REUTERS: Bush to Impose Syria Sanctions Soon, WHouse Says

The White House said on Friday it would soon impose sanctions on Syria for allegedly supporting terrorism and for failing to stop guerrillas entering Iraq.

“Those concerns need to be addressed. Syria needs to take them seriously and work to address those concerns. But we’re going to continue to move forward on these sanctions,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

“We’ll have more to say on that very soon,” McClellan added.

HAARETZ: Report: Hezbollah gives Israel two weeks to reach deal on Kuntar

Hezbollah has given Israel a two-week ultimatum to reach an agreement for the release of Lebanese militant Samir Kuntar, who in 1979 murdered a police officer and three members of the Haran family in Nahariya, according to a report in the Lebanese weekly “Al-Kifah al-Arabi.”

Hezbollah is threatening to “resort to other alternatives” if a deal is not reached, the report said.

In the issue to be published Saturday, the report will also cite sources as saying that “the Israeli navigator Ron Arad, missing in Lebanon since 1986, is being held by Hezbollah, which has improved the organization’s negotiating position with Israel.”

REUTERS: Saudi Identifies Driver of Riyadh Suicide Car Bomb

Saudi Arabia identified on Friday the Islamic militant who killed himself and five others in a suicide car bombing in the capital Riyadh last week.

An interior ministry statement said Abdul-Aziz bin Ali al-Mudayhish had driven the truck packed with more than 1.2 tons of explosives which destroyed a security headquarters, also injuring about 150.

The statement said Mudayhish had been among Islamic militants wanted by authorities, although his name was not on a list of 18 most wanted Islamists with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network.

JERUSALEM POST: US: Syria, Iran biggest sponsors of terrorism

Iran and Syria are two of seven nations designated as sponsors of terrorism, according to a Global Terrorism report conducted by the US State Department published Thursday.

According to the report, Syria provides aide for a range of terror groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The State Department report also stated that there were fewer international terror attacks last year than any time since 1969.

The 181-page Patterns of Global Terrorism Report offered a country-by-country review of terrorist attacks and cooperation in fighting terrorism.

The report said Libya and Sudan “took significant steps to cooperate in the global war on terrorism.” But Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea didn’t do enough to sever their ties to terrorism.

JERUSALEM POST: PLO: US will pay if Israel kills Arafat

The PLO’s representative in Lebanon has warned the US that America will pay dearly if Israel were to assassinate PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.

America’s interests would be in danger all over the world, Sultan Abu Einen said Friday.

“All our people all over the world will turn into time bombs if this thing happens,” Einen said at a rally in the al-Rashidiya refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

(Sounds like a terrorist threat to me. The old PLO is back.)

JERUSALEM POST: Annan urges Arafat to crack down on terror

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Yasser Arafat on Friday to give Israel’s Gaza pullout plan a chance, saying Palestinians should crack down on terrorists to help revive a broader peace effort, Reuters news agency reported.

In unusually tough language, Annan - in a letter obtained by Reuters - also criticized the Palestinian Authority Chairman for failing to meet obligations under the road map plan including security reforms and putting an end to suicide bombings.

…

“You are aware…that the Palestinian side too has obligations it has not fulfilled,” Annan told Arafat. “The Palestinian Authority should immediately start taking effective measures to curb terrorism and violence.”

“Decisive actions on your part would help the international community ensure that any withdrawal from Gaza is part of the implementation of the road map and not a substitute for it,” he wrote.

HAARETZ: Al-Qaida: If we had chemical bomb, we would have hit Israel

A purported message from Al-Qaida operative Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi said Friday his group did plan to blow up a Jordanian intelligence building, but not with chemical weapons as the authorities have alleged. If Al-Qaida had chemical weapons, he said, it would have used them to attack Israel.

“The [allegation] that there was a chemical bomb to kill thousands of people is a mere lie,” the reported voice of al-Zarqawi says on a tape broadcast via an Islamic site on the Internet.

“God knows, if we did possess [a chemical bomb], we wouldn’t hesitate one second to use it to hit Israeli cities such as Eilat and Tel Aviv,” the voice said.

JERUSALEM POST: Hamas, Jihad skip PLO meeting

A meeting of the PLO executive committee and heads of all Palestinian factions at Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah on Wednesday night was not attended by Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives, a Palestinian official said.

