Jihadist Double Agent Writes of Derring-Do

Inside the Jihad: My Life With Al Qaeda, a Spy’s Story, by Omar Nasiri

…With its politically charged subject matter and a pseudonymous author whose job it was to deceive those closest to him, “Inside the Jihad” is an altogether new addition to the growing library of books about Islamic terrorism after the 9/11 attacks. The question is whether the account is true…..(New York Times, 17 Nov 06)

UK 'ignored spy's al-Qaeda fear'

UK intelligence services were warned of the threat posed by al-Qaeda in the mid-90s but did not act quickly enough, says a spy who infiltrated the network. …(BBC, 17 Nov 06)

Student Acquitted in 9/11 Perjury Case

A foreign student who was swept up in an FBI dragnet after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was acquitted Friday of lying to a grand jury to obscure his connections to two of the hijackers….(AP, 17 Nov 06)

Man with 9/11 ties found guilty in Germany

…In announcing the decision, Tolksdorf said that Motassadeq assisted the hijackers in carrying out the attacks "by making it easier and supporting them." The judge added that the accused "knew that one or more planes would be hijacked and crashed."….(LA Times, 17 Nov 06)

Kidnapping of Americans Linked to al Sadr

A senior Defense Department official told ABC News that Shiite militiamen tied to anti-American cleric Moqtada al Sadr were behind the abduction of four American security contractors and an Austrian co-worker seized in a brazen attack on a supply convoy near the southern Iraqi city of Basra….(ABC, 17 Nov 06)

Jihad's femmes fatales

…Cossor Ali, a young mother among two dozen suspects accused in a London-based plot to blow up U.S.-bound flights, intended to use her 8-month-old baby's bottle to hide a liquid explosive, authorities said. Counter-terrorism experts noted that 19 of the 41 Chechen militants in the 2002 siege of a Moscow theater were women, part of a group known as the "black widows." More than 120 civilians were killed. Experts said yesterday that female terrorists achieve martyr status among radicals…(New York Daily News, 17 Nov 06)

Germany's Struggle To Prosecute Terrorists

Germany has had little success in jailing suspected accomplices of Mohammed Atta, largely for lack of evidence. A risky foreign mission launched by its security services went badly awry….(Spiegel, 17 Nov 06)

Universities given 'how-to' guide for fighting violent Islam

The Government today issued explicit guidelines aimed at tackling violent Islamist extremism on Britain's university campuses.....(Times of London, 17 Nov 06)

Comment: why Islamic hate on campus needs to be tackled

Islamist groups first identified Britain’s universities as a fertile recruiting ground more almost two decades ago.....(Times of London, 17 Nov 06)

British Education Department issues guidance on Muslim extremism

The government on Friday published guidance for universities and colleges on dealing with attempts by Muslim extremists to recruit students….(AP, 17 Nov 06)

New Afghan police force deployed

The Afghan government has begun deploying more than 11,000 auxiliary police in the south of the country to combat worsening lawlessness….(BBC, 17 Nov 06)

NATO Chiefs to Urge World Re - Think on Afghanistan

NATO leaders meeting in Riga this month will call on the international community to revamp a haphazard strategy for rebuilding Afghanistan to plug shortcomings in aid efforts…(Reuters, 17 Nov 06)

Islamist Websites Monitor No. 22

…(MEMRI, 17 Nov 06)

They may look like carefree students, but this campus is now a battleground

Once Western pop songs blared out, now only prayers are allowed as Iraqi extremists take over the universities....(Times of London, 17 Nov 06)

Al-Qaeda report focuses on 'Crusaders' in Afghanistan

…The 66-page document devotes great attention to Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the three countries supplying the vast majority of the NATO troops currently deployed in Afghanistan…The organization's latest publication - entitled 'An Analytical Study of the Crusader Forces Occupying Afghanistan' - covers the months of June and July this year….(Radio Netherlands, 17 Nov 06)

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Yahya Safavi on Iranian TV: 'The Americans Have Many Weaknesses'; 'We Have Planned Our Strategy Precisely on the Basis of Their Strengths and Weaknesses'; U.S. Forces in Iraq 'Are Very Cowardly'; 'We Never Reveal All Our Cards to the Enemy'

In an interview on Iran's Channel 2, that aired on November 12, 2006, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi stated that Iran had based its strategy on the U.S. military's strengths and weaknesses…..(MEMRI, 17 Nov 06)

Shiite-Led Iraqi Ministry Seeks Arrest of Top Sunni Cleric

…Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani declared on state television late Thursday that an arrest warrant had been issued for Harith al-Dhari, leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars, one of the most outspoken defenders of Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs after the U.S.-led invasion. "We have proof that he is involved in terrorism," said Brig. Abdul Karim Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman, without elaborating….(Washington Post, 17 Nov 06)

