CNN reports that Pakistan’s education minister survived a rocket attack outside the southwestern city of Quetta. 18 rockets were fired at Education Minister Zobaida Jalal’s residence, killing one of Jalal’s servants.

Jalal has been responsible for recent changes to the curriculum in Pakistani schools that reduce the influence of fundamentalist Islam and the concept of holy war.

Critics have said she acted under pressure from the United States.

Jalal said the attacks were “harrassment” and called them “disheartening,” but said she would not be deterred from her duties.

“I will continue doing what I am supposed to do,” she said.

JERUSALEM POST: Al-Qaida men to stand trial for Istanbul bombings

In an indictment made public Monday, Turkish prosecutors allege that Osama bin Laden suggested targets for an attack in Turkey and his al-Qaida network later provided US$150,000 to the Turkish Islamic militants who carried out the November suicide bombings in Istanbul.

On Monday, the trial of 69 suspected members of a Turkish al-Qaida cell opens in an Istanbul courthouse.

The truck bombings targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank. Prosecutors say 61 people, including British Consul-General Roger Short, were killed and more than 600 others injured in the attacks .

…As related by Winds of Change.NET team member on the scene Robin Burk, a USMA West Point Instructor. I especially liked the closing bit about her students - go, Jackie!

Albert, Phillip R., 41, Terryville, Connecticut; Allison, Thomas F. , 22, Roy, Washington; Anderson, Marc A., 30, Brandon, Fla.; Andrews, Evander E., 36, Salon, Maine; Archuleta, Tamara Long, 23, Belen, New Mexico; Bancroft, Matthew W., 29, Shasta, Calif.; Barry, Michael C., 29, Overland Park, Kansas; Bertrand, Bryan P., 23, Coos Bay, Ore.; Blessing, Jay A., 23, Tacoma, Washington; Boes, Helge, 32, Not reported, Virginia; Bourgeois, Matthew J., 35, Tallahassee, Fla.; Bryson, Stephen L., 35, Montgomery, Ala.; Carlson, William, 43, Southern Pines, North Carolina; Carter, Curtis A., 25, Lafayette, La.; Chapman, John A., 36, Waco, Texas; Chapman, Nathan R., 31, San Antonio, Texas; Checo, Steven, 22, New York, N.Y.; Claunch, Herbert R, 58, Wetumpka, Alabama; Clemens, Brian Michael, 19, Kokomo, Indiana; Clemens, Shawn M., 28, Allegany, New York; Cohee III, Walter F., 26, Wicomico, Md.; Commons, Matthew A., 21, Boulder City, Nev.; Cook, Robert J., 24, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; Corlew, Sean M., 37, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Craig, Brian T., 27, Houston, Texas; Crose, Peter P., 22, Orange Park, Fla.; Cunningham, Jason D., 26, Camarillo, Calif.; Davis, Bryant L., 20, Chicago, Ill.; Davis, Jefferson D., 39, Clarksville, Tenn.; Dennis, Jerod R., 19, Antlers, Oklahoma; Disney, Jason A., 21, Fallon, Nev.; Dorrity, James P. , 32, Goldsboro, North Carolina; Ebbers, James H., 19, Bridgeview, Ill; Edmunds, John J., 20, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Egnor, Jody L. , 34, MIDDLETOWN, Ohio; Esposito, Jr., Michael J. , 22, Brentwood, New York; Feistner, Curtis D., 25, WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN; Foraker, Ryan D., 31, Logan, Ohio; Frampton, Gregory Michael, 37, Fresno, California; Frazier, Jacob L., 24, St. Charles, Illinois; Frith, Kerry W., 37, Las Vegas, Nev.; Fuller, Chad C., 24, Potsdam, New York; Galewski, Justin J., 28, Olathe, Kan.; Geiger, Christopher P., 38, Allentown, Pennsylvania; Germosen, Scott N., 37, Queens, N.Y.; Gibbons, Thomas J., 31, Calvert County, Maryland; Gilman, Benjamin L., 28, Meriden, Connecticut; Golding, Nicholes Darwin , 24, Addison, Maine; Gonzalez-Garza, Rodrigo, 26, San Antonio, Texas; Gutierrez, Kelvin Feliciano, 21, Anasco, Puerto