'Shadow Wolves' Prowl the U.S.-Mexico Border

…Sloan Satepauhoodle scours the desert along the Mexican border for drug smugglers in the old ways. She is a tracker, a former Secret Service agent and customs inspector in Washington who traded in her desk and computer to work "intel" in the desert, employing sign-cutting -- or tracking -- skills once used by her Kiowa ancestors to hunt animals……(Washington Post, 5 May 07)

FBI Providing Critical Intelligence to Local Cops

The National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan represents law enforcement's commitment to take it upon itself to ensure that the dots are connected, be it in crime or terrorism. The plan is the outcome of an unprecedented effort by law enforcement agencies, with the strong support of the Department of Justice, to strengthen the nation's security through better intelligence analysis and sharing…..(Conservative Voice, 5 May 07)

Somali Held at Guantanamo Denies Al-Qaeda Link

A Somali man accused by U.S. officials of belonging to a group affiliated with al-Qaeda acknowledged to a U.S. military tribunal that he trained in Afghanistan for holy war in his homeland but denied any link to al-Qaeda. Gouled Hassan Dourad, allegedly a member of al-Ittihad al-Islami, an organization listed by the United States as a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda, is one of 14 so-called high-value detainees who were transferred in September to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba….(AP, 5 May 07)

TSA Hard Drive With Employee Data Is Reported Stolen

The FBI and the Secret Service have opened a criminal investigation into the apparent theft of a computer hard drive containing the personal, payroll and bank information of 100,000 current and former workers of the Transportation Security Administration, including airport security officers and federal air marshals….(Washington Post, 5 May 07)

Louisiana student charged with threatening Clinton

A Louisiana State University student has been jailed on charges that he threatened to blow up U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during a campaign stop in Baton Rouge…The Baton Rouge Advocate, citing the warrant authorizing the arrest, said he told his friend he wanted to commit an act of terrorism that would be a "national event" and involve Clinton….(Reuters, 5 May 07)

Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for rocket attacks at S Israel

Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement on Saturday claimed responsibility for launching three homemade rockets into southern Israel….(Xinhua, 5 May 07)

One Man's Terrorist, Another's Refugee?

Today's foreign terrorists could become tomorrow's U.S. refugees if the Bush administration gets its way. The intent is to grant refugee status to rebels who have fought repressive governments or advanced U.S. foreign policy objectives, particularly in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America….(AP, 5 May 07)

An Uphill Battle to Stop Fighters at Border
The Iraqi general in charge of guarding the border with Syria said his forces cannot completely prevent suicide bombers, who often carry fake passports and appear well trained and funded, from slipping into Iraq…..(Washington Post, 5 May 07)

U.S. Gives Kenya Aid to Fight Terrorism

The United States said Friday it will provide more than $14 million in security assistance to Kenya to boost efforts to combat terrorist activities in the east African nation…..(AP, 4 May 07)

Documents Exposed by Egyptian Government Weekly Indicate Ties Between Iraqi PM and Irania Revolutionary Guards

An investigative article by journalist Mahdi Mustafa, published March 31, 2007 in the Egyptian government weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, featured photographs of documents indicating that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has ties with Muqtada Al-Sadr and with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.(1) The following are the main points of the article…The first document, labeled "confidential, personal, and urgent," is a January 2007 letter from Al-Maliki's office to the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, with copies to the presidency of the [Shi'ite party] Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and to the Al-Shahid Al-Sadr organization." In it, Al-Maliki requests that the commanders of the Mahdi Army, who have ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, be pulled off the Iraqi frontlines, in order to protect them from being arrested or killed…..(MEMRI, 4 May 07)

Mosque leaders warned against preaching extremism

The new Yemeni minister of endowment and guidance has warned mosque preachers against exploiting mosques for partisan, sectarian or tribal purposes, sources attending a meeting between the two sides said…..(Gulf News, 4 May 07)

Yemen: Jews Chased From Their Homes by Shiite Rebels

A group of armed Shiite rebels led by the Yemeni imam Abdel Malik al-Houthi are chasing members of the small Jewish community in the province of Sada, in north Yemen, from their homes and forcing them to leave the region….(AKI, 4 May 07)