“They probably stayed away fearing an Israeli assassination attempt,” one PA source said, adding that all Hamas leaders have gone into hiding since the IDF killed Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi.

MAARIV: Security inspector prevents major terror attack

“I noticed that something didn’t look right and I checked package after package without giving up. I opened a package that contained a denim jacket and then realized that it was actually an explosive belt”, said “T” a security inspector at the Karni crossing who thwarted a suicide bombing due to her tenacity and alertness Thursday.

At about 16.00, one of the inspectors working at the Karni crossing became suspicious of a container of clothing that Palestinians were trying to transport in to Israel. The inspector alerted “T” who rummaged threw the packages of clothes and found an explosive belt hidden in a denim jacket, “T” called over her superiors who evacuated the area after confirming that it was indeed an explosive belt of the type used by Palestinian suicide bombers.

Border Police sappers arrived on the scene and neutralized the belt.

JERUSALEM POST: France to investigate Hamas

The French State Prosecutor in Paris on Tuesday opened a preliminary investigation against a suspect whose identity remains unknown for “murders, attempted murders and aiding a terrorist organization”, after several complaints were filed in March by French victims of suicide bombings in Israel.

The complaints, also filed for “genocide” and “crimes against humanity”, mainly accuse the president of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat.

The examining judge will be appointed by the president of the magistrates’ court of Paris to conduct the investigation.

The French Ministry of Justice has approved this investigation.

REUTERS: Saudi Minister Say Militants Planned Bigger Strike

Last week’s bombing of a Saudi security building in Riyadh was just one part of militants’ plans for strikes against state targets, Interior Minister Prince Nayef said in remarks broadcast on Thursday.

The attack, which killed five people and the suicide bomber, was “a limited part of a big operation which was foiled,” Nayef told a news conference on Wednesday.

The Interior Ministry said at the time of the attack it had seized five cars laden with more than a toneach of explosives in the days leading up to the Riyadh blast.

“Saudi security thwarted tens of cases which, God forbid, if they had happened would have been a disaster, compared to which Muhayya or the traffic department building would have been nothing,” Nayef said, referring to last week’s attack and a November suicide bombing which killed 18 people.

FOX

terrorism task force was investigating an “uncorroborated” threat to a Los Angeles area shopping mall where federal officials say an attack may have been planned for Thursday.

“As of now, the information is uncorroborated and the credibility of the source is unknown,” the LAPD said in a statement.

No specific shopping mall was named, but the warning indicated a mall near the Federal Building in West Los Angeles could be targeted.

The LAPD will increase patrols at shopping malls in the city and asked mall operators to beef up security while a joint terrorism task force investigates. The department said it would have no further comment beyond the statement issued late Wednesday.

Based on some feedback from readers with military backgrounds and context, I’ve removed this post … sorry I couldn’t get you more help, Tim.

HAARETZ: Court hears Hamas likely contacted Tel Aviv bombers in UK

Two Britons who carried out a suicide bomb attack that killed three people in a Tel Aviv nightclub last April must have been contacted by Hamas in England, a court heard on Wednesday.

Asif Hanif, 21, from London, killed three people and injured 65 others after blowing himself up at the popular seafront bar Mike’s Place.

His co-bomber Omar Sharif, 27, fled after he failed to detonate a second bomb, although his mangled and decomposed body was later found floating off the Mediterranean coast. A post mortem indicated he had drowned.

The bombing was the first of its kind by foreigners in Israel, rather than by Palestinians, during the three-and-a-half year Palestinian uprising.

Three members of Sharif’s family are on trial at London’s Old Bailey for failing to help authorities prevent the attack.

His wife, Tahira Sha Tabassum, 27, brother Zahid Hussain Sharif, 36, and sister Parveen Akther Sharif, 35, all from Derby, central England, deny failure to disclose information about acts of terrorism. Parveen Sharif is also charged with inciting her brother to commit an act of terrorism.

From the AFP via The Australian :

A Hamas militant was killed in the car bombing in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the Islamist movement’s military wing said.

No other details as yet.

