May 2008

It's radioactive, and it's missing

Britain's intelligence service MI5 has launched a high priority search for more than 1,000 pieces of missing radioactive medical equipment used in the treatment of cancers and other illnesses in British hospitals, says a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The loss was discovered after Britain's understaffed National Health Service hospitals made their quarterly inventory returns to the government Environmental Agency -- responsible for the safety of all medical radioactive materials. In all, some 10,000 items -- mostly used in nuclear medicine -- were accounted for. Those passed their use-by date were destroyed at one of Britain's nuclear reactors. But the missing 1,000, all of which the last inventory check show contained radioactive material, remain unaccounted for…..(World Net Daily 9 May 08)

Hezbollah routs pro-government gunmen; controls Beirut

Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah took control of the Muslim part of Beirut on Friday, tightening its grip on the city in a major blow to the U.S.-backed government. Security sources said at least 11 people had been killed and 30 wounded in three days of battles between pro-government gunmen and fighters loyal to Hezbollah, a Shi'ite political movement with a powerful guerrilla army. The European Union, Germany and France urged calm and a peaceful resolution. Syria said the issue was an internal Lebanese affair while Iran blamed "the adventurist interferences" of the United States and Israel for the violence. The fighting, the worst internal strife since the 1975-90 civil war, was triggered this week after the government took decisions targeting Hezbollah's military communications network. The group said the government had declared war…..(Reuters, 9 May 08)

Al-Qaeda 'declares war on Hezbollah'

Al-Qaeda has reportedly called on its operatives to go to Lebanon and defend what it called the Sunni community of the country.  The report came while some Arab media outlets described the current clashes in Lebanon as a fight between Sunni and Shia communities. In an interviews with Sunni clerics with links to Saad Hariri's pro-government bloc, Al-Arabiya TV network described the ongoing clashes as a sectarian strife…..(PressTV, 9 May 08)

Iran accuses US, Israel of provoking Lebanon violence

Iran on Friday accused the United States and Israel of fueling the deadly sectarian fighting in Lebanon between its Shiite militant Hezbollah ally and the Western-backed ruling majority. "Adventurous efforts and interventions by the United States and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the continuous chaotic situation in Lebanon," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. "Unfortunately, part of the political plot which was predicted ... has been executed,"….(AFP, 9 May 08)

Deep ties between Venezuela, Colombian rebels: paper

Computer files found on a dead guerrilla leader's laptops captured in a March raid show deep ties between the Venezuelan government led by President Hugo Chavez and the communist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. While Chavez's sympathies for the rebel group known by the acronym FARC are well known, the files indicate Venezuela has offered to arm the rebels, possibly with rocket-propelled grenades and ground-to-air missiles, and offered FARC the use of a port to receive arms shipments…..(Reuters, 9 May 08)

Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan to Fight Cross-Border Opium Trade

Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to strengthen border cooperation to fight the drugs trade that is funding the Taliban insurgency and destabilizing the region, the United Nations said. Ministers meeting in the Iranian capital, Tehran, yesterday agreed to set up three "border liaison offices" to plan and carry out joint operations against traffickers…Afghanistan provides more than 90 percent of the world's supply of opium, the raw ingredient for heroin, and the illicit drugs trade helps fund the Taliban insurgency, according to the UN. Revenue from the sale of illegal drugs is being used to finance terrorist training bases across the border in Pakistan, buy weapons and explosives for suicide bombings, and import the chemicals needed for drug refining….(FARS, 9 May 08)

Iran Accuses U.S., Britain In Fatal Blast

Iran's Intelligence Ministry has accused the United States and Britain of involvement in an April 12 bomb attack at a religious center in the city of Shiraz that killed at least 12 people and wounded 202. The suspects "have ties to the U.S. and Great Britain," Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei told local reporters on Wednesday. "Iran's Foreign Ministry had previously notified these countries, but no action was taken to prevent their terrorist activities, and they were instead supported," he said, referring to the suspects…..(Washington Post, 9 May 08)

Bomber’s Final Messages Exhort Fighters Against U.S.

The last words of a suicide bomber in Mosul were a rallying cry for Muslims to join the fight against Americans.

His taking-off point was his experience at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. In two accounts — a transcript of his conversation in a jihadist chat room and a suicide message on tape — both posted on Web sites devoted to Al Qaeda after his death, the bomber, Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi, 29, described his detention as “torture” carried out by infidels. He was in Guantánamo from 2002 to 2005……(New York Times, 9 May 08)

Osama bin Laden's 'right-hand man' Abu Qatada wins bail fight

…Abu Qatada, 48, who won his legal fight against deportation to Jordan last month, will be freed from prison under strict bail conditions, amounting to 22-hour house arrest, despite being deemed a threat to national security. The cleric applied to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) for bail on the ground that it was inhumane to detain him indefinitely if there was no prospect of his being deported. The order by Mr Justice Mitting to release him is the latest in a series of judicial decisions that undermine the Government’s stance on terrorism. In the past year, the courts have in effect rewritten sections of terrorism legislation and ruled that financial sanctions on terrorist suspects were absurd and unlawful……(Times Online, 9 May 08)

Profile: Abu Qatada

Bad Omens in Latin America

The Associated Press today reports on how thinly spread U.S. Special Forces are in many parts of the world, including Latin America, at a crucial time…To illustrate that point, Olson said that when the 7th Special Forces Group, which is based at Fort Bragg, N.C., and whose normal area of focus is Latin America, rotates into Afghanistan for seven-month tours, it takes two of its three battalions, leaving just one in Latin America.

“That leaves us underrepresented” in Latin America, the admiral said……(Douglas Farah, 8 May 08)

Radical Muslim preacher Abu Qatada granted bail in Britain

But the judge acknowledged Qatada could pose a national security threat and imposed a strict 22-hour curfew, meaning he must be inside his home for all but two hours a day. Precise details of the curfew will be decided at another hearing, probably within two weeks, officials said. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was extremely disappointed with the decision and would ''take all steps necessary to protect the public.''