Christian-Muslim wounds still "very deep": Khatami

Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami met Pope Benedict on Friday and said the wounds between Christians and Muslims were still "very deep," including those caused by a controversial papal speech last September. Khatami became one of the most prominent Muslim clerics to visit the Vatican since the Pope's controversial Regensburg speech which angered Muslims by appearing to link Islam and violence….(Reuters, 4 May 07)

The making of martyrs, the training of terrorists

… Zarqa was undergoing a shift toward conservative Islam. One of the new adherents, who wears a niqab that veils her face, sat in the women's prayer room of the mosque recently and said: "Religion was something we just got from our parents. But after the war started, we decided we have to show the world we are Muslims. I started wearing the niqab to show the world I am Muslim." Some of Zarqa's young men began displaying their commitment to Islam by going to fight in Iraq, and the funerals back home seemed to have had a profound effect on young men…..(International Herald Tribune, 4 May 07)

Hafsa students demand fatwa on ‘enlightened moderation’

Female students of the Jamia Hafsa on Thursday demanded a religious decree from the prayer leader of the Grand Mosque regarding the Islamic view on terming jihad as terrorism and the “spread of obscenity in the name of enlightened moderation”…..(Daily times, 4 May 07)

Recent Cases of Missing Data

Some recent security breaches involving electronic government data:….(AP, 4 May 07)

Carlos the Jackal to Face Trial in Paris

The jailed Venezuelan terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal is to face trial for his alleged role in deadly terror bombings in 1982 and 1983 in France, a judicial official said Friday. Top anti-terror judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere _ renowned for tracking down Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez _ ordered him to stand trial for the four attacks, which killed 12 and injured at least 100, a judicial official said on condition of anonymity. Such officials are not authorized to speak to the media about such matters. Ramirez, 57, is serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murders of two French secret agents and an alleged informer. He gained international notoriety as the Cold War-era mastermind of deadly bombings, killings and hostage dramas….(AP, 4 May 07)

Carlos the Jackal faces new trial

Ilich Ramirez Sanchez - better known as Carlos the Jackal - is to be tried in France over a series of bombings in the 1980s that left at least 11 dead…Carlos' most infamous act was leading a raid in Vienna in 1975, when his group took 11 ministers of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries hostage. His group left with hostages on a plane provided by Austrian authorities and was eventually given asylum in Algiers….(BBC, 4 May 07)

U.S. military arrived in Algeria to fight al-Qaida

According to Washington Examiner newspaper, United States of America have sent U.S. Marines and a group of military experts specialized in intelligence to Algeria upon its request in order to help the country fighting terrorism. Adm. Eric T. Olson, SoCom's deputy commander said the U.S. military arrived in Algeria after Algerian authorities had asked for the American help and declared the war against “al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb”. This terrorist organization targeted Algiers in April 11th by suicide bombings attacks….(Echo Rouko, 4 May 07)

Hawala kingpin admits routing funds to Al-Qaida

Naresh Chandra Jain, the main accused in one of the biggest money-laundering rackets to be busted abroad which involves Indians, has confessed to interrogators in Dubai that he had routed funds to Al-Qaida, besides having links with terrorist mastermind Dawood Ibrahim…..(Times of India, 4 May 07)

US officials to grill Hicks again

…The plea deal orders Hicks to "cooperate fully, completely and truthfully" with US intelligence authorities. It was believed Hicks would meet with American interrogators at Guantanamo before being transferred from the US military base at Cuba to a jail in his home town of Adelaide later this month…..(AAP, 4 May 07)

Benchmark Document / Israel concerned by Washington's demands

Senior officials fear a confrontation with Washington over a document of benchmarks it has presented to Israel and the Palestinian Authority setting a detailed timetable for measures each side must implement…..(Haaretz, 4 May 07)

Irish Protestant Group Pledges to Disarm

The Ulster Volunteer Force, an underground Protestant army that terrorized Roman Catholics for decades and committed the bloodiest attack of the Northern Ireland conflict, renounced violence Thursday and promised to evolve into a force for good……(AP, 3 May 07)

Path to extremism: How it started

…Understanding the network requires looking at how the men came together. And at the heart of that story is an organization called Al Muhajiroun. Now banned and declared disbanded by its founders, in the mid 1990s it was at the heart of radical Islamist politics in the UK. A key figure was self-declared cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, a media hate-figure who fled the UK after the 7 July attacks…..(BBC, 4 May 07)