HAARETZ: 4 soldiers hurt foiling major Hamas attack in Gaza

Four IDF soldiers were injured, two moderately and two lightly, when they foiled a major suicide car bomb attack Wednesday on Gaza Strip settlers.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, in which a jeep flying an Israeli flag and packed with as much as 300 kilograms of explosives drew the suspicion of Givati Brigade infantrymen on patrol near the Mor Bridge between the Kissufim crossing and the Gush Katif bloc of settlements.

Hamas identified the man as Tariq Khamayed, 24, of the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The IDF believes Khamayed planned to blow himself up against a bus or a convoy on the Kissufim-Gush Katif highway. The military had received general intelligence warnings of the possibility of such an attack.

JERUSALEM POST: Syria attack fabricated?

The still unexplained attacks in Damascus Tuesday night were a fabrication of Syria’s Baath Party hoping for a carte blanche for a crackdown on the regime’s opponents, claimed the dissident Reform Party of Syria (RPS) Wednesday.

Syria blamed Al-Qaida for the attacks, which according to reports left a police officer and at least two militants dead in the Mazza district of the capital, home to several embassies and international organizations.

RPS noted that the attack had little of the telltale markers of an Al-Qaida strike, usually a well coordinated, high-potent attack using a combination of suicide bombers and gunmen. Given Al-Qaida’s predilection for larger attacks, and its use of Syria as a base for operations casts doubt that the Wahabi group was involved, said RPS.

The attackers used small arms and RPGs in attacks on what reportedly were vacant buildings. Earlier this week Jordan unveiled what might have been a massive chemical attack in the kingdom, which security officials there estimate might have killed 80,000 people.

The explosive and chemical laden vehicles stopped by Jordanian Special Forces set out for Amman via Damascus, said Jordan.

Former Ambassador Dori Gold, an expert on Wahabism and its terrorist tentacles also doubted the veracity of the Syrian regime’s claims. He also discounted Kurdish militant’s responsibility arguing that the now hounded Kurds would likely have preferred government symbols to raise consciousness about their plight in the west, rather than western or international targets.

“Anyway, why would Al Qaida, which uses Syria as a conduit to send Mujahideen to Iraq, risk its standing with such an attack,” he added.

An Israeli intelligence source said the nature of the attack and the assailants remain unclear, although Syria, a totalitarian police state, has in the past covered up terrorist attacks. Staging them, he said, is not so different, perhaps even easier.

The purpose of such a fabrication, claims RPS, is that it could offset mounting pressure on the regime to fight terror. It also gives Bashar Al Assad a free hand to wipe out his opponents all while showing that “his ruthless and autocratic regime serves to protect western interests,” said the RPS statement.

(Fifteen linked car bombs with single-digit fatalities and mostly vacant buildings as targets does lead to suspicion that this was not the otherwise maximum-effect-seeking Al-Qaida.)

From the BBC via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Syrian television has said security forces have found a cache of arms and explosives in a raid on the diplomatic quarter of Damascus, where police earlier clashed with gunmen.

Two of the attackers, a policeman and a woman, who was apparently caught in the crossfire, were killed during the battle.

Calm has returned to Damascus after unprecedented explosions and a gun fight on one of the capital’s main roads.

All that remains now is the burnt out facade of the building, which appears to have been the target.

The building was once used by the United Nations.

The windows of the four-storey building have been blown out and cars parked in front badly damaged.

Security has been increased slightly in the city. There are a few more police cars stationed by the side of the road and there armed men in civilian clothes are standing guard.

It is unclear who the attackers were and what their aim was.

Syrian authorities describe them simply as terrorists.

As opposed to the Syrian “militants” fighting in Fallujah and elsewhere.

From the AP via The Australian :

Suspected Islamic militants have clashed with police in Thailand, leaving at least 70 people dead in the worst day of violence in the troubled Muslim-dominated south, officials said.

The clashes erupted after militants launched simultaneous attacks on police bases and checkpoints in several districts of Yala and Pattani provinces, said Yala Governor Boonyasit Suwanarat.

He told reporters that most of the dead were youths attempting to rob weapons from police and army bases who were repelled and shot to death by security forces.

It was the bloodiest day in the south where almost daily attacks by gunmen have left nearly 150 people dead this year.

UPDATE : From the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

The death toll from violence in Thailand’s Muslim south has risen to 95, including 93 attackers who mounted a series of dawn raids on police and army checkpoints.