The government has been attempting to deport Qatada to Jordan, where he was convicted in connection with two 1998 bombings. Smith said the government would continue its efforts to deport the preacher……(AP, 8 May 08)

Ex-Guantanamo Detainee Joined Iraq Suicide Attack

A Kuwaiti man who complained about maltreatment during a three-year stay in the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was involved in a deadly suicide bombing in northern Iraq last month, the U.S. military confirmed yesterday. Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi, 29, whom the U.S. military accused of fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan and wanting to kill Americans, was involved in one of three suicide bombings that killed seven Iraqi security forces in Mosul on April 26, Defense Department officials said. They said that after his release in Kuwait, Ajmi traveled to Iraq via Syria -- a common way for foreign fighters to enter Iraq through porous borders. Military officials said Ajmi's motives were unclear, but in a lengthy martyrdom audio recording before his death, Ajmi implores people to take part in suicide bombings to attack Americans. In portions of the recording translated by the Bethesda-based SITE Intelligence Group, Ajmi decries the conditions at Guantanamo as "deplorable" and urges others to fight. "Whoever can join them and execute a suicide operation, let him do so. By God, it will be a mortal blow,"…..(Washington Post, 8 May 08)

Iran links U.S. and Britain to explosion in mosque last month that killed 14

Iranian officials accused the U.S. and Britain of having links to a group responsible for a mosque explosion last month that killed 14 people and injured more than 200, the official news agency reported Thursday. Immediately after the April 12 blast in the southern city of Shiraz, Iranian officials said it was caused by a homemade bomb. The following day, the government changed the account and said it was caused by ammunition leftover from a recent military exhibition in the mosque. But Thursday's report by the official news agency IRNA again suggested the explosion was an attack, not an accident. "The group that planted the bomb had been in contact with some western countries, particularly Britain and the United States," IRNA quoted Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi as saying……(AP, 8 May 08)

Govt aware of foreigners joining ‘unwanted’ groups: Qureshi

The government is aware of instances where foreigners visiting Pakistan to attend tableegh (preaching of Islam) have established links with ‘unwanted’ groups, Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi informed the Senate on Wednesday. Responding to a question, he said that around 1,147 applications for attending tableegh gatherings were received by Pakistani missions in Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, India, Turkey and Bangladesh during the last three years. Of these, Qureshi said that 1,133 applicants were granted Pakistani visas for this purpose, while the Pakistan mission in Ankara rejected the cases of 14 applicants because the visa officer was not satisfied with the particulars of the individuals…..(Daily Times, 8 May 08)

Sunnis and Shiites clash for a second day in Lebanon

Shiite supporters of Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Sunnis backing Lebanon's U.S.-allied government clashed for a second day Thursday as sectarian confrontations in Beirut spilled over to other parts of the country. The violence appeared to be a test of wills by the political rivals who have been locked in a 17-month power struggle for control of the government. But there was a risk the escalation could degenerate into a wider and deadlier sectarian conflict. The political crisis exploded into violence Wednesday when supporters of the Hezbollah-led opposition blocked roads in the capital to enforce a strike called by labor unions protesting the government's economic policies and demanding pay raises…..(AP, 8 May 08)

Nasrallah vows to kill anyone in Lebanon who touches his weapons

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah claimed a war was declared on Hezbollah, and vowed to continue holding Lebanon under siege until the government overturns decisions impacting the militia. "A war was declared against us. When the declaration ends, the disobedience ends," declared Nasrallah in a press conference on Thursday. "The decisions (of the government) are tantamount to a declaration of war and the start of a war... on behalf of the United States and Israel."….(Ya Libnan, 8 May 08)

Hezbollah piles pressure on Lebanese government

Iranian-backed Hezbollah tightened its grip on Beirut airport on Thursday, piling pressure on Lebanon's U.S.-supported government on the second day of a protest campaign that has triggered gun battles. Supporters of Hezbollah and its allies blocked roads leading to the airport -- Lebanon's only air link to the outside world -- and other main streets, paralyzing much of the city. Middle East Airlines, the national carrier, suspended departures to "await positive developments."…..(Reuters, 8 May 08)

Pakistan tests nuclear-capable cruise missile

Pakistan on Thursday successfully test-fired an air-launched cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the military said. The launch of the Ra'ad missile, which has a range of 350 kilometres, was carried out at an undisclosed location, the military said, and came a day after India said it successfully test-launched its longest-range nuclear-capable missile. The Ra'ad, developed exclusively for launch from aerial platforms, has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic standoff capability on land and at sea…..(DPA, 8 May 08)

Ex-prince wants Taliban brought into Afghan government

Afghanistan should set-up a transitional government that includes members of the Taliban once President Hamid Karzai's term ends late next year if it is to escape unending crisis, a grandson of the late former king said on Wednesday. Once a prince, Mostafa Zaher now heads a department overseeing conservation issues in Karzai's government, and while the royal family lacks a political powerbase it is often looked on as a symbol of national unity. Like many Afghans, Zaher despairs that there is no end in sight to the Taliban insurgency, and conflict that has gripped the country since the late 1970s……(Reuters, 8 May 08)

Top Sunni accuses Hezbollah of 'invading' Beirut – Summary

Lebanon's Sunni Muslim Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Kabbani accused the Iranian-backed Shiite movement late Wendesday Hezbollah of "invading" Beirut. "This is clearly an invasion of the city by an armed group," Kabbani said in a televised statement, referring to the blocking of main roads leading to the capital by Hezbollah to protest the high cost of living. "We call on the Arab Muslim countries to immeidtaely stop such actions by Hezbollah, because Lebanon is for Muslims and Christians together," the Grand Mufti said. "Hezbollah is today trying to impose its hegemony as a political party on Lebanon, by kidnapping the central of the capital and today Beirut International airport is being kidnapped,"……(DPA, 7 May 08)

'Surgical strike' on insurgents in Iran?

Bruised and battered by his Labour government's worst local election defeat in 40 years, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been warned by his intelligence chief, John Scarlett, head of MI6, that he is facing a major decision which could plunge his leadership to the point where his own disillusioned supporters will mount a campaign for him to resign, says a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Just as Tony Blair left government with the shadow of Iraq as his nemesis, so Gordon Brown is facing the mounting pressure to oppose plans for "a surgical strike" against an insurgent training camp inside Iran where the Republican Guards have a "huge training camp across the border with Iraq." The plan is endorsed by the U.S. and Israel. But increasingly Brown's cabinet ministers oppose military action against Iran…….(World Net Daily, 7 May 08)

Commander finds no evidence of Iranian training or weapons in Afghanistan

A top U.S. commander in embattled southern Afghanistan said he has not seen any evidence that Iran is providing training or weapons to Taliban fighters, contradicting claims by the Bush administration of Iranian interference in Afghanistan. "I haven't seen any Iranian weapons or anything of that nature making its way here," said Army Col. Thomas McGrath, who directs the American-led training and equipping of the Afghan army and police in southern Afghanistan, speaking to reporters by phone on Tuesday. "I know we have issues with [the Iranians] in Iraq, but I haven't really seen any of that here.”……(Gov Exec, 7 May 08)

