Possibly Dead, Again?

American specialists were carrying out DNA tests last night on human remains believed by US military sources to be those of Saddam Hussein and one of his sons, The Observer can reveal.

The remains were retrieved from a convoy of vehicles struck last week by US forces following 'firm' information that the former Iraqi leader and members of his family were travelling in the Western Desert near Syria.

2003-06-21T19:19:00.000-07:00