Friday, July 9, 2004 Al-Qaida wants to disrupt elections
WASHINGTON -- A steady stream of intelligence, including nuggets from militant-linked Web sites, indicates al-Qaida wants to attack the United States to disrupt the upcoming elections, federal officials said Thursday.
Americans arrested in prisoner torture
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan forces arrested three Americans, including a purported former Green Beret, after raiding a jail they were allegedly running in the Afghan capital and finding prisoners hanging from their feet, officials said Thursday.
Bipartisan bid to curb Patriot Act falls short in House
WASHINGTON -- The Republican-led House bowed to a White House veto threat Thursday and stood by the USA Patriot Act, defeating an effort to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that helps the government investigate people's reading habits. Thursday, July 8, 2004 Elections may be terror target
WASHINGTON-- The United States is tightening security in the face of a steady stream of intelligence indicating al-Qaida may seek to mount an attack aimed at disrupting elections, the White House and Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
New charges in terror-funding case
A former Chicago convenience store owner awaiting trial on terrorism-funding charges in Florida was charged here Wednesday with skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars through Link cards, the electronic food stamp program. Wednesday, July 7, 2004 Six Yemenis charged in bombing of USS Cole
SAN'A, Yemen-- A security court Wednesday opened the first trial in the bombing of the USS Cole, charging six Yemenis with planning the October 2000 attack, claiming they were members of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. Tuesday, July 6, 2004 Padilla refiles complaint against government
CHARLESTON, S.C.-- A lawyer for Jose Padilla, the former Chicago gang member accused of being part of an al-Qaida plot to set off a radiological "dirty" bomb, has refiled his lawsuit against the federal government.
U.S. Special Forces to train Filipinos against insurgents
MANILA, Philippines -- U.S. forces will provide guerrilla-style combat training to Filipino soldiers battling Muslim and communist insurgents and al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah militants, officials said Monday. Monday, July 5, 2004 Cornerstone placed for new skyscraper at trade center site
NEW YORK -- A 20-ton slab of granite, inscribed to honor ''the enduring spirit of freedom,'' was laid Sunday at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone of the skyscraper that will replace the destroyed towers.
Terrorists: We didn't behead Marine
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A militant group denied Sunday that it killed U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, injecting hope into his family's tense wait for news. The fate of the Lebanese-born Marine remains unknown, though Lebanon's Foreign Ministry says he is believed dead.
Karzai accepts medal, thanks U.S. for Afghan independence
PHILADELPHIA -- Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-backed leader of Afghanistan who took over after the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001, accepted the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on Sunday at a ceremony at Independence Hall. Sunday, July 4, 2004 Foreigners subtly marked for Saudi attack
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- It wasn't until John Denman washed his car and noticed a two-inch strip of black tape beneath his license plate that he realized why a Toyota had tried to force him off the road the previous week.
Granite cornerstone marks start of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero
headline:Granite cornerstone marks start of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero
Bush: Bin Laden's 'soul is corroded'
WASHINGTON -- In a magazine interview, President Bush said evil people can become good, but as for al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden, ''This guy's soul is so corroded, there's just no way.'' Friday, July 2, 2004 Afghanistan may miss deadline to hold elections
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's national elections -- beset by deadly Taliban attacks, feuding warlords and political squabbling -- are in jeopardy and may have to be delayed again, a top government official said Thursday.
Al-Qaida linked group warns Europe of new attacks
CAIRO, Egypt-- The group that claimed responsibility for deadly train bombings in Spain warned European nations that they have only two weeks to withdraw troops from Iraq or face the consequences, a pan-Arab newspaper reported Friday.
U.S. may free some Guantanamo detainees in response to court ruling
headline:U.S. may free some Guantanamo detainees in response to court ruling Wednesday, June 30, 2004 Court ruling puts tribunal under greater legal scrutiny
WASHINGTON-- As the Pentagon readies its first military tribunal since World War II, a Supreme Court ruling is putting pressure on the Bush administration to conduct a proceeding that more exacting civilian courts would accept as fair, legal experts say.
Wanted militant, policeman killed in Riyadh
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-- A top figure in the al-Qaida linked terrorist group in Saudi Arabia was gunned down in the capital Wednesday in a shootout that also killed a policeman, a security official said.
Guantanamo Bay detainee case sent back to California
WASHINGTON-- The Supreme Court told a California court on Wednesday to reconsider whether a lawsuit filed on behalf of a detainee at a Navy base prison in Cuba was filed in the wrong place.