Iraq gov't distances itself from warrant for cleric

Iraq's Shi'ite-led government sought to distance itself on Friday from the issuing of an arrest warrant for the country's most prominent Sunni cleric after Sunni politicians warned it could fuel sectarian tension. Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said the warrant for Harith al-Dari was issued by the judiciary, not the government….(Reuters, 17 Nov 06)

Key facts about Iraqi Sunni leader Dari

Five foreigners kidnapped in Iraq

Four Americans and an Austrian have been kidnapped from a convoy of civilians in southern Iraq, US and Iraqi sources have said. The convoy of 19 vehicles, operated by a Kuwaiti security service, was reportedly attacked near Basra as it headed towards Nasiriya on Thursday….(BBC, 17 Nov 06)

Suicide bomber dies attacking Pakistan police

A suicide bomber killed himself in an attack on a police van in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar on Friday, but neither of the policemen in the vehicle were hurt…(Reuters, 17 Nov 06)

Militant networks

Group Will Sort Terrorism Alerts for Local Governments

A new plan to improve information-sharing about terrorism, signed by President Bush this week and delivered to Congress yesterday, establishes a Washington-based "threat assessment group" that includes federal, state and local officials. It also aims to reduce more than 100 restrictive and confusing categories of "sensitive" federal information to a half-dozen or fewer so local-level officials can better understand what they are told….(Washington Post, 17 Nov 06)

Muslim detained by CIA granted U.S. visa

A German Muslim whose detention and torture by the CIA prompted an apology from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be granted a visa to come to the United States, although he might still be refused entry. "Khaled el-Masri was found inadmissible to the United States on the basis of ... terrorist activities, and issued a visa on the basis of a waiver from the Department of Homeland Security,"…(UPI, 17 Nov 06)

33 Arrested in Visa Investigation
…The arrests, which resulted from an ongoing investigation, came more than a year after a Department of Homeland Security review of the religious worker visa program found widespread fraud….(Washington Post, 17 Nov 06)

NYPD Holds Conference On New Tactics Terrorists Use

NYPD intelligence analysts showed video by aspiring terrorists to private security officers Thursday to demonstrate the kind of detailed surveillance terrorists do before an attack…(New York1, 17 Nov 06)

Violence in Iraq Called Increasingly Complex

…Attempting to describe the enemy, Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, the DIA director, listed "Iraqi nationalists, ex-Baathists, former military, angry Sunni, Jihadists, foreign fighters and al-Qaeda," who create an "overlapping, complex and multi-polar Sunni insurgent and terrorist environment." He added that "Shia militias and Shia militants, some Kurdish pesh merga, and extensive criminal activity further contribute to violence, instability and insecurity."….(Washington Post, 17 Nov 06)

Why I Won’t Veil
I went to Egypt this summer to learn how to speak Arabic. What I learned instead was how to cover up, to be invisible, to preserve my “moral reputation.”....(Harvard Crimson, 17 Nov 06)

Franchising terror, mosque by mosque

....The mosques are recruiters for the jihad and play an important role in ideological subordination and cell discipline. In globalization terms, that's a perfect model. Unlike the Soviets, it's a franchise business rather than owner-operated; the Commies had "deep sleepers" who had to be "controlled" in a very hierarchical chain.....(National Post, 17 Nov 06)

29 immigrants arrested for visa fraud

…The immigrants, arrested in Boston, New York City, Buffalo, Hartford, Atlanta, St. Paul, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Va., face civil immigration charges and could be deported if they are found to have violated federal law, said Marc Raimondi, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…(USA Today, 16 Nov 06)

Iran tried to swap guns for Somali uranium

…A report given to the Security Council today finds that Iran is one of seven countries breaking a UN arms embargo by providing weapons to the Islamic radicals who control most of southern and central Somalia, including the capital, Mogadishu….(Telegraph, 15 Nov 06)

U.N. Report Cites Outside Military Aid to Somalia's Islamic Forces

...The report asserts that a huge inflow of outside military assistance, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, is contributing to the emergence of an alliance of militants called the Islamic Courts Union as the first Islamic government since the United States overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban in 2002. It warns that Somalia could become the site of insurgency tactics used in Iraq, including "suicide bombers, assassinations and other forms of terrorist and insurgent-type activities."…(Washington Post, 15 Nov 06)

Leading member of Muslim extremist group working at the Home Office

…Abid Javaid is a 'senior executive officer' in the IT department at the scandal-hit Immigration and Nationality Directorate which processes tens of thousands of asylum and visa applications every year. But he is also an activist in the fundamentalist Islamic group Hizb-ut Tahrir which believes in a worldwide Islamic state under Shariah law….(Daily Mail, 15 Nov 06)