Rico; Hall, David E., 21, Uniontown, Kansas; Hays, Nathan P., 21, Lincoln, Wash.; Hicks, Jason Carlyle, 25, Jefferson, South Carolina; Jakes Jr., Michael J., 20, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Jallah, Jr., Dennis , 49, Fayetteville, North Carolina; Johnson, Benjamin, 21, Rochester, N.Y.; Jones, Darrell , 22, Wellston, Ohio; Kerwood, William J., 37, Houston, Missouri; Kimbrough, Paul W., 44, Little Rock, Arkansas; Kinser, Adam G., 21, Sacramento, California; Kisling Jr., Daniel Leon, 31, Neosho, Missouri; Lagman, Anthony S., 26, Yonkers, New York; Lane, Mitchell A., 34, Lompoc, California; Losano, Raymond, 24, Del Rio, Texas; Maltz, Michael, 42, St. Petersburg, Florida; Mancini, Curtis, 43, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Maria, Giovanny, 19, New York, N.Y.; Maugans, Jamie O., 27, Wichita, Kan.; McCollum, Daniel G., 29, Richland, S.C.; McDaniel II, William L. , 36, Greenville, Ohio; McNeil, Spence A., 19, Bennettsville, South Carolina; Michaud, Seth R., 27, Hudson, Massachusetts; Moehling, Timothy Wayne, 35, Panama City, Florida; Morales, Orlando, 33, Manati, Puerto Rico; Morgan, Dwight J., 24, Mendocino, Calif.; Mowris, James D., 37, Aurora, Missouri; Mueller, Christopher Glenn, 32, San Diego, California; NAME NOT RELEASED YET, , Not reported yet, Not reported yet; NAME NOT RELEASED YET, , Not reported yet, Not reported yet; NAME NOT RELEASED YET, , Not reported yet, Not reported yet; NAME NOT RELEASED YET, , Not reported yet, Not reported yet; O’Neill, Evan W., 19, Haverhill, Massachusetts; O’Steen, Mark, 43, Ozark, Alabama; Owens. Bartt D. , 29, MIDDLETOWN, Ohio; Parker, Kristian E., 23, Slidell, Louisiana; Parker, Vincent, 38, Preston, Miss.; Payne Jr., Ronald R., 23, Lakeland, Florida; Pena, Pedro, 35, , Florida; Perreault, Theodore L., 33, Webster, Massachusetts; Petithory, Daniel H., 32, Cheshire, Mass.; Plite, Jason Thomas, 21, Lansing, Michigan; Plumhoff, Steven, 33, Neshanic Station, New Jersey; Price, Bruce E., 37, , Maryland; Profitt, Jason, 23, Charlestown, Indiana; Prosser, Brian C., 28, Frazier Park, Calif.; Retzer, Thomas E., 30, San Diego, California; Ridout, Juan M. , 36, Maple Tree, Washington; Roberts, Neil C., 32, Woodland, Calif.; Romero, Daniel A., 30, Lafayette, Colo.; Scott, Justin A., 22, Bellevue, Kentucky; Seitsinger, Danton K., 29, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Shero, Anissa A., 31, Grafton, W.Va.; Sledd, Antonio J., 20, Tampa, Fla.; Smith, John D., 32, West Valley City, Utah; Spann, Johnny Michael, 32, Winfield, Ala.; Speer, Christopher J., 28, Albuquerque, N.M.; Stanley L. Harriman, 34, Wade, N.C.; Stein, John, 39, Bardolph, Illinois; Stonesifer, Kristofor T., 28, Missoula, Mont.; Svitak, Philip J., 31, Joplin, Mo.; Sweeney, Paul A., 32, Lakeville, Pennsylvania; Tapper, David M., 32, Camden County, New Jersey; Taylor, John E., 31, Wichita Falls, Texas; Teal, John “Mike”, 29, Dallas, Texas; Thomas, Adam L., 21, Palos Hills, Illinois; Tillman, Patrick D., 27, Chandler, Arizona; Tracy Jr., William John, 27, Webster, New Hampshire; Tycz II, Peter P., 32, Tonawanda, N.Y.; Vance Jr., Gene A., 38, Morgantown, W.V.; Wadman, Brandon James, 19, West Palm Beach, Florida; Walkup Jr., Thomas A., 25, Millville, New Jersey; Walters, Howard A., 33, Port Huron, Michigan; Winters, Jeannette L., 25, Du Page, Ill.; Wood, Roy A., 47, Alva, Florida

Dan Darling does his usual in-depth analysis of 2 recent flashpoints in the War on Terror, and 2 ongoing situations:

1. The recent attacks in Saudi Arabia
2. Al-Qaedist Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai’s assassination in Karachi, Pakistan
3. The latest FBI terror alert for the 7 suspects [see poster & FBI link]
4. Chalabi - what’s going on?