Explosions kill one in eastern Afghan city
KABUL, Afghanistan-- Two bombs hidden in crates of fruit exploded at security checkpoints in downtown Jalalabad, Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing a man and wounding 26 other people, including five children.
Army recalls 5,600 to active duty
WASHINGTON -- Digging deeper for help in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is recalling to active duty about 5,600 people who recently left the service and still have a reserve obligation. Tuesday, June 29, 2004 Tribunal appointed for trial of three Guantanamo detainees
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba-- The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it has formed a five-member military tribunal to try three terrorism suspects held at this U.S. naval base.
Justices say detainees get their day in court
In three decisions hailed by civil libertarians, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that just about all the al-Qaida suspects being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in U.S. military brigs can have their day in court, including former Chicago gang member Jose Padilla. Monday, June 28, 2004 Taliban kill up to 16 Afghans who registered to vote
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Taliban fighters killed up to 16 men after learning they had registered for Afghanistan's U.S.-backed national elections, the deadliest attack yet in a campaign aimed at sabotaging the nation's first free vote, officials said Sunday.
Terror detainees win right to U.S. courts
WASHINGTON-- The Supreme Court dealt a setback to the Bush administration's war against terrorism Monday, ruling that both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals seized as potential terrorists can challenge their treatment in U.S. courts.
Terrorists using Net for propaganda, recruiting
Al-Qaida-linked terror groups and their sympathizers have made a big splash on the Internet in recent months, making it their communications channel of choice. Sunday, June 27, 2004 Bus bomb kills workers set to register Afghan women
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A bomb tore through a bus carrying female election workers Saturday on their way to register women for the country's first post-Taliban vote, killing two of them and injuring 13 others.
CIA halts some aggressive interrogation tactics: report
WASHINGTON -- The CIA has suspended use of some White House-approved aggressive interrogation tactics employed to extract information from reluctant al-Qaida prisoners, the Washington Post said.
Turkey rejects kidnappers' demands
BAGHDAD, Iraq-- Turkey rejected on Sunday the demands of Islamic militants who are threatening to behead three of its kidnapped citizens during a visit by President Bush to Turkey. Insurgents hit a U.S. military transport plane with gunfire after it took off, killing one person.
Anonymous CIA employee rips U.S. war on terror
WASHINGTON -- A CIA employee is making a stir, but, as might be expected in the spy world, the public doesn't know his name. He's ''Anonymous.''
Saudis beheaded 53 last year but condemn killing innocents
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi government beheaded 52 men and one woman last year for crimes including murder, homosexuality, armed robbery and drug trafficking. But Saudis say that while Islam condones the punishment in one context, it condemns militants who decapitated hostages here and in Iraq. Saturday, June 26, 2004 Explosion kills 2 Afghan women election workers
KABUL, Afghanistan-- A bomb tore through a minibus carrying Afghan women election workers in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, killing at least two of them and wounding 13 in the bloodiest attack yet on preparations for the country's first post-Taliban vote. Friday, June 25, 2004 Two Marines killed, one wounded in eastern Afghanistan
troops are hunting Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, the U.S. military said Friday. Thursday, June 24, 2004 Charges dropped against Illinois airman
NEW ORLEANS-- The Air Force announced Thursday that it will dismiss all charges against an Illinois Air National Guard fighter pilot who accidentally dropped a 500-pound, laser-guided bomb that killed four Canadians in Afghanistan in 2002.
Justice Dept. changing advice on interrogation
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is rewriting its legal advice on how far U.S. interrogators can go to pry information from detainees, working under much different circumstances from the writers of earlier memos that appeared to justify torture.
Airlines' action may have broken privacy law
WASHINGTON -- The government may have broken federal privacy law when it asked airlines to turn over personal data about passengers for a test of background-check project, a senator said Wednesday.
Airport security lines moving right along
Lines are short at O'Hare and Midway airports, the Transportation Security Administration reported Wednesday.
Two bombs in Turkey kill three before Bush visit
ISTANBUL, Turkey-- A bomb blast aboard a bus killed at least three people and injured eight, a senior police official said. Earlier, a bomb exploded outside the Ankara hotel where President Bush is expected to stay before Monday's NATO summit.
Saudis offer deal to terrorists
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia offered Islamic militants a limited amnesty Wednesday, saying their lives would be spared if they surrendered but they would face the ''full might'' of state wrath if they did not.