FBI's Canadian songbird

In the five years since (Mohammed Mansour ) Jabarah's Toronto arrest, he has given evidence on the world's most wanted terrorists….(National Post, 3 May 07)

Potential Terror Jurors Cite 9/11 Doubts

Many potential jurors in the Jose Padilla terrorism-support case say they aren't sure who directed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks because they don't trust reporters or the federal government…..(Washington Post, 4 May 07)

Court tosses terror challenge

The Federal Court of Canada has dismissed a constitutional challenge to the Canada Evidence Act by a man accused of terrorism. Mohammed Momin Khawaja, facing seven terrorism-related charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act challenged Section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act, which allows the government to present secret evidence to trial judges without the accused person being present…..(Canoe, 3 May 07)

Former Guantanamo inmate walks free in Morocco

A Moroccan man sent home from the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay last week was released by local authorities after terrorism-related charges were dropped, a human rights lawyer and relatives said on Thursday. Ahmed Errachidi, 41, was arrested on his return to Morocco and appeared before a judge on Wednesday on suspicion of preparing and carrying out terrorist acts….(Reuters, 3 May 07)

British terrorists using Africa as secret staging post

Home-grown British terrorists have been flying to countries in Africa that do not require visas from London before transferring to Pakistan for training in al-Qaeda camps. The countries are believed to include Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar, where visas are available on arrival, and South Africa, which requires no visa for a stay of fewer than 90 days. There is evidence that al-Qaeda has been looking for loopholes and weaknesses that can be exploited by volunteers in order to evade intelligence services in the West. Africa is fast becoming the continent preferred by British Pakistanis who want to reach Pakistan to enter the terrorist training camps without alerting the authorities….(Times Online, 3 May 07)

Pakistan downplays radioactive ad

Pakistan's nuclear authority has said there is no cause for concern after it published press adverts for information on "lost" radioactive material. The adverts urged members of the public to inform officials if they found any "lost or stolen" radioactive material. They were published in major Urdu-language newspapers in Pakistan. A spokesman for the nuclear authority said that there was a "very remote chance" that nuclear materials imported 40-50 years ago were unaccounted for….(BBC, 3 May 07)

'AQ Khan's network is still active'

The clandestine network of nuclear material and technology trading set up by Pakistani scientist AQ Khan is still very much in business and actively involved in proliferation, according to a media report in London. Quoting a new report by the influential think-tank International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), media says only a part of Khan's worldwide organization had been uncovered and some of the members prosecuted. The report, titled "Nuclear Black Markets: Pakistan, AQ Khan and the rise of proliferation networks", adds that Khan's extensive 'contact book' had been sold on allowing lucrative new deals to take place….(Hindustan Times, 3 May 07)

Pakistani links to terror in UK

Five men found guilty of plotting a massive blast using a fertilizer bomb came together for secret military training camps in Pakistan. It is not the first time there have been Pakistani links to terrorist activity in the UK…In the 1980s Pakistan and America sponsored Islamist militants to take on the Soviets in neighboring Afghanistan. In the 1990s Pakistan set up jihadi groups to fight in the disputed region of Kashmir. Officially the government no longer backs these militant networks, but it hasn't dismantled them….(BBC, 3 May 07)

Lawmakers Decry Iran-India Alliance
Key congressional supporters of closer ties with India have signed a toughly worded bipartisan letter to the Indian prime minister warning of "grave concern" that India's ties with Iran "have the potential to significantly harm prospects" for a nuclear cooperation deal that President Bush reached with India in 2005…It was sent yesterday, one day after Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon publicly dismissed reports of closer military cooperation with Iran…..(Washington Post, 3 May 07)

Rice meets with Syrian counterpart

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Syria ‘s foreign minister Thursday in the first high-level talks between the two countries in years, hours after the chief military spokesman in Iraq said Syria had moved to reduce "the flow of foreign fighters" across its border….(AP, 3 May 07)