Al - Jazeera's English Channel to Hit

Ten years after launching an Arabic-language network that angered leaders in the region and in Washington, Al-Jazeera on Wednesday was unveiling an English broadcast available in more than 80 million homes but lacking major U.S. distribution….(AP, 15 Nov 06)

U.N. Says Somalis Helped Hezbollah Fighters

More than 700 Islamic militants from Somalia traveled to Lebanon in July to fight alongside Hezbollah in its war against Israel, a United Nations report says. The militia in Lebanon returned the favor by providing training and — through its patrons Iran and Syria — weapons to the Islamic alliance struggling for control of Somalia, it adds. …(New York Times, 15 Nov 06)

Hate videos of Muslim group they failed to ban

A Muslim organization which the Government chose not to ban is preaching hatred and has infiltrated the Home Office…Hizb ut-Tahrir is showing inflammatory videos to small groups of followers then encouraging them to attack non-believers…..(Telegraph, 15 Nov 06)

Bakri 'supports terror on internet'

Exiled Islamic cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed is allegedly using a variety of pseudonyms to broadcast support for terrorism in the UK via the internet…Bakri, who was banned from the UK last August, apparently praised the July 7 bombers and, in a chatroom conversation, appeared to advocate an attack on Dublin airport…(Guardian, 15 Nov 06)

Azerbaijan Paper Investigated For Criticizing Islam

Azerbaijani prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into an Azerbaijani newspaper, after it published an article that said Islam was blocking humanity's development….(AP, 15 Nov 06)

Qods (Jerusalem) Day in Iran: 'The Nation of Muslims Must Prepare for the Great War So As to Completely Wipe Out the Zionist Regime and to Remove This Cancerous Growth'

On the occasion of Qods (Jerusalem) Day, which was observed this year in Iran on October 20, 2006, several conservative Iranian newspapers published editorials praising the resistance against Israel and urging Israel's destruction…(MEMRI, 15 Nov 06)

Iraqi Researcher Living in Europe on Al-Jazeera TV: The Nobel Peace Prize is Racist; 'Why Has the Prize Been Awarded to 167 Jews and Only 4 Arabs... All Considered Traitors?'; The Prize Stems from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion

The following are excerpts from an interview with Samir 'Ubeid, an Iraqi researcher living in Europe, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on October 31, 2006…(MEMRI, 15 Nov 06)

Car bomb in Baghdad kills 11 and wounds dozens

A car bomb exploded in a parking lot in central Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 11 people and wounding 32…(AP/Jerusalem Post, 15 Nov 06)

Dispute over Iraq hostage numbers

A dispute has broken out between Iraqi officials over the number of hostages seized by gunmen in a raid on government offices in Baghdad….(BBC, 15 Nov 06)

39 Are Released After Kidnapping, Iraqi Official Says

…Ali Dabbagh, the official spokesman for the Iraqi government, said that it appeared that far fewer people had been seized at the education ministry annex than had been originally feared Tuesday, when estimates of the number of victims ranged as high as 150…(New York Times, 15 Nov 06)

Chertoff, Democrats agree to weigh border fence alternatives

The House Homeland Security Committee's top Democrats and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday they will look at alternatives to building more fencing along the nation's borders…(Congress Daily, 15 Nov 06)

U.S. Intel Chiefs Paint a Grim Picture of Iraq

…General Michael Hayden, director of the CIA, warned at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the sectarian violence between Iraq's Shia and Sunnis has gotten so out of hand it "now presents the greatest immediate threat to Iraq's stability and future."…(Time Magazine, 15 Nov 06)

AM - Kiribati seeks Australian help to counter terrorism

The tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati wants Australia's help to counter terrorism after US authorities uncovered a bizarre plot to a set up a flight training school on one of its remote islands. The FBI suspects the man behind it, Wolfgang Bohringer, may have had links with 9/11 mastermind Mohammed Atta…(ABC, 15 Nov 06)

Man with Sept 11 links set up flight school

US authorities have uncovered a plot to set up a flight training school in the Pacific nation of Kiribati and suspect the man behind it may have had links to September 11 mastermind Mohammed Atta….(Australian, 15 Nov 06)

Countries not doing enough on terrorism: Interpol

…Ron Noble, Interpol's secretary general, cited a failure by security forces to check properly the passports of foreigners against its global database of stolen or fraudulent documents…(Reuters, 15 Nov 06)

India, Pakistan agree panel to tackle terrorism

India and Pakistan said on Wednesday they had finalized plans to set up a panel to tackle terrorism in the two countries, ending their first peace talks in nearly a year with hopes that the new system would curb tensions….(Reuters, 15 Nov 06)