Student who hid box cutters on planes gets probation
BALTIMORE-- A college student who says he hid box cutters on airplanes to expose weaknesses in security was sentenced Thursday to two years supervised probation and fined $500. Wednesday, June 23, 2004 Bush administration repudiates torture memo
WASHINGTON-- The Bush administration laid out its legal reasoning for denying terror war suspects the protections of international humanitarian law but immediately repudiated a key memo arguing that torture might be justified in the fight against al-Qaida.
Saudi Arabia urges militants to accept amnesty
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia-- Saudi Arabia offered Islamic militants a limited amnesty Wednesday, saying their lives would be spared if they surrendered but they would face the "full might" of state wrath if they did not.
Worldwide terrorism at 21-year high
WASHINGTON -- Significant acts of terror worldwide reached a 21-year high in 2003, the State Department announced Tuesday as it corrected a mistaken report that had been cited to boost President Bush's war on terror.
Pakistan denies al-Qaida link, calls remarks 'biased'
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-- America's Sept. 11 commission made false observations that Pakistan had contacts with al-Qaida, a Pakistani official said Wednesday, denying any links with the terror network.
Trial opens for lawyer accused of aiding terrorist
NEW YORK -- A lawyer who has made a career out of defending radicals went on trial Tuesday on charges she helped one of her clients -- a jailed terrorist sheik -- communicate with his followers. Tuesday, June 22, 2004 State Department corrects terror figures to show increase
WASHINGTON-- Correcting an inaccurate report, the State Department announced Tuesday that acts of terror worldwide increased slightly last year and the number of people wounded rose dramatically.
Top terrorists' presence at Guantanamo disputed
WASHINGTON -- Senior American intelligence and military officials contradicted the Bush administration Monday, saying not a single detainee at Guantanamo Bay was a high-ranking terrorist.
Justice Dept. disavows torture memo
WASHINGTON-- President Bush claimed the right to waive anti-torture laws and treaties covering prisoners of war after the invasion of Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized guards to strip detainees and threaten them with dogs, according to documents released Tuesday. Monday, June 21, 2004 Al-Qaida says Saudis helped in kidnapping
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- The kidnappers of slain American Paul Johnson Jr. had help from sympathizers within the Saudi security forces, according to an account of the operation posted by an al-Qaida cell on a Web site Sunday.
Probe chief: Al-Qaida closer to Iran than Iraq
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission said Sunday that al-Qaida had much more interaction with Iran and Pakistan than it did with Iraq, underscoring a controversy over the Bush administration's insistence there was collaboration between the terrorist group and Saddam Hussein.
Beheading spurs ordinary Saudis to cheer al-Qaida leader's death
headline:Beheading spurs ordinary Saudis to cheer al-Qaida leader's death
Secret court gave go-ahead for 7 spy warrants daily
WASHINGTON -- America's most secret court approved an average of nearly seven spy warrants each weekday last year, allowing the FBI to covertly intercept communications of suspected terrorists within the United States.
High-ranking Islamic militant slain in Africa
ALGIERS, Algeria -- Troops killed one of North Africa's most wanted Islamic militants, who had sought to link his bloody insurgent movement in Algeria to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, the military said Sunday. Sunday, June 20, 2004 Saudis searching for body of slain U.S. hostage
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi security agents searched homes in the capital and surrounding deserts Saturday for the body of slain American hostage Paul Johnson Jr., while Saudi officials hailed as a victory their slaying of his executioner, the top al-Qaida figure in the kingdom.
Home surrounded in Saudi militant search
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Police cars and armored vehicles flooded the al-Malaz neighborhood in the Saudi capital Sunday as security forces surrounded a house where suspected militants were believed to have taken refuge after a shootout with police.
U.S. dirty bomb attack 'all but certain'
Terrorists are ''all but certain'' to set off a radiological weapon in the United States, since it will take authorities too many years to track and secure the radioactive materials of such ''dirty bombs,'' a team of nuclear researchers has concluded.
1996 meeting led to 9/11, panel says
WASHINGTON -- Five years before the worst terror attack in American history, a U.S.-educated Kuwaiti pitched an outlandish idea to Osama bin Laden.