Interactive: Baghdad: Mapping the violence

Police: 85 Iraqis Killed Nationwide

A suicide car bomber struck in the main Shiite district of the capital Wednesday, killing at least nine people as the U.S. military said its troop buildup in Baghdad was nearly complete. Three more U.S. soldiers were killed by bombs in the capital. At least 85 Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide….(AP, 3 May 07)

U.S. military says Syrians have reduced flow of foreign fighters into Iraq

The chief spokesman for U.S.-led forces in Iraq said Thursday that Syria had taken action to reduce the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq…..(AP, 3 May 07)

Egyptian Daily Reveals Details Of Al-Qaeda In Iraq Leader

As US investigators seek to verify through DNA tests that the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed recently in clashes north of Baghdad, Egyptian daily al-Ahram has revealed new biographical details about the man who stepped into the shoes of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Behind the pseudonym al-Masri, the paper says, is Abdel Muniem Ezzedin Ali Ismayl, born 21 December 1969 in the eastern provinces of Egypt….(AKI, 3 May 07)

Karzai Says Civilian Toll Is No Longer Acceptable

Afghan President Hamid Karzai declared Wednesday that his government can "no longer accept" civilian casualties caused by U.S.-led operations, shortly before news spread that as many as 51 civilians may have died during clashes this week in far western Afghanistan…..(Washington Post, 3 May 07)

Reaction to Local Student Terrorism Threat
…School violence hits close to home as a 13-year-old boy faces charges for threatening to commit terrorism. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department says the student planned to lock down the Hanover Horton Middle School and take hostages in an attempt to commit suicide….(WLNS, 3 May 07)

US pushes for visa control on Pakistani Britons

…The Americans have been concerned that their principal security risk could actually come from Britain, with whom they operate a visa waiver scheme. Since 2004, Britons traveling to the US do not need a visa if they have a machine-readable passport issued since 1991. Michael Chertoff, the US homeland security secretary, has reportedly told the Government that British Pakistanis should apply for a visa before traveling to America…..(Telegraph, 3 May 07)

Jemaah Islamiyah In Transition But Still Dangerous, Says Report

Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the main terrorist group active in Southeast Asia, is in a phase of transition but still remains a threat. This is the conclusion of the report released on Thursday by the International Crisis Group (ICG) on JI, the terrorist group said to be responsible for several attacks, including the two Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005…..(AKI, 3 May 07)

Berber Leader Belkacem Lounes: 'There Is No Worse Colonialism Than That of the Pan-Arabist Clan that Wants to Dominate Our People'

Belkacem Lounes, president of the World Amazigh Congress, wrote an open letter to Libyan leader Mu'ammar Qaddafi in response to the latter's March 1 speech in which he denied the existence of a Berber or Amazigh(1) people in North Africa….(MEMRI, 3 May 07)

Gunmen kidnap 20, free 8 in Nigerian oil delta

Gunmen kidnapped 20 foreign workers in three attacks in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region but eight were freed within hours after a mix-up….(Reuters, 3 May 07)

4 killed in Green Zone rocket attack

Four Filipino contractors working for the U.S. government were killed in a rocket attack on the heavily fortified Green Zone, the American Embassy said Thursday…..(AP, 3 May 07)

3 Koreans, 8 Filipinos kidnapped in Nigeria

A group of 12 workers, including three South Koreans and eight Filipinos, were kidnapped Thursday by armed militants in Nigeria, the South Korean foreign ministry said….(Agence France-Presse, 3 May 07)

Libyan Blamed for Bomb at Cheney Visit

A Libyan al-Qaida commander was probably behind the suicide bombing that killed 23 people outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney…Abu Laith al-Libi, who was featured in an al-Qaida video last week, is believed to have trained bombers at terror camps in Afghanistan, including one raided by U.S. troops in eastern Khost province in 2005….(AP, 3 May 07)

US forces arrest two in Iraq for smuggling weapons from Iran

US forces arrested two Iraqis suspected of smuggling weapons and armour-piercing explosives from Iran in a dawn raid Thursday into Baghdad's Shiite slum Sadr City, the military announced. The arrests came ahead of a possible first meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and United States since 1980….(Agence France-Presse, 3 May 07)

Afghan army bus bombed in Kabul, one dead

A roadside bomb hit an Afghan army bus in Kabul on Thursday, killing the driver and wounding 29 people, security officials said, hours after gunmen shot dead an ex-premier in the capital…..(Reuters, 3 May 07)

Two security officers shot dead in Thai Muslim south

Two security officers have been shot dead by suspected Islamic rebels in Thailand's restive Muslim-majority south….(Agence France-Presse, 3 May 07)

Home-grown threat that unnerves US allies

Since 2003, British police and security services have regarded an extremist fringe among British nationals of Muslim, mostly Pakistani, background as the principal terrorist threat. Not unnaturally, their American allies have become convinced of the same thing…..(Telegraph, 3 May 07)

Why should we have to justify ourselves to the people who want to bomb us?