Major Chitnart Bunnothok, spokesman for the Fourth Army that patrols the troubled region, says 93 attackers have been killed, 12 have been injured and one has been arrested.

“The toll is likely to go higher because we have not yet cleared all the areas,” he said, referring to 10 locations where dawn gun battles have been staged.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says the toll among security forces is low because the attackers were only armed with machetes and a few guns.

“Two security forces have died and nine are injured,” he said.

Authorities say fighting is continuing at a mosque in Pattani province where rebels are holed up.

“We have sealed off the mosque in order to get them alive so we can question them and know their real motives,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.

From an earlier article by the ABC :

The attacks are the latest in a series of bombings, raids and murders in Thailand’s five southern provinces bordering Malaysia, which have targeted security forces, Government officials and Buddhist monks.

Machetes are adequate to slaughter unarmed and pacifist Buddhist Monks, but not all Thais are pacifists. Never bring a knife to a gun fight as they say.
(Disclaimer : I’ve done work for the Royal Thai Navy, and am somewhat (Sum Wat?) Thaiophilic. Difficult people to anger, but when you do manage it, watch out. “Proportionate Response” is not in their vocabulary. “Amok”, “Berserk” etc most certainly are.)

AP:

Gunmen attacked a former United Nations office in a diplomatic quarter of Damascus, setting off a battle with police that pelted nearby buildings with bullets and grenades.

The fighting killed two attackers, a policeman and a civilian, the government said.

Via Haaretz ticker, Reuters is reporting at least one dead at the United Nations compound in Damascus.

Keep an eye on UN-SG Statements or the link to the off-the-cuff remarks.

UPDATE:
Bloomberg reports UN building on fire in Damascus, via Al-Arabiya and SANA.

SANA: Security Resource / Statement

A Security Resource on Tuesday evening told SANA that a terrorist and sabotage group opened fire randomly in al-Mezza Street .

“The competent security authorities confronted the terrorist group and the situation was completely controlled”, the Resource added.

The British have confirmed an explosion and the sight of smoke.

…developing…

UPDATE: Syrian state television reports that ‘security forces’ have clashed with [a] ‘terrorist band.’

Arab TV reports 15 blasts in the diplomatic section of Damascus.

Fox News reports blasts at British and Saudi embassy. “The Mazza area houses the embassies of Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran and others. The British and Iranian ambassadors have their residences in the area.

UPDATE via Reuters:

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Armed assailants set off an explosive device at a U.N. office in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Tuesday, killing one of the militants, wounding another and setting the building ablaze.

“There were at least two terrorists. One was killed and another one injured after they detonated an explosive device that set the U.N. building on fire and destroyed at least three vehicles,” a diplomatic source told Reuters.

Both Fox and AFP are reporting explosions near foreign embassies.

No details yet, coming soon.

Update: AP is reporting gunfire was heard as well.

Reuters reports that the blasts happened near the British embassy.

BBC is first with details:

A series of explosions and gunfire rocked the Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday evening, reports say.
Sources said between three and five explosions were heard in the west of the city from about 1600 GMT. The blasts were followed by heavy gunfire.

The explosions are said to have occurred near the Iranian and Canadian embassies in the city.

They took place on the Mesa highway leading into central Damascus from the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Security sources said the explosions were caused by car bombs, but there has been no independent confirmation of this.

BBC contradicts the Reuters report about which embassy it was near.

UDPATE:

Fox reports that the blast was close the British envoy’s residence. Still no word on casualties.

IRELAND ONLINE: Robbers die trying to hold-up suicide bomber

A Hamas suicide bomber blew up two armed Palestinians who tried to rob him at gun point in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas claimed the “stickup men” worked for Israeli intelligence, while Palestinian security forces said the two were ordinary thieves.

Rather than give up his explosives, the bomber detonated them, killing himself and the two robbers near the border fence between Gaza and Israel.

Palestinian security officials said the the gunmen were criminals who were involved in a car theft ring that brought stolen vehicles from Israel to Gaza.

Hamas said the bomber was on his way to try to infiltrate into Israel, accompanied by another Hamas member and a guide, when they were stopped by the armed men.