Afghan official undermines American's abuse defense
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Days after a former CIA contractor was charged in the death of an Afghan in U.S. custody, a regional official Saturday cast doubt on the contractor's claim that the prisoner died of a heart attack. Saturday, June 19, 2004 American beheaded by terrorists
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- An al-Qaida cell beheaded American engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., and in a swift retaliation Saudi security forces tracked down and killed the leader of the terrorist group in a shootout Friday.
Improved since 9/11, communications still have far to go
WASHINGTON -- Aviation and military officials say communications are vastly improved since the government's confused response to the Sept. 11 hijackings. Evidence shows more is needed. Friday, June 18, 2004 CIA contractor charged with assault in death of detainee
RALEIGH, N.C.-- A CIA contractor charged with fatally assaulting an Afghan detainee was once fired from a Connecticut police department and had history of run-ins with wives and neighbors, authorities and acquaintances said.
9/11 panel cites communication woes
WASHINGTON -- Blindsided by terrorists and beset by poor communications, officials were so slow to react on Sept. 11 that the last of four hijacked planes had crashed by the time Vice President Dick Cheney ordered hostile aircraft shot down, a bipartisan commission reported Thursday.
Captors behead U.S. hostage
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-- An al-Qaida cell beheaded American engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., and in a swift retaliation Saudi security forces tracked down and killed the leader of the terrorist group in a shoot-out Friday.
Bush tried to project calm on morning of attacks
WASHINGTON -- Told America was under attack, President Bush decided he needed to project strength and calm and not bolt from a Florida classroom where he was reading to children as crisis and confusion began to spread on Sept. 11, an independent commission said Thursday.
Wanted tribal leader killed in army assault
WANA, Pakistan-- Pakistani forces killed a renegade tribal leader allied with suspected al-Qaida militants in an overnight helicopter assault on a mud-brick fortress near the Afghan border, the army spokesman said Friday.
Next for 9/11 panel: How to prevent future attacks
WASHINGTON-- The many missed chances to disrupt the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks spanned years: The hijackers methodically devised and implemented their plot beginning in 1996. One of the hijacked jetliners flew undetected for 36 minutes because of a radar glitch. Thursday, June 17, 2004 Minneapolis to test registered flier program
WASHINGTON -- The government expects to learn this summer whether frequent fliers will embrace the chance to avoid extra security inspections at airports by submitting to background checks in advance.
Hijackers' transmissions provide chilling record
WASHINGTON-- Chilling radio transmissions by the Sept. 11 hijackers from the planes they commandeered were played for the first time Thursday, providing a vivid and horrifying portrait as they unfolded on that fateful day before confused air traffic controllers and military personnel.
Panel: Missteps stalled 9/11 response
WASHINGTON-- The terror strikes of Sept. 11, 2001 overwhelmed all immediate efforts at response or even full comprehension, a bipartisan commission reported Thursday, and the strikes spread such confusion that Vice President Dick Cheney mistakenly thought U.S. warplanes had shot down two aircraft.
CIA contractor charged in beating death of detainee
WASHINGTON-- A contractor working for the CIA was indicted Thursday in connection with the beating death of a prisoner in Afghanistan-- the first civilian to face criminal charges related to U.S. treatment of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Terroristthreatens judges after sentencing in Jordan
AMMAN, Jordan -- A Jordanian described as the mastermind of an al-Qaida cell shouted, ''You will be punished on doomsday!'' at military judges who convicted him Wednesday along with 14 fugitives in a terror conspiracy targeting American and Israeli interests in this key U.S. ally.
Bush takes issue with Iraq-al-Qaida findings
WASHINGTON-- President Bush on Thursday disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaida terrorist network responsible for the attacks.
Deadline looms for contractor held hostage
EAGLESWOOD TOWNSHIP, N.J.-- Friends of an American held hostage in Saudi Arabia by a group linked to al-Qaida awaited word of his fate as a deadline imposed by his captors was ticking down. Wednesday, June 16, 2004 Bush: Afghanistan 'first victory in war on terror'
WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Tuesday called Afghani-stan the ''first victory in the war on terror,'' yet both he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the nation remains on a long, rocky path toward peace and prosperity.
9/11 panel: No Iraq-Bin Laden alliance
WASHINGTON-- Bluntly contradicting the Bush administration, the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reported Wednesday there was "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaida target the United States.
Where were U.S. fighter planes? 9/11 panel asks
WASHINGTON -- Of all the lines of defense that failed to stop the Sept. 11 attacks, the final one -- military jet fighters -- never really came into play. As the Sept. 11 commission wraps up its work, it will look into why.