US sees Iran as potential threat in Latin America

Isolated Iran sees Latin America as a place to push back US influence, from which it could maintain a terrorist threat against the United States in the event of a conflict, a senior US official warned Wednesday. Iran views Latin America as a chance to break out of some of its international isolation and defy Washington's major power status in its back yard, State Department official Thomas Shannon said in Washington."It's a way to push back on us," Shannon told a conference bringing together cabinet ministers and other officials from North and South America to promote greater economic integration…….(AFP, 7 May 08)

Report: al-Qaida linked Kuwaiti militant tells daily that Iran supports Sunni fighters in Iraq

A Sunni fundamentalist from Kuwait who has been linked by the United Nations and the United States to al-Qaida, said in an interview published Wednesday that Iran is supporting Sunni Arab insurgents fighting American troops in Iraq. The comments by Mubarak al-Bathali came just days after reports surfaced here that three Kuwaitis recently carried out suicide bombings in Iraq, including a Kuwaiti who was a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner. Kuwaiti authorities have not confirmed those reports but the U.S. military said Wednesday that a recent suicide attack in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul was indeed carried out by a former Guantanamo detainee……(AP, 7 May 08)

Syrian President Assad: Syria's Contacts with Israel Are Aimed at Establishing Common Ground for Negotiations

In a comprehensive April 27, 2008 interview, SyrianPresident Bashar Al-Assad told the editor-in-chief of the Qatari daily Al-Watan,Ahmad Ali,that Turkey was mediating contacts between Syria and Israel, and that efforts were being made to establish common ground for future negotiations between the two countries.

Also in the interview, Assad denied that the Syrian facility bombed by Israel on September 6, 2007 was part of a Syrian nuclear program, and added that the notion of Syria using nuclear weapons against Israel was unreasonable…..(MEMRI, 7 May 08)

Beirut airport chief tied to Hezbollah?

Lebanon's Cabinet decided Tuesday to remove Beirut airport's security chief over alleged ties to the militant Hezbollah group, the country's information minister said. The decision is expected to exacerbate tension between the Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition…He also said the Cabinet declared that a telecommunications network used by Hezbollah for military purposes was illegal and a danger to state security. A top Shiite cleric, Sheik Abdul-Amir Kabalan, had dismissed allegations of Shoukair's links to Hezbollah and warned Monday against any government decision to punish the airport security chief……(AP, 7 May 08)

Lebanon's political conflict turns violent

Supporters of Lebanon's U.S.-backed government fought gun battles in Beirut on Wednesday with gunmen loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, escalating the country's worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Supporters of pro-Iranian Hezbollah blocked main roads in the Lebanese capital with blazing tires, old cars and heaps of earth, paralyzing the city and cutting routes to its sea and airports. The clashes took place a day after the government accused Hezbollah of violating the country's sovereignty by operating its own telecommunications network and installing spy cameras at Beirut airport…..(Reuters, 7 May 08)

Iran clerics rebuke Ahmadinejad over 'hidden imam'

Clerics have told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stick to more worldly issues after he was quoted as saying the "hidden imam" of Shiite Islam was directing Iran. Ahmadinejad has always been a devotee of the Mahdi, the twelfth imam of Shiite Islam, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a thousand years ago and who will return one day to usher in a new era of peace and harmony. But in a speech to theology students broadcast by state television on Monday, Ahmadinejad went further than ever before in emphasizing his belief that the Mahdi is playing a critical role in Iran's day-to-day politics…..(AFP, 7 May 08)

Iran Hardliners Criticize Khatami's "Insulting" Speech

Iranian hardliners have criticized moderate former President Mohammad Khatami for a speech they deemed insulting to Iran's late revolutionary leader, newspapers reported on Wednesday. Etemad-e Melli newspaper said 77 lawmakers would ask Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei "to confront" Khatami over the remarks they say insulted the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. A hardline daily said Khatami was being unpatriotic…..(Reuters, 7 May 08)

Report: Al-Qaida in Iraq leader identified with photograph

Al-Arabiya television reports it has identified the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq and the network broadcast his photograph. The Dubai-based network, citing an Iraqi police official, said the real name of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who allegedly heads the Islamic State of Iraq, is Hamid Dawoud al-Zawi. Originally from Haditha, al-Baghdadi served in the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein, then joined al-Qaida in 2003, the police official told Al-Arabiya…..(AP, 7 May 08)

Iraq prepares for Baghdad exodus

The authorities in Baghdad say they are preparing for an exodus of thousands of people from eastern parts of the city.  Fighting between government and US troops on one side, and Shia militia on the other, has intensified recently. Two football stadiums are on stand-by to receive residents from two neighborhoods in the Sadr City area……(BBC, 7 May 08)

The Challenge Of Creating A Lasting Peace

…Sheik Amir al-Azawi had arrived to weigh in on a dispute that had ensnared an American military patrol, Iraqi soldiers, the sheik's son and members of the U.S.-backed Sunni security force known as the Awakening. The sheik's son was demanding that the Americans arrest two Iraqis detained on suspicion of planting a roadside bomb. The U.S. troops had screened the men's hands for bombmaking residue, but found only dust. The soldiers said there would be no arrests without evidence. Azawi moved to the huddle to listen and interject, and then over to the two detained Iraqis. Lifting his cane not far from their faces, he issued a warning: "If there is a second attack, I will come and hunt you."…..(Washington Post, 7 May 08)

Cop gets bail in Rashid Rauf case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday accepted the bail plea of head constable Muhammad Tufail who is accused of facilitating the escape of Rashid Rauf. Rauf had escaped from police custody on December 15, 2007, when he was brought to the Islamabad district courts from Adiala Jail……(Daily times, 7 May 08)

Siniora, Hezbollah Wage Ad War to Win Hearts, Minds in Lebanon

In an austere office in south Beirut, members of Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim party and militia, plot a campaign. It isn't for combat with Israel, Hezbollah's opponent in a 2006 war that lasted 33 days, or for bombing Lebanese civilians, which the U.S. government says is a Hezbollah specialty. It's an ad campaign. Artists and writers leaf through U.S. advertising yearbooks looking for catchy ideas and Iranian calligraphy books for an Oriental touch. The goal: to produce billboards, leaflets and television spots on May 25 to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from south Lebanon, which the Jewish state occupied for 17 years…..(Bloomberg, 6 May 08)

Marines ignore Taliban cash crop to not upset Afghan locals

The Marines of Bravo Company's 1st Platoon sleep beside a grove of poppies. Troops in the 2nd Platoon playfully swat at the heavy opium bulbs while walking through the fields. Afghan laborers scraping the plant's gooey resin smile and wave. Last week, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit moved into southern Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy-growing region, and now find themselves surrounded by green fields of the illegal plants that produce the main ingredient of heroin. The Taliban, whose fighters are exchanging daily fire with the Marines in Garmser, derives up to $100 million a year from the poppy harvest by taxing farmers and charging safe passage fees — money that will buy weapons for use against U.S., NATO and Afghan troops…..(AP, 6 May 08)