Since Dan is now a summer intern with AEI thanks to his blogging exploits, it’s entitled: “Recent WoT Flashpoints: Live From Neocon HQ”

JERUSALEM POST: Arafat: We thwarted 34 attacks in the past 6 weeks

Channel 10 TV interviewed Arafat on Sunday at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Arafat has been trapped by Israeli troops and threats for more than two years. An edited version of the interview was broadcast Sunday evening.

Arafat repeated the pledge that the PA was ready to take over the Gaza Strip following an Israeli withdrawal, on condition that the withdrawal is “real and complete”. Arafat charged that the Palestinian Authority is able to stop terrorism, and said his forces have done so in the past. “We have thwarted 34 attacks in the past six weeks,” Arafat told Channel 10.

(How? By bouncing checks?)

From the Jerusalem Post :

UNWRA’s commissioner general Peter Hansen is demanding Israel apologize for allegations made last week by defense minister Shaul Mofaz that UN ambulances had been used to transport IDF soldier body remains to terrorist strongholds, reported IBA news.

And from the Electronic Intifada :

Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has today demanded an apology and retraction from the Israeli Government and Military for the damaging and baseless allegations they have made against UNRWA’s ambulance drivers in the Gaza Strip.
[…]
The statement was released in response to an incident in which an ambulance driver’s life was threatened by armed men who demanded that he transport them, along with their wounded comrade, to hospital. UNRWA forbids the transportation of armed fighters in its vehicles, but does not demand that its unarmed staff put their lives at risk.
[…]
“I urge you, the Minister of Defense and all others who have repeated this unsupported canard regarding body parts, to issue an immediate retraction and apology for making such a wholly unsupported accusation.”

The Israeli Defence Force site shows a picture that could be interpreted as consistent with the UN story. (see Below)

And from Reuters, via Access Middle East, here is video footage that won’t have made it to your TV. See if it matches the UN’s story of a single ‘militant’ using the UN ambulance to take his wounded comrade on a mission of mercy to a hospital, or as Israel alleges, that the UN ambulances are being used as ‘Terrorist Transport Vehicles’.

So…why hasn’t this footage been seen on TV?

Hat Tip to reader Braintrust, who got it from LGF.

From the Strange Cooincidences file, the Casper Star Tribune reports that “[Michael] Moore’s crew shot the 16-minute interview with Nicholas Berg during an Iraqi business conference in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 4, said his brother, David Berg” for use in Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore didn’t use the footage, but has sent copies to Berg’s family, who notes:

Given Moore’s political leanings, David Berg said he was “really nervous” about what the footage of his brother might show. His brother wasn’t overtly political, he said.

“He went to Iraq because he had certain beliefs about helping people in messed up situations, but it’s not like he was trying to help the Bush administration,” David Berg said.

David Berg said Moore handled the situation with “dignity, respect and discipline.”

“Michael Moore has really been a total class act with this whole thing,” David Berg said. “He could have sold this to the media or stuck it in his movie.”

Not particularly newsworthy, but interesting.

Channel News Asia reports that four US servicemen have been killed in Zabul province (south Afghanistan). They also report violence in three different southern districts Saturday.

No press release yet over at CentCom.

CNN is reporting that Al Qaeda chief Abdul Aziz al-Mukrin promises to “shake the ground underneath their feet” if the Saudis try tostop his jihad. The threat was in an audio file on an arab-language web site.

AP: Standoff Ends After Deadly Saudi Attack

Saudi forces freed dozens of American and other foreign hostages Sunday after a shooting rampage turned into a daylong standoff with Islamic militants at an expatriate resort. A Saudi security official said the lead attacker was in custody and two other suspects were being arrested.

Saudi officials would not comment on the condition of the hostages. However, a diplomat in Khobar said officials told him there were deaths among the hostages and attackers. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said he did not know how many hostages were dead, but was informed that two gunmen were killed.

At least 10 others — including an American — died in the attack claimed by an al-Qaida-linked group that began Saturday morning when gunmen in military-style dress opened fire on security forces at two oil industry compounds in Khobar, 250 miles northeast of Riyadh.

AP: IAF airstrike in Gaza kills three

An explosion ripped apart a motorcycle in Gaza City early Sunday, residents said, killing three people - including a senior Hamas commander and his assistant.

Hamas charged that Israel was responsible for what it called a “dirty assassination crime” killing Wael Nassar, 38, a top Hamas commander, and his assistant, Mohammed Sarsour, 31, his assistant, and a bystander. The two Hamas leaders were on the motorcycle when it exploded, witnesses said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. Witnesses said they saw a flash in the sky and then the motorcycle exploded, indicating an Israeli missile strike. The residents said they did not see any Israeli helicopters in the sky, though they heard an unmanned Israeli plane.