Islamists in Tajik terrorism trial

A group of men accused of terrorism went on trial in Tajikistan on Wednesday in the latest crackdown on suspected members of an Islamist extremist group banned in Central Asia….(Reuters, 15 Nov 06)

Senate to Take Up Biological Threats
The Senate is moving to take up legislation as soon as this week revamping a struggling multibillion-dollar effort to counter bioterrorism threats with a national stockpile of new vaccines and other drugs….(Washington Post 15 Nov 06)

NBC: Where Taliban, al-Qaida cross-fertilize

…Jim Maceda is on assignment in Pakistan and Afghanistan reporting on the unruly tribal area between the two nations. In a Q&A, he discusses the threat presented by the resurgence of the Taliban in Pakistan and the organization's close ties to al-Qaida…..(NBC, 15 Nov 06)

Anti-Castro Activist Gets 4 Years

U.S. District Judge James Cohn imposed a 46-month term on wealthy developer Santiago Alvarez, a key benefactor of jailed Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles, for conspiring to possess arms including machine guns and a grenade launcher…(AP, 14 Nov 06)

Hezbollah Denounces Alleged Attempt to Turn Lebanon into a 'New Iraq'

Three months after the end of the Israeli/Hezbollah war, there is growing tension between Hezbollah and the "March 14" anti-Syrian political coalition that dominates the Lebanese government….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 14 Nov 06)

British Terrorist Dhiren Barot's Research on Radiological Weapons

After returning from his militant adventures in Kashmir, recently sentenced British terrorist Dhiren Barot recounted his experiences in the book The Army of Madinah in Kashmir….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 14 Nov 06)

A Rewarding Month for Al-Qaeda and its Allies

…The first half of November, however, provides an opportunity for at least a snapshot assessment that suggests that, at this moment, al-Qaeda and its allies are winning the larger conflict….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 14 Nov 06)

Saudi Arabia Interdicts Large Quantities of Weapons at its Borders

According to a November 6 report in al-Sharq al-Awsat, Saudi authorities have recently made sizable seizures of large quantities of weapons and explosives at the kingdom's borders, including its border with Iraq….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 14 Nov 06)

Gunmen Kidnap Government Staff in Baghdad

…Estimates of the number of kidnapped varied widely, with a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior putting the number at between 30 and 40 and the department of higher education saying anywhere between 70 and 150 men were missing.…..(New York Times, 14 Nov 06)

Bullet-riddled corpses found in Baghdad

Police around the Iraqi capital found 46 bullet-riddled corpses, many of them tortured, of men shot to death in apparent sectarian attacks…(Agence France-Presse, 14 Nov 06)

Mass kidnapping at ministry closes Baghdad universities

Armed men wearing military-style uniforms have kidnapped around 100 people from the higher education ministry in the Iraqi capital, bringing teaching at Baghdad universities to a halt. Higher Education Minister Abed Dhiab al-Ujaili said university professors would stop teaching after what he condemned as a criminal and terrorist act aimed at destroying higher education in Iraq….(Agence France-Presse, 14 Nov 06)

Iran plotting to groom bin Laden's successor

…Western intelligence officials say the Iranians are determined to take advantage of bin Laden's declining health to promote senior officials who are known to be friendly to Teheran…..(Telegraph, 14 Nov 06)

German criticises Lebanese terrorism inquiry
…Germany narrowly avoided its first major attack by Islamists when the two bombs on separate trains failed to explode on July 31. It arrested one chief suspect and Lebanon detained the other, Jihad Hamad….(DPA, 14 Nov 06)

Toll of Civilians NATO Killed Was Worst Since It Took Over

A joint NATO and Afghan investigation has found that a nighttime NATO air attack killed 31 civilians in southern Afghanistan last month, the highest civilian death toll since NATO took over security in the south in August….(New York Times, 14 Nov 06)

Anti-terror panel in focus at India-Pakistan

The two-day talks between the nuclear-armed neighbors are expected to set up a system to combat terrorism….(Reuters, 14 Nov 06)

Judith Miller Backs Israelis In Trial Over Aid to Hamas

…Salah, 53, and former Howard University professor Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 48, are charged in a federal racketeering indictment with providing money and fresh recruits to the Palestinian group Hamas in its campaign to topple the state of Israel…(AP, 14 Nov 06)

Australia repeats intent to seek Hicks return if charges not laid soon
The Australian government will request the return of Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks if the US fails to charge him under the revised military commissions framework, Australia's attorney general told a meeting of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) Monday….(Jurist, 14 Nov 06)

Pakistan Votes to Roll Back Islamic Law on Rape

Pakistan's lower house of parliament voted on Wednesday to put the crime of rape under the civil penal code, curtailing the scope of Islamic laws that rights groups have long criticized as unfair to women….(Reuters, 15 Nov 06)

Iran 'is training the next al-Qa'eda leaders'