Man accused in mall plot sent to psychiatric facility
COLUMBUS, Ohio-- A federal magistrate on Wednesday ordered a man charged with plotting to blow up a shopping mall to be transferred to a federal psychiatric facility to determine if he is mentally competent.
Explosion near peacekeeper convoy kills driver
KABUL, Afghanistan-- A remote-controlled bomb hit a convoy of German peacekeepers in northern Afghanistan Wednesday, killing an Afghan driver and three passing civilians, police said.
Militants show hostage, give him days to live
TRENTON, N.J.-- The son of an American kidnapped in Saudi Arabia pleaded with the Saudi government Wednesday to work to free his father, saying he "does not deserve this."
Life sentence man training for 'jihad' with paintballs
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A Maryland man convicted of traveling to Pakistan and seeking to fight with the Taliban just days after Sept. 11 was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison. Tuesday, June 15, 2004 Somali immigrant accused of Ohio mall bomb plan
WASHINGTON -- A Somali man has been charged with plotting to bomb an Ohio shopping mall, the type of vulnerable target in the nation's heartland that U.S. officials have warned that terrorists want to strike.
Tape shown of American hostage in Saudi Arabia
CAIRO -- An Islamic Web site showed videotape Tuesday of a blindfolded American hostage in Saudi Arabia. It said abductors threatened to kill the hostage within 72 hours unless al-Qaida prisoners are freed.
9/11 panel to probe air defenses
WASHINGTON-- The nation's law enforcement and intelligence agencies did not discover the plot. Airport security screeners did not find the hijackers' weapons.
Army chief: Islamic extremist threat is like a 'cancer'
WASHINGTON-- The Army's top general on Tuesday likened the global war on terrorism to fighting cancer and said the threat posed by Islamic extremists who seek to destroy the United States is "never going to go away in our lifetime."
Pakistan nabs militant leader, ends operation
ISLAMABAD Pakistan -- Pakistan claimed successes Monday on two fronts in its war on terrorism, ending an assault against al-Qaida hideouts near the Afghan border and announcing the arrest of the alleged mastermind of attacks on Shiites.
Bush announces new Afghanistan initiatives
WASHINGTON-- President Bush outlined five new initiatives Tuesday to help Afghanistan continue to move toward peace and prosperity so that it never again is a "terrorist factory."
Saudis enlist radical clerics to denounce wave of terror
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Six Saudi clerics who once espoused Islamic radicalism condemned a wave of attacks on Westerners, part of the kingdom's efforts to rally its people against al-Qaida's stepped-up campaign to oust the ruling family. Monday, June 14, 2004 Somali native charged in mall plot
WASHINGTON-- A Somali native living in Ohio has been charged with plotting with other al-Qaida operatives to blow up a Columbus-area shopping mall, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.
Al-Qaida operative in Kenya slips away from cops in 'a flash'
headline:Al-Qaida operative in Kenya slips away from cops in 'a flash'
Pakistan boasts the capture of 10 al-Qaida suspects
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani authorities have arrested 10 suspected al-Qaida members, including a nephew of detained terror mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who has been in U.S. custody the past year, the interior minister said Sunday. Sunday, June 13, 2004 Kidnapped American sought in Saudi Arabia
With the kidnapping of an American and threats to inflict on him the same degrading punishments seen at Iraq's U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison, suspected al-Qaida terrorists appear to have unleashed a new tactic in their violent drive against Saudi Arabia's rulers.
Marines kill 80 rebels in Taliban stronghold
KABUL, Afghanistan -- In the bloodiest fighting this year, U.S. Marines killed more than 80 insurgents in a three-week offensive against a Taliban stronghold in the mountains of southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday. Saturday, June 12, 2004 Al-Qaida tape: U.S. trying to replace Arab governments
CAIRO, Egypt -- A purported audiotape from al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri, broadcast Friday on an Arab satellite station, accused the United States of trying to replace Arab governments through its plan for regional reforms.
More than 80 militants in three weeks of fighting
KABUL, Afghanistan-- U.S. Marines have killed more than 80 militants in a three-week assault on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday.
50 dead as Pakistanis battle with insurgents
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani troops pounded suspected al-Qaida hideouts and a training facility with artillery, mortar and small-arms fire Friday in a third day of violence in a lawless tribal region near the Afghan border.
|