JERUSALEM POST: Palestinians kill PA policeman

Palestinian Authority policemen on Friday night shot and killed one of their colleagues who tried to escape from a prison in Jericho.

The policeman was identified as 23-year-old Ahmed Shorabji. He was arrested last week on suspicion that he had helped three members of Islamic Jihad escape from the Jericho lock-up.

Expatica reports:

The Dutch government confirmed Friday it provided ransom money in April to secure the release of an aid worker who had been kidnapped in Dagestan for 20 months.

REUTERS: Afghans Arrest Suspected Kabul Suicide Recruiter

Afghan police have arrested a man suspected of trying to recruit students to carry out suicide attacks on international peacekeepers in Kabul, a spokesman for the multinational force said on Saturday.

In a separate operation, 36 people were detained by Afghan security forces and peacekeepers when explosives were discovered in Bagrami, on the eastern outskirts of the capital.

Commander Chris Henderson, spokesman for the 6,400-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said he knew of no connection between the suspect’s activities at the university and two deadly suicide attacks on ISAF forces earlier this year.

“He was discovered at the (Kabul) university apparently encouraging students to conduct suicide attacks against ISAF,” Henderson told a news briefing in Kabul, adding that the Taliban sympathizer was arrested on Thursday afternoon.

“There was no suspected threat against anyone other than ISAF, yet it was the police that discovered this person and the police had acted independently and they did so very, very quickly.”

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Five Lebanese taken hostage by gunmen during attacks in eastern Saudi Arabia have been released.

At least seven people, including four foreigners, have been killed.
[…]
During the triple raids at least four westerners, two Saudi guards and an Egyptian boy were killed.

Lebanon’s ambassador in the Saudi capital Riyadh said the five Lebanese nationals - including two children - had been freed, but it is unclear whether they were the only hostages taken.

Updating the previous post, from the BBC :

A statement purported to be from al-Qaeda, carried on an Islamic website, has claimed responsibility.

They don’t give a URL.

From the AFP :

A statement purported to be from the Al-Qaeda organization and received by e-mail claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacks against oil facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia.

”The heroic mujahedeen in the Jerusalem Squad were able, by the grace of God, to raid the locations of American companies … specializing in oil and exploration activities and which are plundering the Muslims’ resources, on Saturday morning,” said the statement signed by “the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula.”

“They have so far managed to kill or wound a number of crusaders, God’s enemies. We will give details later, naming the heroes of our blessed squad,” it said.

The authenticity of the claim could not be independently confirmed.

From Middle East Online :

The killings came after a statement purported to be from the Al-Qaeda chief in Saudi Arabia and posted on an Islamist website Thursday urged followers to wage an urban guerrilla war of assassinations, kidnappings and bombings.

The “execution group” in each four-tiered cell should be “trained to carry out operations inside cities, including assassinations, abductions, bombings, sabotage, raids and the liberation of hostages,” said the statement attributed to Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin and posted on www.qal3ah.org.

Note: Some funny stuff going on with their security certificate and DNS entry, and the site (naturally enough) is wholly in Arabic. Please don’t go there, as it’s bound to be monitored for genuine Al Qaeda sympathisers. Thanks.

UPDATE: It’s Internet Haganah entry 171, not a new site.

CNN: Six killed at Saudi oil compounds

At least six people were killed and an unspecified number of hostages taken after gunmen attacked complexes housing oil workers in the Saudi Arabian city of Khobar, police said.

Officers said they were pursuing the fleeing suspects with a helicopter and exchanged fire with them near residential areas. They said they feared the death toll could rise.

Police said the shootings took place on Saturday outside two residential buildings and an office compound used by APICORP (Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation) in Khobar, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the capital, Riyadh.

Authorities told CNN some of the gunmen took up to five people hostage. Unconfirmed reports later said some of these hostages were released.

Later reports say that the released hostages may have been Lebanese.

CNN: Army finds Tillman likely killed by friendly fire

U.S. Army Cpl. Pat Tillman, the former professional football player killed last month in Afghanistan, probably died from friendly fire, a Pentagon source told CNN Saturday.

The Army is expected to announce the findings of its investigation into Tillman’s death at a news conference in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

Tillman joined the Army after the September 11, 2001 attacks — turning down a multimillion dollar contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals.

He served as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.

China’s Xinhuanet reports that Pakistan has test-fired a medium range ballistic missile, the Hatf-5 (Ghauri).