The robbers forced the bomber to lie on the ground and tried to steal the bomb, but the militant detonated it, killing all three. The other Hamas man and the guide escaped.

instapundit shares a troubling report from Middle East Newsline (full report requires subscription):

LONDON [MENL] — Sudan has ordered the removal of Syrian missiles and weapons of mass destruction out of the African country.

Arab diplomatic and Sudanese government sources said the regime of Sudanese President Omar Bashir has ordered that Syria remove its Scud C and Scud D medium-range ballistic missiles as well as components for chemical weapons stored in warehouses in Khartoum. The sources said the Sudanese demand was issued after the Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry confirmed a report published earlier this month that Syria has been secretly flying Scud-class missiles and WMD components to Khartoum.

The sources said the Bashir regime has been alarmed over the prospect that the United States would discover the Syrian arsenal and conclude that Damascus and Khartoum were cooperating in the area of missiles and WMD. They said this would have delayed or dashed U.S. plans to lift sanctions from Sudan.

A U.S. official confirmed the Syrian missile shipments to Sudan, saying they were meant for use against rebels in the south. But the official said the U.S. intelligence community has not determined that Syria sent WMD systems to Khartoum.

JERUSALEM POST: Australia to bar Islamic Jihad

Australia is set to ban the Islamic Jihad as a terrorist group, reported Al Jezeera Tuesday.

Under Australia’s counter-terrorism laws, anyone belonging to, or training, funding or recruiting members for a banned “terrorist group” can be jailed for up to 25 years.

After passing legislation last year that has so far led to the banning of the Hamas, Hizbullah and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, Attorney General Philip Ruddock said last week he planned to outlaw another organisation as a “terror group”, but refused to reveal the name of the group.

HAARETZ: IDF kills two Palestinian militants in Tul Karm refugee camp

Israel Defense Forces operating in the West Bank city of Tul Karm shot and killed two Palestinians and injured another early on Tuesday. The troops were seeking militants in the city’s refugee camp.

Palestinian witnesses said the soldiers opened fire at a group of armed militants. The gunmen belonged to the Hamas militant group, the witnesses said. They were identified as Ashraf Nafeh and Amjad Amarah.

Israeli military sources said the soldiers identified two gunmen approaching them in the camp and shot both of them before they had a chance to fire back.

The other casualty, reportedly a 16 year old, was evacuated to a local hospital, which IDF troops later surrounded. At present, the man is said to be hospitalized in an Israeli hospital and his condition is unknown.

JERUSALEM POST/AP: Three killed in work-related incident in Gaza

The body of a third Palestinian was found early Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, near the scene of a late-night explosion.

Security officials initially said two Palestinians died in the blast near the fence that surrounds the Gaza Strip, on the edge of the Mughazi refugee camp.

According to the Hamas, one of the three Palestinians was a suicide bomber and the other two – Israeli collaborators. A spokesman for the organization told AP that the two collaborators forced the man to remove his explosives belt at gunpoint. He refused and blew hhimself up instead.

JERUSALEM POST: Saudi FM: “Not funding Hamas or suicide bombers”

Saudi Arabia claimed on Monday that it has halted all funding from the Kingdom to Hamas.

Asked by NBC if Saudi Arabia continued to fund Hamas – two years ago, Saudi Arabia raised $92 million for Palestinian suicide bombers, according to NBC – Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said “absolutely not.”

“Not funding Hamas or suicide bombers,” he said.

He also said he did not think money was being transferred from Saudi Arabia to al-Qaida since “the controls are really very stringent.”

HAARETZ/AP: Jordan to air confessions of alleged chemical bomb attack planners

State television will air confessions from Al-Qaida suspects who allegedly planned chemical and poison gas attacks against the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Jordan, officials said Monday.

Monday’s 20-minute taped program was scheduled for 9 P.M. local time, considered prime time because it follows the main news bulletin. Government spokeswoman Asma Khader and other officials disclosed few details ahead of the program. The number and identities of the suspects who will appear were not announced.

“There will be a detailed announcement on television tonight,” was all Khader would say at her weekly press briefing.

(Cross-post from OTB)

Jason Burke has an interesting web-only on the Foreign Policy website which seeks to debunk several myths about al Qaeda. A couple of excerpts:

It was the FBI—during its investigation of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa—which dubbed the loosely linked group of activists that Osama bin Laden and his aides had formed as “al Qaeda.” This decision was partly due to institutional conservatism and partly because the FBI had to apply conventional antiterrorism laws to an adversary that was in no sense a traditional terrorist or criminal organization.