Pakistan’s Taliban Negotiating Peace, Preparing for War

Secret peace talks between the government and the Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organization of Pakistani Taliban groups, collapsed in late April but the unilateral ceasefire declared by the latter is still in place (The News International [Islamabad], April 29). By agreeing to continue observing the ceasefire, the TTP signaled its willingness to revive the peace negotiations, provided some of its demands were met. Speaking from an undisclosed location in Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar told reporters that the government must show flexibility if it wanted the talks to resume (Dawn [Islamabad], May 4). Maulvi Omar said the government should withdraw Pakistan Army troops from Waziristan, Darra Adamkhel and Swat as part of confidence-building measures to create the proper atmosphere for the peace talks to proceed…The TTP leadership also knows that peace accords with the government would not last long in view of almost certain opposition from the United States, its Western allies and the Afghan government. Thus Pakistan’s Taliban sees the peace talks and accords as a temporary phenomenon and remains on a war footing……(Jamestown, 6 May 08)

Pakistan, Taliban and Politics of Peace Accords!

History is against any peace deals with the Taliban. At least three such initiatives (so called ‘peace deals’) had been signed with the Taliban in the past, only to be collapsed soon after. When Rehman Malik, adviser to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on internal affairs welcomed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud‘s latest offer for truce and peace talks, many observers (including me) thought that the newly crowned civilian government in Pakistan shouldn’t feel excited about these peace initiatives, especially when it involves Taliban militants…In the case of TTP and followers, they have perpetrated at least three suicide attacks (two targeting security forces) after the talks failed without much headway. The latest was the Bannu check post blast in NWFP that killed two policemen guarding the post. Any peace deal or ceasefire accord with militants only effectively strengthens their manpower and firepower, giving them space to regroup and replenish. They make maximum usage of the ‘no-fire’ period to nourish the depleted armory and take a breather for a long war ahead. Remember how Taliban took control of North Wazirstan after the Sept 2006 accord and recuperated until mid 2007 there making it a safe hideout for both Taliban and Qaeda militants until now……(Counterterrorism Blog, 7 May 08)

Senior Iraqi Official: Terrorism in Middle East Can Be Eradicated Only With Regional Cooperation – But Syria, Iran Are Assisting the Terrorists

In an interview with the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Iraqi National Security Advisor Dr.Muwaffaq Al-Rubai'i stated that terrorism in the Middle East could only be eradicated through regional cooperation, but that this goal could not be attained as long as Iran and Syria continued to support the terrorists. He added that despite Syria's claims to the contrary, Iraq had definite information that 'Izzat Al-Douri, former deputy to Saddam Hussein, was living in Syria and funding terrorist activities. Al-Rubai'i also said that the Mahdi Army was being run by Iran and is serving Iran's interests……(MEMRI, 6 May 08)

Turkish Airstrikes Drive Home Foreign Policy in Northern Iraq

Turkey appears to be using a two-pronged approach in its continuing efforts to drive the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from its refuges in northern Iraq. Following raids and incursions by Turkish land forces, Turkey’s air force is now driving home points being made in meetings with Iraqi and Kurdish Iraqi leaders
… From a military strategy perspective, the psychological impact of these operations is at least as critical as the material damage. The tactical timing of the latest airstrikes coming ahead of an expected spring offensive by the PKK needs to be taken into account. According to retired Turkish Brigadier Haldun Solmazturk, who fought the PKK for a decade: “They [these airstrikes] are part of a policy to break the rebels’ will to fight … It [the Turkish military] will achieve above all a psychological effect that will carry the message to the PKK that northern Iraq is not a safe haven and it can be reached anytime by the Turkish state”……(Jamestown, 6 May 08)

Strategy of Somalia’s Islamists Survives Death of Militant Leader

Anti-terrorism officials in the Horn of Africa are on high alert following the killing of Shaykh Aden Hashi Ayro, the military leader of al-Shabaab, the youth wing of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia, in a May 1 strike by U.S. ship-launched Tomahawk missiles… Shaykh Ayro, trained in terrorist and insurgency methods in Afghanistan and believed to have been in his 30s, was killed in a house together with another five insurgents in the small central Somalia town of Dusamareb, 250 miles north of Mogadishu (al-Jazeera, May 2). Those killed included Ayro’s brother, another commander, Muhiyadin Muhammad Umar, and several other insurgents. At least a dozen civilians in neighboring houses were also killed by the missiles. Soon after the attack, Shaykh Muqtar Robow Adumansur, the group’s spokesman, vowed the group would retaliate, setting off an alert in the Horn of Africa: “This does not deter us from continuing our holy war against Allah’s enemy; we will be on the right way, that is why we are targeted” (The Standard [Nairobi], May 2). Thousands of people took to the streets of Dusamareb on May 4 to protest the attack……(Jamestown, 6 May 08)

Cartoons in the Arab Press on Benazir Bhutto's Assassination and Pakistan's Political Process

On December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister and leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP),[1] was shot to death after addressing a crowd of supporters in a park near Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi, outside the capital of Islamabad. While the Pakistani Government claimed that Al-Qaeda was behind the assassination, there is speculation about who was involved. Bhutto, who was 54 at the time of her death, was, in 1988, the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state……(MEMRI, 6 May 08)

Lebanese Government Challenges Hezbollah

The embattled pro-Western Lebanese government met overnight amid an air of crisis to demand the pro-Iranian Hezbollah dismantle a pirate telephone  network, allegedly used to spy on top leaders. Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi announced the series of government measures to restrict illegal Hezbollah operations. Aridi says an investigation is being launched into all parties involved in such activities.  He says the government will not accept Hezbollah claims that these networks are needed to protect the group or to counter Israeli surveillance. The government also announced it is firing the pro-Hezbollah army general responsible for security at Beirut Airport, amid a dispute over an alleged Hezbollah spy camera monitoring a runway used by private jets of top leaders…..(VOA, 6 May 08)

Morocco under high alert after a probable dry run

A few weeks ago, Algeria warned its Tunisian and Moroccan neighbors of a possible mega terror attack prepared by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Interestingly the newsletter The Croissant (subscriptions available for a small fee) reported a few days ago that an Algerian, aboard a powerful 4X4, sped on the esplanade of the Mosque of Hassan II in Casablanca. He managed to overcome all obstacles limiting traffic, causing a real panic. The Moroccan security forces thought it was a suicide attack. This could be a dry run to test the security measures put in place by Moroccan authorities…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 6 May 08)