Gunmen opened fire Saturday in separate attacks on three housing compounds in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Khobar, Western diplomats said, and at least five people were believed to be killed, including three Westerners.

Witnesses spoke of four gunmen in military-style dress attacking a compound where foreigners worked for an oil company. Other witnesses said they saw three men with Western features lying on the ground covered with newspapers, witnesses said. The three bodies were taken away in ambulances, they said.

Two security guards were believed to be dead, according to a Western diplomat who said there were three separate shooting attacks on housing compounds in Khobar, 250 miles northeast of the capital, Riyadh. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity.

Update: It seems that about the same time this attack took place, terrorists took “a large number of men, women and children” hostage at the Oasis compound in Al-Khobar. At least five Lebanese were among the hostages. There have been reports of shooting between the terrorists and police.

Update 2: AP reports that at least five of the hostages have been killed, presumably the five Lebanese.

This Monday is Memorial Day in the United States, our annual day of remembrance for those who have given their lives in military service of our country. With the war in Iraq, Memorial Day this year promises to be more poignant than in several years past. As such, we want to honor our war dead on these pages as well.

On Monday, May 31st, Michele and I will publish readers’ Memorial Day remembrances on our Op-Ed page. Remembrances may reflect on the meaning of the day, or may offer a memorial to a particular person or people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, regardless of war or theater. If you’d like to share your thoughts on the day, remember a particular person, or just say thank you to those who have served, we welcome your words.

We will accept and post any submission as we receive it and without editing, presuming it is appropriate to the tenor of the call above, and that it honors our standards of respectful and civil discourse.

If you’d like your thoughts, or your remembrance of a fallen soldier or soldiers, to be posted this Monday, please email your submission to alan at command-post dot org.

HAARETZ: Report: Iran establishes unit to recruit suicide bombers

Iran has set up a new unit to recruit suicide bombers from around the world, the London-based Arabic newspaper A-Shark al-Awsat reported Friday.

According to the report, the secretary-general of the new unit began by drawing up a list of names of people who support suicide attacks in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

The newspaper reported that the bureau, called “The martyrs of the resurrection of the Islamic world,” replaces a unit of the Iranian Republican Guard, which was known as the “department for the revolutionary freedom movements.”

(Does the list of names include Peter Hansen of the UNRWA?)

REUTERS: Palestinian Killed in Suicide Car Bombing in Gaza

A Palestinian militant was killed in a suicide car bombing against an Israeli convoy in an army-patrolled corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border on Friday, officials and witnesses said.

Two soldiers were slightly injured when their vehicle hit another during the ambush, the army said, in the latest violence following an Israeli siege in Gaza that claimed more than 40 Palestinian lives and drew international condemnation.

Three armed factions — Islamic Jihad, al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Popular Resistance Committees — claimed joint responsibility for the attack near the Rafah refugee camp.

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours, courtesy of Inkgrrl.

TOP TOPIC

• Referenced here earlier in the week, the Israeli Operation Rainbow at Rafah is supposedly over. More inside.

Other Topics Today Include: Arab Summit fraught with usual troubles, despite early promise; Mubarak rejects participation in G8 Summit to consider democracy in the Middle East; revisiting a Palestinian call to non-violent resistance; Amal ousted for Hizbollah supremacy in Lebanese elections; the young al-Assad speaks to al-Jazeera.

Read The Rest…

Many of you are familiar with our regular Winds of War Briefings over at Winds of Change.NET, offering a roundup of the global War on Terror that is cross-posted here (I neglected to cross-post Monday’s phenomenal briefing, so here it is).

We have a slot open right now.

Last time I put out this call for people to step up and take on these briefings, a guy named Dan Darling answered. We accepted, he delivered, his own blog Regnum Crucis grew in popularity, and now he’s headed to a Washington think-tank thanks to his briefings. USMA Instructor Robin Burk also answered, and she ended up becoming a team member on our blog.

Winds of Change.NET had over 1,000,000 visitors in 2003, and we’re on pace to top that in 2004. This is a great gig for the right person - and right now, 2 regular slots are open - including a weekly Winds of War briefing:

Read The Rest…

[update to this story]

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been charged by the United States in an 11-count indictment in Manhattan federal court, Fox News has confirmed.

….


The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on April 19, 2004, and was unsealed Thursday. The indictment charges him with hostage-taking and conspiracy to take hostages in connection with an attack in Yemen in December 1998 that resulted in the deaths of four hostages. The maximum sentence for the hostage taking is the death penalty.