Although bin Laden and his partners were able to create a structure in Afghanistan that attracted new recruits and forged links among preexisting Islamic militant groups, they never created a coherent terrorist network in the way commonly conceived. Instead, al Qaeda functioned like a venture capital firm—providing funding, contacts, and expert advice to many different militant groups and individuals from all over the Islamic world.

Today, the structure that was built in Afghanistan has been destroyed, and bin Laden and his associates have scattered or been arrested or killed. There is no longer a central hub for Islamic militancy. But the al Qaeda worldview, or “al Qaedaism,” is growing stronger every day. This radical internationalist ideology—sustained by anti-Western, anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic rhetoric—has adherents among many individuals and groups, few of whom are currently linked in any substantial way to bin Laden or those around him. They merely follow his precepts, models, and methods. They act in the style of al Qaeda, but they are only part of al Qaeda in the very loosest sense. That’s why Israeli intelligence services now prefer the term “jihadi international” instead of “al Qaeda.”

Christopher Hitchens has likewise taking to calling the “war on terror” the “war against jihad,” saying it more correctly identifies our adversary.

Burke dubs a myth the idea that “the Militants Seek to Destroy the West so They Can Impose a Global Islamic State” but his explanation isn’t particularly comforting:

slamic militants’ main objective is not conquest, but to beat back what they perceive as an aggressive West that is supposedly trying to complete the project begun during the Crusades and colonial periods of denigrating, dividing, and humiliating Islam. The militants’ secondary goal is the establishment of the caliphate, or single Islamic state, in the lands roughly corresponding to the furthest extent of the Islamic empire of the late first and early second centuries. Today, this state would encompass the Middle East, the Maghreb (North Africa bordering the Mediterranean), Andalusia in southern Spain, Central Asia, parts of the Balkans, and possibly some Islamic territories in the Far East.

A subtle distinction, to be sure.

HAARETZ: A-Zahar replaces Rantisi as Hamas leader in Strip

Dr. Mahmoud A-Zahar has been elected political leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, say Palestinian sources familiar with the inner workings of the movement. He fills the job held by Abdel Aziz Rantisi until his assassination nine days ago.

Ismail Haniyeh has been appointed as A-Zahar’s deputy, while the new No. 3 in the Hamas hierarchy is Said A-Siam.

Shortly after Rantisi’s assassination, the head of the Hamas political wing, Khaled Meshal, who is based in Syria, ordered the movement in Gaza to elect a new leader. But fearing that the new leader might be targeted by Israel - like Rantisi and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin - Meshal also instructed movement members not to make the new leader’s name public.

(There goes his morning carpool.)

HAARETZ: Police nab three members of cell said behind shooting attacks

An undercover police unit on Friday arrested three people believed to be members of a terror cell behind the March murder of a Jerusalem man and last week’s shooting attack in which another young man was seriously.
Details of the case were released for publication on Sunday.

According to the police, the cell murdered George Elias Khoury, a 20-year-old student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on March 19 in the French Hill neighborhood of the capital and seriously injured Nir Gil, 20, on April 19 in the Givat Hamivtar neighborhood. Both were shot at close range.

The three men detained have been identified as Louay Kurnaz, and cousins Amar Abu Alous and Sajid Abu Alous. The cousins are residents of the village of Aqeb, within the municipal boundaried of Jerusalem, and Kurnaz is a resident of the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The three, aged 18-19, were apprehended in a police ambush while they were allegedly attempting to carry out another attack in the French Hill neighborhood.

Police spotted a vehicle that appeared to be following a pedestrian. The vehicle was ordered to stop and a loaded gun was found in it. Police suspect the same gun was used in the two previous attacks.

(Al-Aqsa took credit for their original attack, and then apologized for having killed an Arab.)

HAARETZ: Palestinian suspected of planning attack nabbed in south Tel Aviv

A Palestinian was arrested Saturday afternoon in the area of the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station on suspicion of trying to carry out a terror attack.

The Palestinian, who was illegally in Israel, was arrested in wake of a terror attack alert for Tel Aviv. Police were continuing searches of the area.