Ahmadinejad's South American Caracstan

“Iran is not going away,” said Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  “We need to be strong and really in the deterrent mode,” he explained, and that’s especially true here at home because Tehran which is killing Americans in Iraq and threatens to “wipe Israel off the map” is radically transforming America’s soft underbelly. Iran has recruited Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to its Islamic revolution. Tehran is working with Chavez to militarize that country, grow terrorist groups, Islamitize indigenous tribes, develop a nuclear program, spread corruption, and do whatever possible to hurt the US……(Human Events, 6 May 08)

ANALYSIS: Iraq's government caught between two rival allies

As tension rises between the US and Iran, Iraq's Shiite-dominated government finds it hard to juggle relations with its two powerful allies standing at the brink of confrontation. Washington is accusing Iran of funding, arming and training Shiite militias in Iraq to attack US and Iraqi troops, while Tehran blames the presence of the US-led 'occupation forces' for the bloody unrest in the neighboring Arab country. Iraq's ruling coalition is dominated by Shiite political parties with strong religious and kinship ties with Iran, the largest Shiite Muslim country.…..(Monsters & Critics, 6 May 08)

Document lists 6,000 al-Qaeda suicide bombers in Iraq (Extra)

…'The documents reveal that 6,000 people, most of them Arab and Afghan nationals, were involved in suicide bombings in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003,' Sheikh Sabah Shukr al-Shumary, the spokesman for the Awakening Councils of Baquba Clans, was quoted by al-Sabah newspaper as saying. Awakening Councils are police units set up by clans and backed by the US military to fight Sunni extremist insurgents loyal to al-Qaeda mainly in Sunni-dominated provinces. The spokesman said the documents revealed that widows of suicide bombers in Diyala were invited to join al-Qaeda…..(Monsters & Critics, 6 May 08)

Negroponte Calls on Pakistan to Take Control of Tribal Regions

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says Washington will not be satisfied until all terrorism emanating from Pakistan's federally administered tribal areas is under control.  He says it is not acceptable for extremists to use those areas to carry out attacks against Afghanistan, Pakistan and the wider world… He said the United States is helping Pakistan's government establish control in frontier areas by sending U.S. military personnel to equip and train Pakistani security forces. Negroponte said both Washington and Islamabad understand that a successful anti-terrorism strategy also must include economic development work and improvements in education. Pakistan's coalition government pledged to overhaul the country's counter-terrorism policies after winning elections in February…..(VOA, 6 May 08)

Militant calls off talks as Pakistan troops stay

Pakistan's peace talks with the militant leader who is thought to have planned the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto have reportedly collapsed, just weeks after the new government said it was close to a deal. Baitullah Mehsud, a leader in the South Waziristan tribal zone, discontinued talks because the new Pakistani government refused to withdraw its troops from territory that was under his control before a midwinter military offensive, a purported spokesman said. "The government was not serious in its talks and did not meet the ... demand for the withdrawal of army troops"…..(Washington Times, 6 May 08)

Dead teacher was a Gaza bomb-maker

The UN refugee organization in Gaza reaffirmed yesterday its "zero tolerance policy" towards political and militant activities by staff after reports that a Palestinian teacher assassinated in an Israeli air attack was a rocket-maker. Reuters quoted unnamed Palestinian militants and Israeli intelligence sources as saying that Awad al-Qiq, 33, acting headmaster at the UNRWA-run Rafah Boys' Preparatory School was by night secretly a rocket builder for Islamic Jihad. A handwritten note outside the school posted on the metal gate at the entrance to the school declared that the teacher, killed in an air strike last week, was "the chief leader of the engineering unit", who would now find "paradise"…..(Independent, 6 May 08)

UN teacher by day … Islamists' chief bomb-maker at night

By day, Awad al-Qiq was a respected teacher and headmaster at a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip. By night, he built rockets for Islamic Jihad. The Israeli air strike that killed the 33-year-old last week also laid bare his apparent double life and embarrassed a UN agency that has long had to reject Israeli accusations that it has aided and abetted guerrillas fighting the Jewish state. Students and colleagues, as well as UN officials, denied any knowledge of Qiq's work with explosives. And his family denied he had any militant links, despite a profusion of Islamic Jihad posters at his home…..(Scotsman, 5 May 08)

Sharp rise in suicide attacks by women in Iraq likely: US expert

…"Between January and April, there were 12 suicide attacks by women in Iraq. That marks an exponential increase," Farhana Ali, a US international policy analyst of Pakistani origin, told AFP after a symposium on terrorism at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington. Twelve women carried out suicide attacks in Iraq in the first few months of this year compared with 11 between 2003 and 2007, according to Ali.

"So long as this conflict continues, you will see greater instability in Iraq and women will be greatly victimized -- you will see more women in Iraq choose suicide terrorism in the next few months," she predicted, adding that she had warned US officials and policy makers of the threat since 2005. "It's only in the past two months that we have given serious attention to this issue. Why? Because female attackers in Iraq are hurting our efforts for peace and stability in that country," she said. Ali, who worked as an adviser to the US government before joining the private sector as an international policy analyst, blamed the rise in female suicide bombers largely on the marginalization of Iraqi women since the US invasion in 2003……(AFP, 5 May 08)

Increasing domestic turmoil in Iran

To many observers Iran is the big winner in the Middle East. While the end result remains to be seen, what seems certain is that the Islamic republic appears to be faring better geopolitically than domestically. And although uncensored information regarding the country's internal problems is scarce and tough to find, reports of increasing trouble in the country are starting to filter out. The situation in some provinces inhabited by minorities is far from ideal for Tehran. The Kurdish province has seen regular violent clashes between Kurds and Iranian forces. Consequently, Tehran has recently stepped-up its repression of the Kurdish population. Unrest, however, is not limited to the Kurds; the Baluch minority is cause of great concern to the regime. In fact, the newsletter TheCroissant.com reported that Iran is discreetly leading a violent military campaign in the Kerman province, bordering Baluchistan…..(Middle-East Times, 5 May 08)

Kurdish rebels threaten suicide attacks against US

…Turkey's military said more than 150 Kurdish rebels were killed in Friday's air strikes against bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on Mount Qandil on the border of Iran and Iraq. Peritan Derseem, a senior official of the rebel group's Iranian wing, PEJAK, claimed that only six people were killed in latest Turkish strikes. The PKK fights for autonomy in Turkey's southeast and also has a wing fighting for Kurdish rights in Iran.