The indictment also charged Al-Masri with trying to set up terrorist training camp in Oregon. Other charges include providing material support to Al Qaeda and the Taliban by facilitating violent jihad in Afghanistan.

From the AFP, via The Australian :

Hundreds of international peacekeepers lined the tarmac of Kabul’s airport today to honour a Norwegian soldier killed in a rocket attack at the weekend.

Grenadier Tommy Roedningsby, 29, died when three rocket-propelled grenades were fired on his International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) convoy as it was returning to base in east Kabul.

As some 400 peacekeepers from Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Italy and other nations stood to attention on the airfield, four Dutch Apache helicopters flew overhead.

Speaking at a short memorial service before the coffin was carried to the plane, acting ISAF commander Gero Schachthofer said all the soldiers were gathered “as international comrades in arms”.
[…]
Roedningsby’s death brings to 89 the number of peacekeepers who have died in Afghanistan since the force was established shortly after the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.
[…]
Some 6,400 UN-mandated international peacekeepers are deployed in Kabul and northern Kunduz.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

South African authorities say they foiled an Al Qaeda-linked plot to disrupt the country’s general elections last month.

South Africa’s police commissioner Jackie Selebi told a parliamentary committee that police arrested a number of people in South Africa just days before the April elections.

This information was passed on and resulted in arrests in Jordan, Syria and Britain.

Details of the plot and what action was taken with the arrested suspects have not been made public.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Four men were cleared of Real IRA (RIRA) membership charges on Wednesday after a Northern Ireland judge ruled the dissident guerrilla group behind the 1998 Omagh bombing was not a banned organisation.

Judge Paul Girvan acquitted the four, all from the west of the British-ruled province, at Belfast Crown Court after deciding the Real IRA was not a proscribed group.
[…]
Britain immediately said it was considering an appeal.

The authorities had believed the group, a breakaway faction of the mainstream IRA, was among the Northern Irish armed groups banned under anti-terrorism legislation.

But the judge said the group was not listed in the Terrorism Act 2000, rejecting the prosecution’s argument that it was covered because the IRA was named in the legislation.

The four men still face charges of conspiracy to murder and possessing a rocket launcher in February 2002.

The Real IRA split from the mainstream IRA after the latter called a ceasefire in 1997 in its campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland.

In August 1998 the Real IRA killed 29 people when it detonated a car bomb in the market town of Omagh, the bloodiest attack in three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

A prosecutor who helped send three men to jail for their role in the Bali bombing has been shot dead in the Indonesian province of Sulawesi.

The shooting comes at a time of growing extremist violence in Sulawesi and a terrorist threat against Western interests in the area.

Fery Silalahi worked on a range of cases involving corruption and terrorism in Sulawesi, among them helping to convict three Jemaah Islamiyah members for their connections to the Bali bombings.

The three men were just last week acquitted by an appeals court but Mr Silalhi had been quoted as saying the men would not be released until a prosecutor’s appeal had been heard.

Mr Silalhi was in a car in the town of Paelu yesterday when he was shot dead by gunmen who then escaped on motorcycles.

CNN: UK Muslim cleric Hamza arrested

A man arrested in London on an U.S. extradition warrant and due in court later Thursday is reported to be controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza.

London’s Metropolitan Police refused to confirm the detention, saying only that officers from the Extradition and International Assistance Unit arrested a “British citizen, aged 47” at about 3 a.m. Thursday following an American request for his extradition.

But police sources told The Associated Press that Hamza was the man arrested.

Hamza’s lawyer said he was the man being held, saying she had spoken to him and he remained “calm.”

Below are the faces of the seven people Ashcroft and Mueller referred to today. Armed and dangerous, clear and present danger.

Click each mug for info on each al Qaeda operative.

[Thanks to Puddle Pirate for the code]

Live blogging, so pardon the way it is written:

Ashcroft reiterated much of what we’ve heard the past 24 hours - Al Qaeda is planning a massive attack inside the U.S. they plan to hit us hard. Shortly after the new year, AQ suggested they were 70% ready to attack us. After the 3/11 bombing in Madrid, they said they were 90% ready. AQ believes that 3/11 advanced their cause.

Upcoming events in US that may be targets of AQ attack: G8 summit, Democrat Convention and Republican Convention.

Here, he gave the usual speech; we seek help from the people, be vigilant, be on alert. Later, he will list seven individuals we should be on the lookout for, considered armed and dangerous and a clear and present danger.

AQ is constantly recruiting young middle eastern men, to infiltrate them into the U.S. They look for people who are in their late 20’s and early 30’s who can look European and who may travel with a family. They also seek converts to Muslim, especially those of Southeast Asia or North African descent.