JERUSALEM POST: Zur: Israel has infiltrated Hamas leadership

Border Police head Cmdr. David Zur, said Saturday that “Israel has people in the leadership of the Hamas.”

Zur was responding to a question posed to him regarding Israel’s success in finding and killing top terrorist leaders, Ynet reported.

Zur was speaking at a cultural event in Beer Sheba.

“We are excelling in everything connected to human intelligence. We’re investing in agents. Israel has excelled beyond belief in this field,” Zur said.

HAARETZ: 3 Jihad militants killed in clash with Border Policemen in Jenin

Three wanted Islamic Jihad militants were killed and a Border Police officer was moderately wounded in an exchange of fire in the West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday.

Undercover Border Policemen entered Jenin to arrest wanted Islamic Jihad militant Kamel Tubasi, who was involved in dispatching a suicide bomber who carried out an attack in a shopping center in Afula last year.

According to military sources, when the Border Policemen surrounded a house in the city, Tubasi came out and opened fire. The troops returned fire, killing Tubasi and two others who were with him, one of whom was 16-years-old. According to Israel Defense Forces sources, all three men were wanted by security forces.

An Al-Jazeera correspondent was moderately wounded in the exchange of fire. According to military sources, the correspondent was shot by Tubasi and his men. he was taken to a hospital in Jenin for treatment.

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So, jump on in, but please keep it respectable and civil. It’s all we ask, and thanks for reading The Post.

For the first time in the short history of Command Post, we have had to not only shut the comments down on a post, but delete them all together.

The ugliness that some people have shown in the posts about Pat Tillman is a complete disgrace to America and a slap in the face to every soldier who every wore a uniform and defended democracy.

We here at The Command Post are not in the habit of silencing dissent, but this was not dissent. This was moral depravity.

I am reprinting the worthy comments here. There will be no open forums on this subject again. If you would like to leave a message here, please email me.

Thank you to all who showed class and restraint.

UPDATE: A revised TCP Comment Policy is forthcoming. ~ Alan

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• Remember Mr Tillman the next time you hear someone bashing Mr Tillman’s country.

Posted by: Paul A’barge at April 23, 2004 02:02 PM

• A great man who deserves to be remembered with respect and honor. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. He put his life where his mouth was, which is more than I can say for many. In response to the previous comment, I will honor his memory by continuing to oppose useless and unwise military actions like Iraq. Our troops deserve better. At least Mr. Tillman did not die as part of that conflict. Think of Mr. Tillman the next time you see some politician jawing on about “sacrifice”.

Posted by: John Harrington at April 23, 2004 03:29 PM

• Thank you, Pat Tillman. I don’t know how we could have possibly deserved you. Thank you.

Posted by: nikita demosthenes at April 23, 2004 03:42 PM

• Eternal Rest grant unto him, O Lord,
  And let Perpetual Light shine upon him.
  May he and all of his fallen Brothers who have laid down their lives selflessly REST IN PEACE, Amen.

May God have mercy on those who speak ill of the Dead.

Posted by: Cap’n DOC at April 23, 2004 04:01 PM

HAARETZ: Lebanon rejects U.S. protest over activities of militants

Lebanon on Friday rejected U.S. protests over the activities of militant Palestinian leaders that Washington labels as terrorists, saying the guerrillas will continue to conduct political and media work in the country as long as Arab lands are occupied by Israel.

U.S. Ambassador Vincent Battle reportedly complained to Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid on Wednesday “regarding the presence, activities and movements” of militant Palestinian leaders in Lebanon, a Lebanese official said.

Battle did not take reporters’ questions following the meeting and the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said Friday it had no comment on the subject.

This early breaking news is from the Drudge Report. The NFL plans a 1:00 p.m. ET press conference.

Pat Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to volunteer as an Army Ranger.

Here are some background articles on Pat Tillman from the NFL, USA Today, the Las Vegas Sun, Veterans Advantage, ESPN, and the Army Times.

Former Arizona safety Pat Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6 million contract offer from the Cardinals to pursue his dream of being a Ranger in the U.S. Army

On the U.S. Army Rangers: Members of the 75th Ranger Regiment - Pat Tillman’s unit - make up an “elite combat unit.” Candidates must pass a stringent orientation course, where they are challenged physically and mentally, before they can even be selected. The Rangers are an infantry force trained to fight against any threat. Their creed: “Rangers lead the way!”