Derseem blamed the United States for helping Turkey…..(AP, 5 May 08)

NEFA Report: Selected Questions & Answers from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri – Part 1

NEFA Report: Terrorists Behind Bars  5 May 08

NEFA Translation: Audio Statement from Abu Omar al-Baghdadi 14 Apr 08

How Africa is breeding terror

With the Middle East under intense scrutiny from the West terrorists are shifting base to the African continent, where weak governments and corruption guarantee them easier penetration. On April 14, in the central Somali town of Jowhar, Islamic insurgents with ties to al Qaeda raided a school and killed two Britons and two Kenyans. The dead men were building the school. A month earlier, across the continent in Dakar, Senegal, an event occurred that on the surface has little to do with the terror attack in Somalia. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held a conference on combating "Islamophobia."……(Nation Media, 5 May 08)

Hizb ut-Tahrir's "double level"

Experts and government officials have long debated the real nature of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT). Formed in 1953 in Jerusalem, the group has now established a presence in virtually all continents. It defines itself as a “political party whose ideology is Islam” and openly seeks the restoration of the Caliphate as its main goal. The debate has always been on whether HT is a movement that simply aims at peacefully propagating its message, a "conveyor belt" for extremism, or a group directly employing violence. In many Muslim countries, particularly in Central Asia (see this report from the Uzbek government, for example) and the Middle East, the group is banned and authorities accuse it of direct links to acts of terror. HT members, on the other hand, have constantly denied their involvement in any violent act. “We consider that Islamic law forbids violence or armed struggle against the regime as a method to re-establish the Islamic State,” states the website of HT’s British branch (one of its largest)…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 5 May 08)

Official Site: Hizb ut-Tahrir

Official British Site: Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Iranian envoy: We handed over Al-Qaeda members to their countries

Tehran handed over members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, who were once in Iran, to their own countries, Iranian ambassador to Baghdad said in interview remarks published Monday. In an interview with the Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat, ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi said Tehran was not keeping any al-Qaeda operators to use them when necessary…..(Monsters & Critics, 5 May 08)

Iran helping Hezbollah intercept calls in Lebanon

…Iran has been using the Iranian construction company that has been engaged in reconstructing homes destroyed during the war to install cables for the illegal Hezbollah network throughout Lebanon.  In an interview with al-Sharq al-Awsat, Hamadeh said that the "issue of communications has been under discussion for a long time, but we were waiting for Hezbollah to respond to the security authorities who requested they stop all infringements. Unfortunately Hezbollah refused to stop its activity and continued with its illegal acts . Not only that but Hezbollah has been harboring criminals and fugitives from justice and has been refusing to cooperate with the Lebanese security forces in applying law and order in the areas under their control. All this leads us to believe they are establishing a state within the state of Lebanon"….(Yalibnan, 5 May 08)

Hezbollah Trains Iraqis in Iran, Officials Say

Militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been training Iraqi militia fighters at a camp near Tehran, according to American interrogation reports that the United States has supplied to the Iraqi government. An American official said the account of Hezbollah’s role was provided by four Shiite militia members who were captured in Iraq late last year and questioned separately…..(New York Times, 5 May 08)

Tamil terror group's manual revealed

Inside the school auditorium, the Tamil Tiger flag had been raised in a solemn ceremony and the audience of 600 people had heard a taped address from the terrorist group's leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. Then an undercover RCMP officer watched as "a Caucasian male" approached the podium. "The male praised [Foreign Affairs Minister] Maxime Bernier and spoke about the position of the government, which is to favor the nonviolence, diplomatic solutions to the conflict, etc.," says an RCMP affidavit made public on Friday by the Federal Court…..(National Post, 5 May 08)

The Tamil Tigers Operations Manual…..(National Post, 5 May 08)

Yemeni rebel leader warns of escalation

A Shiite rebel leader in Yemen warned Sunday that his group will escalate its fight against the government if the army continues an offensive that has left almost 20 rebels and soldiers dead over the past two days. Six rebels and six soldiers were killed in clashes overnight Sunday in and around the mountainous rebel stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen, according to a security official and an eyewitness. A day earlier, three soldiers and four rebels were killed in similar clashes.  Thousands have died in violence between the rebels and the government of this predominantly Sunni country since the rebellion erupted in 2004…..(AP, 4 May 08)

Afghan gov't employees nabbed over Karzai plot

Authorities have arrested two Afghan government employees for alleged involvement in last week's plot to kill President Hamid Karzai, top officials said Sunday. But the government maintained that al-Qaida-linked militants based in neighboring Pakistan masterminded the April 27 attack on a military parade in Kabul. Karzai escaped unharmed but three others were killed. "Al-Qaida was involved in the attack. That is very clear from us," intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh told a news conference….(AP, 4 May 08)

Al Qaeda behind attack on Karzai, spy chief says

Al Qaeda in Pakistan was behind last week's assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's intelligence chief said on Sunday. The head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, Amrullah Saleh, said foreign governments should put pressure on Pakistan to destroy militant bases within its borders. Taliban gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and small arms at a state parade last Sunday, sending Karzai, his cabinet and military top brass as well as foreign diplomats diving for cover. Three people were shot dead before Afghan troops killed three Taliban attackers…..(Reuters, 4 May 08)

'Lost' NHS equipment sparks dirty bomb fear

Nine items that could be used to build a dirty bomb are missing from British hospitals, fuelling fears that Al Qaeda terrorists are trying to steal material to build a radioactive device. The revelation comes as a new US State Department intelligence report highlights fears over terror suspects working in the NHS and reveals Britain has launched an urgent operation to track down all radiological material used in its hospitals. A State Department counter-terrorism official said there was high-level "concern" in Washington about the large number of foreign-born workers in European hospitals with access to materials that could be made into a dirty bomb….(Daily Mail, 4 May 08)

Probe of USS Cole Bombing Unravels

Almost eight years after al-Qaeda nearly sank the USS Cole with an explosives-stuffed motorboat, killing 17 sailors, all the defendants convicted in the attack have escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni officials. Jamal al-Badawi, a Yemeni who helped organize the plot to bomb the Cole as it refueled in this Yemeni port on Oct. 12, 2000, has broken out of prison twice. He was recaptured both times, but then secretly released by the government last fall…To this day, al-Qaeda trumpets the attack on the Cole as one of its greatest military victories. It remains an improbable story: how two suicide bombers smiled and waved to unsuspecting U.S. sailors in Aden's harbor as they pulled their tiny fishing boat alongside the $1 billion destroyer and blew a gaping hole in its side.…..(Washington Post, 4 May 08)