(to be continued)

AP: Terrorists Planning Summer Attack

U.S. officials have obtained new intelligence deemed highly credible indicating al-Qaida or other terrorists are in the United States and preparing to launch a major attack this summer, The Associated Press has learned.

The intelligence does not include a time, place or method of attack but is among the most disturbing received by the government since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a senior federal counterterrorism official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday.

Of most concern, the official said, is that terrorists may possess and use a chemical, biological or radiological weapon that could cause much more damage and casualties than a conventional bomb.

“There is clearly a steady drumbeat of information that they are going to attack and hit us hard,” said the official, who described the intelligence as highly credible.

Fox News is reporting that terrorists are now believed to be within the United States and are planning major attacks for this summer. There is a high likelihood that they possess either chemical, biological, or radioactive weapons which would inflict significantly higher casualties than a conventional bomb.

An AP report in the Washington Post bears grim news:

Far from being crippled by the U.S.-led war on terror, al Qaeda has more than 18,000 potential terrorists scattered around the world and the war in Iraq is swelling its ranks, a report said Tuesday.

Al Qaeda is probably working on plans for major attacks on the United States and Europe, and it may be seeking weapons of mass destruction in its desire to inflict as many casualties as possible, the International Institute of Strategic Studies said in its annual survey of world affairs.

Osama bin Laden’s network appears to be operating in more than 60 nations, often in concert with local allies, the study by the independent think tank said.

Although about half of al-Qaida’s top 30 leaders have been killed or captured, it has an effective leadership, with bin Laden apparently still playing a key role, it said.

It’s not entirely clear what IISS’ angle is here; the report “suggested that the two military centerpieces of the U.S.-led war on terror - the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - may have boosted al-Qaida” for contradictory reasons:

Driving the terror network out of Afghanistan in late 2001 appears to have benefited the group, which dispersed to many countries, making it almost invisible and hard to combat, the story said.

And the Iraq conflict “has arguably focused the energies and resources of al Qaeda and its followers while diluting those of the global counterterrorism coalition that appeared so formidable” after the Afghan intervention, the survey said.

The report’s methodology seems rather simplistic as well:

The IISS said its estimate of 18,000 al Qaeda fighters was based on intelligence estimates that the group trained at least 20,000 fighters in its camps in Afghanistan before the United States and its allies ousted the Taliban regime. In the ensuing war on terror, some 2,000 al Qaeda fighters have been killed or captured, the survey said.

None of which suggests that the report shouldn’t necessarily be taken very seriously, but as usual bear in mind the difficulty of getting accurate information in this context as well as any possible biases of the source.

JERUSALEM POST: Dahlan conducted fruitful negotiations with Hamas

Muhammad Dahlan, the former PA security minister, said in an interview with the pan-Arab satellite television channel al-Arabia that he has conducted negotiations with senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in the Gaza Strip, with the consent of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, to discuss the role of PA security forces following a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Israel Radio reported Tuesday.

Dahlan described the negotiations as fruitful and constructive, and said that if Hamas and Islamic Jihad were to continue carrying out attacks following an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, then a serious rift is likely to develop between them and the Palestinian Authority.

(Dead Jews equals a rift between terrorist organizations?

MAARIV: Deal could lift travel restrictions from Arafat

According to a report published in Tuesday’s “Dar al- Hayat”, an Arabic language newspaper published in London, Israel will allow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat freedom of movement in exchange for a Palestinian pledge to end terror attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The paper quotes diplomatic sources as saying that the proposal was made when Egyptian Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and GSS director Meir Dagan on Monday. Suleiman met with Arafat at his besieged headquarters in Ramallah Monday afternoon and relayed the message, the sources say.

(Palestinian pledge?)

HAARETZ: Police: Ambulance network smuggled PA officers into Israel

Police have uncovered a network that smuggled Palestinian Authority officers, including members of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat’s elite Force 17 personal protection unit, into Israel in fake ambulances.

Police said it is possible the ring has also smuggled terrorists into Israel using the same method.

One individual has thus far been arrested in connection to the case and police said additional arrests are expected.

Ma’aleh Adumim police recently arrested a resident of Azzariyeh, who holds a blue Israeli identity card, suspected of posing as an ambulance driver and infiltrating into Israel dozens of Palestinians disguised as sick patients.

The “patients” were hooked up to medical devices inside the ambulances and presented soldiers or police officers with forged documents at Israeli checkpoints.