Although we shall never know how the Prophet would have received a plan to blow up "slags" in a London nightclub, there is no avoiding the feeling that for some of today's more respectable non-Muslims, this particular target might appear more . . . how shall we say - understandable? - than others…..(Guardian, 3 May 07)

MI5 faces 'new realities' of terror

It could have been so different. The story could have been about a textbook operation by MI5 and the police in discovering, penetrating and disrupting the fertilizer bomb plot. It was an operation that on one level was incredibly successful…..(BBC, 3 May 07)

Reputed Klansman Granted Immunity

A reputed Ku Klux Klansman was granted immunity to testify in the upcoming trial of his cousin, James Ford Seale, who is charged with kidnapping and conspiracy in the 1964 murders of two black teenagers. Charles Marcus Edwards admitted in 1964 that he and Seale abducted and beat the two teens, but he denied having a part in their deaths, according to FBI documents from the time…..(AP 3 May 07)

Bush to proceed on East Europe missile shield talks

The Bush administration said on Thursday it will launch negotiations this month to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe despite Russia's objections and growing opposition in the Democratic-led U.S. Congress…..(Reuters, 3 May 07)

Task Force: U.S. Lagging In Internet Fight Against Terrorism

A high-level task force plans to tell a Senate committee today that it's not only hard to stop extremists from using the Internet to communicate and plot their next moves, but the government is lagging badly in efforts to curb such activity…One puzzle the report cited: "How it is that a nation that gave rise to Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue came to be outplayed in the realm of ideas, effectively communicated in the new media?"…(Courant, 3 May 07)

Iraq: New Cartel Joins Anti Al-Qaeda Front

Three of the most important Iraqi insurgent groups have formed a new cartel calling itself the Jihad and Reform Front in what appears further evidence of the isolation of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The Islamic Army in Iraq, the Mujahadeen Army, and the splinter group of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna known as the Sharia Committee have joined forces…..(AKI, 3 May 07)

Britain freezes Sri Lanka aid, seeks Tiger talks

Britain has frozen aid to Sri Lanka in a bid to pressure the government to improve its human rights record….(Agence France-Presse, 3 May 07)

U.S. military says it killed senior al-Qaida leader, but not head of the insurgent group

…U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the killing of Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jubouri, described as al-Qaida's information minister, had apparently led to confused reports that al-Qaida's top leader or the head of an umbrella group of insurgents had been killed…..(AP, 3 May 07)

Military: New Iraqi school had bombs built in

American soldiers discovered a girls school being built north of Baghdad had become an explosives-rigged "death trap," the U.S. military said Thursday. The plot at the Huda Girls' school in Tarmiya was a "sophisticated and premeditated attempt to inflict massive casualties on our most innocent victims," ….(CNN, 3 May 07)

Mogadishu Mayor Vows to Hit Terrorists

…Mohamed Dheere, who spent 16 years as a warlord struggling for power in this Horn of Africa nation, was named mayor this week. The move appeased his clan _ and that may have as much to do with the calm of recent days as any victory over insurgents, who the government calls terrorists…..(AP, 2 May 07)

4,000 U.S. Soldiers Arrive in Baghdad

Nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers have arrived in Baghdad as a crackdown aimed at quelling the sectarian violence enters its 12th week. Meanwhile, bombings and shootings killed 10 people Wednesday, including three Sunni brothers who were shot to death in Baghdad….(AP, 2 May 07)

B'desh police probe al Qaeda link to railway bombs

…Police said they believed the blasts in Dhaka, the port city of Chittagong and northeastern Sylhet, which slightly injured a rickshaw puller, were not intended to kill anybody but to announce the presence of an Islamist group in the country….(Reuters, 2 May 07)