Timeline: USS Cole Case

An Enemy on the Run

…The al-Qaeda menace hasn't disappeared, but it has moved -- to Pakistan… This evidence from the field suggests two conclusions:    First, al-Qaeda isn't a permanent boogeyman; it's losing ground in Iraq and Afghanistan because of U.S. counterinsurgency tactics, especially the alliances we have built with tribal leaders and the aggressive use of Special Forces to capture or kill its operatives. These anti-terrorist operations require special skills -- but they shouldn't require a big, semi-permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq or Afghanistan. Local security forces can handle a growing share of responsibility -- perhaps ineptly, as in Basra a few weeks ago or in Kabul last weekend, but that's their problem.   Second, the essential mission in combating al-Qaeda now is to adopt in Pakistan the tactics that are working in Iraq and Afghanistan. This means alliances with tribal warlords to bring economic development to the isolated mountain valleys of the FATA region in exchange for their help in security. And it means joint operations involving U.S. and Pakistani special forces to chase al-Qaeda militants as they retreat deeper into the mountains…..(Washington Post, 4 May 08)

Naxals 'very active' in rural India: US report

Leftist extremist groups are "very active" in wide areas of impoverished rural eastern and Central India, the US State Department has said.  The Maoists also operate in parts of southern India, the State Department said in its latest annual report on terrorism. It said hundreds of people were killed in conflicts between the government and various Leftist extremist groups, such as Naxalites and the Communist Party of India (Maoists), and also in internecine war…….(Times of India, 4 May 08)

Afghanistan urges Pakistan to stop 'terrorists'

Pakistan should stop "terrorists" from using its soil to attack Afghanistan if it makes deals with Taliban militants along the troubled border, the Afghan defense ministry said. Islamabad has been trying to reach a peace deal with a Taliban commander on its side of the frontier. The militant halted talks last week because the government refused to withdraw its troops from his area. The Afghan defense ministry said it was concerned any such deal would not result in a cessation of violence in Afghanistan by militants said to be based in Pakistan and to cross the border to attack…..(AFP, 4 May 08)

Envoy’s family ask kidnappers to spare him

The family of Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan appealed on Saturday to his kidnappers to free him and expressed frustration at the government’s failure to secure his release three months after he vanished on a border highway.  Tariq Azizuddin, his driver and bodyguard disappeared on Feb 11 as they drove from Peshawar towards the Afghan border. In a video telecast on April 19 by an Arab satellite channel, Azizuddin said Taliban militants had kidnapped them….(Dawn, 4 May 08)

In Lebanon, Hezbollah arms stockpile bigger, deadlier

Almost two years after its war with Israel, Hezbollah has rearmed and is stronger than before the conflict, according to Israeli and Western officials and the Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim group itself. But assessments diverge on the source of Hezbollah's arms. Western and Israeli officials accuse Iran and Syria of smuggling thousands of short-range rockets as well as missiles that can strike deep into Israel and other weaponry into Lebanon in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. Smuggling routes have included a rail line through Turkey, the officials say. Hezbollah dismisses smuggling allegations as propaganda, as do Iran and Syria, but the group refuses to say how it gets its weapons…..(LA Times, 4 May 08)

Hezbollah proud, being included on U.S. terrorist List

Lebanese Hezbollah group declared being proud to be on U.S. terrorist list, and said it is a "badge of honor,"  Hezbollah's statement responded to U.S. state department accusing Iran of providing aid to "terrorist groups" including Hezbollah.  Hezbollah accused the U.S. of "triggering its allies in Lebanon against fellow citizens who support the resistance and the opposition."….(Xinhua, 3 May 08)

Quebec Tamil group used as front for Tigers: report

Sri Lanka's terrorist Tamil Tigers control the Montreal-based World Tamil Movement as one of their "foreign branches," in charge of raising funds for the war effort and spreading propaganda, according to documents seized by the RCMP. In a 184-page affidavit unsealed by the Federal Court yesterday, RCMP Corporal Shirley Davermann details how the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam give instructions to Tamil activists in Canada, and how money is collected in Canada for the Tiger cause.…..(National Post, 3 May 08)

Islamic insurgents in Somalia threaten revenge on America

A U.S. airstrike that killed the suspected al-Qaida leader in Somalia brought warnings of vengeance from Islamic insurgents Friday and the threat of a boycott that could jeopardize peace talks with the U.N.-supported government. The biggest alliance supporting Somalia's Islamic insurgency said it might pull out of planned May 10 talks on escalating fighting and a humanitarian crisis that has caused thousands of civilian deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands over the past year. "The U.S. strike can undermine the U.N.-sponsored peace parlay," said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, exiled chairman of the Alliance for Liberation and Reconstitution of Somalia……(AP, 2 May 08)

Today's Islamist radicalization in Spain

In the mid 1990s, after the first police operations in Spain against the Algerian Armed Islamic Group's (GIA) Islamist terrorist cells in Barcelona and Valencia, it became evident that the prisoners all fit the profile for radicalized individuals. They had come from overseas and were using our country, Spain, as a transit area on their way to France or other European countries with significant and well-established Muslim communities. Others were waiting to return to their home countries in Maghreb to pursue their terrorist activities. Spain is once again being viewed as a transit country, as it was in the past. Most important is the matter of the general migratory phenomenon which increased unnaturally at the end of the decade. At the time, the phenomenon remained unnoticed hence there was a lack of concern regarding the education of young Muslims, and their possible radicalization. This radicalization was not given any thought, despite the atrocious terrorist strikes against our Algerian neighbor, where Spanish citizens have been dying at the hands of the terrorists since 1992. Also overlooked were the bloody attacks on the Paris subway system in 1995 and 1996……(ISN, 2 May 08)

U.S. kills Al Qaeda-linked militant, but elsewhere terrorism grows

The US hopes its killing of a top Somali militant Thursday will set back an Islamist insurgency that has been gaining ground against Somalia's weak government and its Ethiopian allies… News of Aden Hashi Ayro's death comes on the heels of a US global survey that concluded Al Qaeda has been rebuilding its networks from havens in Pakistan, where the number of attacks more than doubled in 2007… That result stems from neglecting to pursue Al Qaeda after the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. “It was a big mistake by the United States to divert attention and resources away to Iraq in terms of the War on Terrorism,” says Magnus Ranstorp, of the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defense College in Stockholm. “The best advice for the incoming [US] administration would be to reenergize support for the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan [with] both hard and soft power,” says Mr. Ranstorp. “Otherwise we are going to have more terror attacks against Europe [and] the US.”…..(Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 08)