This is a duplicate of the original post from the nikita demosthenes website.

UPDATE: Pat Tillman, KIA. Reports from Army Ranger.com, CNN, and MSNBC.

Per MSNBC:

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In Afghanistan, Tillman’s batallion was involved in “Operation Mountain Storm,” part of the U.S. campaign against Taliban and al-Qaida groups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, military officials said.

He was killed during action in the past 24 hours, they said.

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SECOND UPDATE: A true American hero: the sad news of patriot Pat Tillman’s death, fighting al Qaeda in the line-of-duty along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, reverberates throughout the United States and the world. See:

Fox News,
Associated Press,
The Washington Post,
Reuters,
U.S. Army Ranger Association,
Arizona Cardinals Official Website,
Peggy Noonan - “Privileged to Serve”,
California’s “Patio Pundit” blog,
France’s “Merde in France” blog,
Canada’s “Ghost of a Flea” blog, and
Australia’s Tim Blair.

NFL.com - (April 23, 2004) — Former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, who gave up an NFL contract to join the Army Rangers, reportedly has been killed in Afghanistan.

NFL.com - (April 23, 2004) In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Tillman turned down a three-year contract with the Cardinals to enlist in the Army.

More from the Arizona Cardinals Official Website:

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Tillman was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the Army refers to them as an “elite combat unit.” Candidates must pass a stringent orientation course, where they are challenged physically and mentally, before they can even be selected. The Rangers are an infantry force trained to fight against any threat. Their creed: “Rangers lead the way!”

An unrestricted free agent in 2002 when he made his decision, Tillman declined an offer from the Cardinals to play football that year. That wasn’t the first time Tillman had proven his loyalty — in 2001 he turned down a chance to play with the St. Louis Rams to stay with Arizona for another year.

- - - - - - -

Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million contract with the Cardinals in the spring of 2002 to join his brother as an Army Ranger. He made the move quietly, staging no press conference, granting no interviews and issuing no public remarks about his decision. The move was a personal one for Tillman, who, according to those around him, was deeply moved by the attacks of 9-11. He wanted to “pay something back,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Larry Marmie told reporters at the time.

THIRD UPDATE: Per Iowa Hawk:

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Pat Tillman 1976-2004

(212) 450-2000.

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HAARETZ: Border Police kill 3 armed militants in Qalqilyah

Undercover Border Police forces encountered and killed three armed Palestinian militants in the West Bank city of Qalqilyah overnight Thursday, Israel Radio reported.

According to the report, the troops spotted the three militants in the city’s center.

In the incident, the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades leader in the city, Aatef Sha’aban was moderately injured and evacuated by a Red Crescent ambulance.

One of those killed was senior Al Aqsa Brigades activist Abed Rahman Nazal. The two other men were reportedly associated with the Fatah movement.

REUTERS: Saudi Security Forces Kill Two Militants

Saudi security forces killed two militants in heavy gunfire in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Thursday, one day after a suicide bombing in the capital Riyadh killed at least five people.

“Security personnel stormed a residential building in Jeddah where a group of terrorists were hiding,” state television said. “Two of the terrorists were killed and one was wounded. Two were arrested.”

Witnesses reported gunfire in three separate areas of eastern Jeddah. In the Shola district, they said gunmen wounded a driver when they tried to hijack his car, before fleeing to a half-constructed building and opening fire on onlookers.

Police sealed off several streets while officers with loudspeakers tried to persuade the gunmen to surrender.

I know Michele gets paranoid at the drop of a hat, and I’m sure this will help her stay nervous. Dow Jones is reporting that the FBI continues to interview crop dusters across the United States. Of note, buried in the article is this paragraph:

In addition, the capture last year of al-Qaida senior leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, turned up information on computer hard drives and in handwritten notes about the toxin that causes botulism and about salmonella bacteria and cyanide. Other al-Qaida documents have discussed anthrax and how to make the toxin ricin from castor beans.

The AP is reporting that Swedish authorities continue to hold 4 individuals arrested this week for suspected involvement in “terrorist plots outside Europe.” Authorities have not released any details.