HAARETZ: Two killed in Ramallah gun battles between PLO factions

Two Palestinians were killed and another seriously wounded in clashes in Ramallah over the past two days between Fatah and Popular Front Struggle, a small group within the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Palestinian sources reported that clashes between the groups began on Monday when the bodyguard of Popular Front Struggle leader Samir Rousha shot and killed a Fatah member who lived in a refugee camp near Ramallah

HAARETZ: IDF thwarts Hamas suicide attack planned for Jerusalem

Security forces last Sunday evening foiled a major terrorist attack by Hamas, which was planned for the ultra-Orthodox Mea She’arim neighborhood of Jerusalem, according to information released Monday.

Following a specific warning, members of the Shin Bet security service, Jerusalem district police and the Israel Defense Forces closed roads in the north part of the city to traffic, and placed IDF troops and police throughout the area.

The security forces also arrested an 18-year-old resident of the Old City who was meant to assist in the attack.

During his questioning by Shin Bet officials, the youth said that he had been recruited by his cousin and was supposed to receive an explosive device weighing some 20kg, which he was then to transfer to a suicide bomber who was apparently on his way from the West Bank city of Nablus.

THE SUN: Terror threat: We’ll kill Madonna

MADONNA has axed three gigs in Israel — after terrorists threatened to kill her and her kids.

The singer was terrified by a blitz of poison-pen letters.

Madge “freaked out” when she learned of a terrorist plot to kill her two young children if she performed in Israel.

She first planned to defy the extremists but cancelled after the unnamed Palestinian group mentioned details about Lourdes, seven, and three-year-old Rocco in a series of threatening letters.

A source said: “The notes were unbelievably scary. Madonna is a strong woman but she freaked out when her kids were mentioned.

“At first she was prepared to go on stage anyway and hire extra security.

“But she was not ready to take chances with her kids — they are her whole world.”

The threats were sent to the singer’s offices in Los Angeles.

They became more frightening as they displayed in-depth knowledge of the star’s closest aides.

JERUSALEM POST: Report: PA police arming Gaza terror groups

Palestinian Authority police are transferring weapons to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to assist in their fight against the Israeli army, according to a senior official quoted on Army Radio Sunday.

The official also said Hamas was planning a mega-terror attack, using several suicide bombers or booby-trapped cars in Israeli high-rises.

More information…

IMRA: PA Opens Gaza Armories To Arm Hamas, Al Aqsa Brigade, etc. To Fight

Israel Television Channel Two Arab Affairs Correspondent Ehud Yaari reported

this evening that according to a senior Israeli security official, the
Palestinian Authority has opened its armories in Gaza to distribute weapons
to the various illegal Palestinian militias - Hamas, Al Aqsa Brigade, etc.
to battle against the IDF.

With the exception of Preventive Security’s armory, the armories of all the
various PA security forces, including the civil police, were opened to the
illegal militias to arm them.

Yaari noted that the very same Palestinian police forces that are supposed
to be strengthened by international contributions were transferring weapons
to the terrorists that they are ostensibly to be strengthened to fight
against.

If true, then the following logic can be applied:

Arafat is in charge of Palestinian security forces
The security forces act under orders from Arafat alone.
The security forces are opening their armories to terrorist groups.
Therefore…

Connect the dots.

HAARETZ: Senior security source: Hezbollah planning major terror attack

Hezbollah is planning a major terror attack along the northern border with Lebanon, a senior security source said on Sunday, Israel Radio reported.

The source added that Hezbollah was also aiding the Palestinians in carrying out terror attacks.

HAARETZ: Two Palestinians killed after vehicle explodes in Nablus

Two Palestinians were killed on Sunday after a vehicle exploded in the West Bank town of Nablus. Defense establishment officials said that the two were senior Hamas members.

A third man was seriously hurt in the explosion.

The blast was apparently caused by explosives carried by the two. Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied any army involvement in the incident.

UPDATE:

Here’s more on the reliability of Palestinian propagandists witnesses:

MAARIV: Nablus: 3 Hamas operatives killed in premature bomb detonation

hree Hamas operatives were killed this afternoon (Sunday) in an explosion that rocked their car while driving on the streets of Nablus, Palestinian sources reported.

The sources initially said that missiles fired from an IAF helicopter gunship had caused the blast. Later, they reported that the blast was a result of a premature detonation (widely known as a ‘work accident’). The IDF also said it had nothing to do with the blast and that it was most likely the result of a car bomb that exploded prematurely.

(The same media that bought the “Wedding” story hook, line and sinker will now slip in the “initial reports said it was helicpter fire” bit in there despite it being an outright lie.)