Iraqi team seeks halt to suspected Iranian aid to militias

Iraqi envoys stepped up pressure on Iran during a mission Thursday that seeks to bolster claims that Tehran is arming and training Shiite militias in Iraq and bring the suspected aid to a halt. The visit to Iran by the five-member delegation opened a new political front in the expanding Shiite-on-Shiite showdown between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and rival Shiite factions — including some with suspected Iranian backing…..(AP, 2 May 08)

Somali rebels defiant after al Qaeda chief killed

Somalia's Islamist rebels vowed to fight on under new leadership on Friday after U.S. warplanes killed an insurgent said to be al Qaeda's commander in the Horn of Africa country. Aden Hashi Ayro, who led al Shabaab militants blamed for attacks on government troops and their Ethiopian allies, was killed on Thursday in the latest of a string of U.S. air strikes on insurgents in the last year……(AP, Reuters, 2 May 08)

U.S. Airstrike Kills Somali Accused of Links to Al-Qaeda

…The group that Ayro headed issued a statement calling him a "martyr." "We are here informing the Enemy of God" that Ayro's "trained and educated colleagues are currently in operation. They are committed to the continuation of the Holy War," said Mukhtar Robow, a spokesman for al-Shabab, the military arm of the Islamic Courts movement that has gained ground recently against Somalia's weak transitional government and the Ethiopian troops backing it. The United States recently designated al-Shabab a terrorist organization. Reports varied on the number of people killed. Abdi Warsame, a headmaster in the area, said he counted 16 bodies strewn around a crater where Ayro's house used to be, on the western outskirts of town…..(Washington Post, 2 May 08)

Mughniyah hit

Many theories are circulating inside U.S. intelligence agencies on who killed notorious Hezbollah terrorist Imad Mughniyah, who was blown up in a car bomb attack in Damascus Feb. 12.  One theory popular in the Middle East is that the hit was an Israeli intelligence operation… A prime suspect is Syria itself, specifically Syrian intelligence agents who would have known Mughniyah's personal security measures and travel. Syria's government is investigating the killing and recent reports from the region state Damascus is blaming Saudi Arabian agents for the killing, a charge Riyadh has denied……(Washington Times, 2 May 08)

Ottawa wants terrorism suspect taken off watch list

Canada wants Abousfian Abdelrazik taken off the UN Security Council blacklist of suspected terrorists and al-Qaeda members, a senior Foreign Affairs official says. But "delisting" Mr. Abdelrazik could take months and may be opposed by the United States and France, whose counterterrorism agencies have pegged him as a key al-Qaeda figure and a close associate of Abu Zubaydah, the brains behind the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings that destroyed New York's World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon…..(Globe & Mail, 2 May 08)

Where terrorists hide

…terrorist safe havens are defined "as ungoverned, under-governed, or ill-governed areas of a country and non-physical areas where terrorists that constitute a threat to U.S. national security interests are able to organize, plan, raise funds, communicate, recruit, train, and operate in relative security because of inadequate governance capacity, political will, or both. Physical safe havens provide security for terrorist leaders, allowing them to plan acts of terrorism around the world."  The Internet plays a major role in facilitating communication between terrorist organizations. It also helps them disseminate propaganda and misinformation without having the need of a physical safe haven, allowing terrorist groups to operate in virtual havens which are highly mobile, difficult to track or to control, as they are not based in any particular physical entity. ….(Middle East Times, 2 May 08)

Iran’s Winning Latin Power Play

… Ahmadinejad's analysis is simple: America is trying to throw a lasso around Iran with the help of allies in surrounding regions. So Iran should throw a counter lasso via an alliance in the United States' South American backyard… Since the late '80s, the Iranian-run Hezbollah, a global movement of Khomeinist militants, has built a base in Paraguay by recruiting in the Shiite community, about 15 percent of the population. That base played a key role in ensuring Lugo's victory, especially via a big fund-raising campaign backed by Iran and Venezuela. Cuba was the first Latin regime to forge an informal alliance with Iran. In the last 18 years, Iran has injected billions into Cuba's ailing economy, partly by providing free crude oil. But only in the late '90s did Tehran find a true Latin ally in Chavez - who has visited the Islamic Republic six times, setting a record for any foreign leader. He's helped Iran create a radical axis in OPEC, with Libya and Algeria as occasional allies. Tehran-Caracas ties deepened after Ahmadinejad took office, as the Islamic Republic revived its militant anti-US policy. Iran's president has visited Latin America four times in three years, more than any other region. That influence has played a crucial role in encouraging Chavez's increasing anti-American posture. Ahmadinejad and Chavez have reason to be pleased with their work: America is clearly in retreat in its own backyard…..(New York Post, 2 May 08)

Top cleric vows crushing response if Iran attacked

…"If maniacs in Washington or Tel Aviv seek to take action, the Iranian nation will slap them so hard they will not get off the floor," hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami said in a Friday prayer sermon carried live on state radio. The Pentagon on Wednesday denied reports of new plans for military options against Iran, which is accused by the United States of seeking nuclear weapons, sponsoring terrorism and meddling in Iraq.

Iran vehemently denies all the charges…..(AFP, 2 May 08)

Al-Qaeda's ideology is losing its pull but this Hydra remains dangerous

…The virulent ideology, spawned by anger at Western troops in Saudi Arabia and the perceived corruption of ruling elites, has, according to senior intelligence officers, been dissipated as terrorist groups increasingly become a front for drug smuggling, extortion, crime or ethnic hatred. Frustrated zealots have seen their attempts to rid Muslim societies of Western influence mocked and thwarted. Moderates have spoken out, Governments across the Middle East have woken up to the threat and nowhere has crude Islamism triumphed. Another spectacular atrocity remains a possibility, but the core ideology has less traction across the Muslim world.  Al-Qaeda, however, is far from beaten. Its figurehead leadership remains at large somewhere in Pakistan's tribal areas, issuing regular new calls for jihad against the West. Its amorphous and shadowy structure serves as a cover for any terrorist franchise pledging support for its nihilistic aims…..(Times Online, 2 May 08)

ANALYSIS: Syrian-Israeli contacts worry Iran, Hezbollah

'Will there be another war this summer?' is a question frequently heard in Arab capitals these days.  Israel is allegedly seeking a pretext to attack the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, and perhaps to humiliate Syria will new air raids as well. According to another theory, it is Hezbollah, which proved a tough foe in its war with Israel two years ago, that is itching to fight the Jewish state again with Iran's support. Secret, indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel - held since April 2007 with Turkish mediation and publicly confirmed by Turkey and Syria for the first time last week - make no sense at all in this context. Or do they?....(Monsters & Critics, 2 May 08)

Al Jazeera cameraman released from Guantanamo

An Al Jazeera cameraman held at