Report: Extremists Value Web As Tool

Extremist Islamic groups have come to value the Internet so much for its ability to spread their message that some have said the keyboard is as important as a Kalashnikov rifle, a report for Congress says. The report, to be presented to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, says terrorists have increased their use of the Internet to make their activities faster, cheaper and more secure…..(AP, 2 May 07)

House panel cuts East Europe missile shield funds

A U.S. House committee on Wednesday cut money requested by President George W. Bush to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe, with some lawmakers saying there has not been enough consultation with NATO allies or testing of the technology. Russia views the U.S. plan to base 10 missile interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic from 2012 as a major threat to its national security. Russian President Vladimir Putin has frozen commitments under a post-Cold War treaty on conventional force levels in Europe in protest….(Reuters, 2 May 07)

The real darkness at the heart of Islamist terror

Listen to any Radio 4 discussion on what motivates terrorists, and the same consensus is usually reached – it’s foreign policy, stupid. Bush and Blair, Iraq and Afghanistan, the West’s misguided interventions in the Muslim world, that’s what inflames young hearts with righteous anger, an anger which our leaders have allowed to become a killing rage….(Times Online, 2 May 07)

Iran deports thousands of Afghans

More than 36,000 Afghans have been deported from Iran in the past 10 days, the UN refugee agency says. The move has virtually cleared the south-eastern Iranian border town of Zabol of its Afghan population…..(BBC, 2 May 07)

U.S. taxpayers subsidize terrorist propaganda and Holocaust denial in the Arab world.

…there is no practicable way that Foggy Bottom, or anyone else for that matter, can effectively monitor Al-Hurra, which has come under fire since the publication of my story about it on The Wall Street Journal's editorial page in March… With an annual budget now over $70 million, Al-Hurra has for three years served as the centerpiece of America's aggressive post-9/11 courtship of the Arab world…..(Wall Street Journal, 2 May 07)

U.S. Seeks Closing of Visa Loophole for Britons

… American officials, citing the number of terror plots in Britain involving Britons with ties to Pakistan, expressed concern over the visa loophole. In recent months, the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, has opened talks with the government here on how to curb the access of British citizens of Pakistani origin to the United States….(New York Times, 2 May 07)

US names ULFA, CPI (Maoist) as Groups of Concern

The US has designated India's banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the Communist Party of India (Maoist) as Groups of Concern. Besides these two, 41 other active groups from across the world figure in this list released by the US State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism, 2006 on Monday…..(ANI, 2 May 07)

Republicans lobby Pelosi to protect 'John Does'

…The legislation responds to a lawsuit filed by six Muslim imams after they were removed from a Nov. 20 U.S. Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix for suspicious behavior. The lawsuit was filed on March 12 and also named as defendants any yet-unknown "John Doe" passengers who reported the imams' behavior…..(Washington Times, 2 May 07)

Florida Man Sues to Halt Mosque Construction, Claims Terrorism Ties

…The lawsuit claims the leader of the mosque, Imam Hassan Sabri, has repeatedly been associated with others who are tied to terrorist groups including Hamas, Al Qaeda and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The connections outlined in the filing appear loose and there is no accusation of direct wrongdoing. Sabri has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing and neither he nor his mosque have been the target of any publicized investigation….AP, 2 May 07)

Crash Puts Licensing Under Scrutiny

…The fiery crash has thrown a spotlight on the limits of anti-terrorism rules that may not prevent people with checkered backgrounds from hauling hazardous materials on highways…..(AP, 2 May 07)

Remote-controlled bomb kills 2 police in Chechnya
A radio-controlled bomb killed two policemen on the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny on Tuesday, a source in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax news agency on Wednesday….(Reuters, 2 May 07)

Is al Qaeda in Iraq fighting a Sunni backlash?

of fighting between al Qaeda in Iraq and Sunni militants surfaced Tuesday, the latest hints of rising tensions between the two allied groups. Other reports have emerged this year of tensions between Sunni fighters and the Sunni-dominated al Qaeda in Iraq, particularly from Anbar province, long a favored turf for indigenous Sunni insurgents and foreign fighters infiltrating Iraq from Syria….(CNN, 2 May 07)