Al Qaeda: Ayman al-Zawahiri's alleged letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

In July 2005, the US forces in Iraq intercepted a 6,000-word letter written by Ayman al-Zawahiri to Zarqawi. The letter is reported to be considered as authentic by American intelligence agencies, although there is no independent way of confirming it. Extracts were recently published by the Department of Defence (DoD). The letter describes a strategy of global jihad, but it also sheds light on differences between Al Qaeda's leadership and Zarqawi regarding some of the methods used in Iraq. Terrorisme.net makes the document available here, exactly as it was published by the DoD. - Download the document (206 Ko).

Counter-terrorism legislation and practice: a survey of selected sountries

The British Foreign Office has recently published an informative research paper comparing counter-terror measures in several Western countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and United States of America. Terrorisme.net makes the 38-page long document available here. - Download the document (389 Ko).

Egypt arrests 20 Muslim Brotherhood members-group

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest opposition group, said on Saturday security forces had arrested at least 20 of its members who were trying to stand in nationwide trade union elections.Saber Aboul Fotouh, the trade union elections' coordinator for the banned group, said authorities had refused to accept the candidacy of hundreds of its members for elections next week, and had given no reasons for their decision."Twenty (members) were arrested because they went to ... present their applications," Aboul Fotouh, who is also a parliament member, told a news conference. An Interior Ministry spokesman said he had no knowledge of the matter.Despite banning it since 1954, Egyptian authorities usually tolerate the Brotherhood. Members elected as independents hold 88 seats in the 454-member parliament, dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party.The Egyptian police regularly detain Brotherhood members for brief periods. Hundreds were arrested in a crackdown following parliamentary elections last year but most have been released.Manpower and Emigration Minister Aisha Abdel Hadi said in remarks published on Saturday the government would not interfere in the trade union elections."Certain groups thought that they can be present in every election but the workers are aware of this and have the ability to choose their representatives," she said, in a veiled swipe at the Brotherhood candidates.

Palestinians differ over end to hostage crisis

GAZA, (Reuters) - One of the three Palestinian factions holding an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday it expected a solution to the crisis within days, but Hamas and a Palestinian Authority official were less optimistic.It was the first time since Corporal Gilad Shalit was captured in a cross-border raid in June that any of the factions has said that his release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners could happen soon. The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) said in a statement that the three groups had agreed to a proposal by Egyptian mediators, though it said a deal still depended on Israel. Israeli officials made no immediate comment."The dawn of freedom to the prisoners is about to rise and we expect a solution to our prisoners in few days," said a PRC spokesman, Abu Mujahed. "We confirm to you that there is a definite move in the issue of the captured soldier."A political leader of the governing Hamas Islamist group, Osama al-Muzaini, was less optimistic, saying: "Real progress has been made over the issue of Shalit but that progress did not get to the point where we can say a swap was imminent." The armed wing of Hamas was also among the groups that captured Shalit.Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat said it was premature to think the crisis would soon be resolved. "I don't think we're closer today to solving Shalit's problem than we were yesterday," Erekat told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.Hamas and its allies have demanded the release of up to 1,400 Palestinians, including minors and women, held by Israel in exchange for Shalit. Israel has said Hamas must first release Shalit and then it will consider any prisoner release.The PRC on Saturday said the Egyptian proposal would include the release of Palestinians held by Israel. The group did not give any details.Last week, Israel's infrastructure minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, held talks in Cairo and afterwards expressed approval of a framework deal that Egypt had put forward, but he did not give details.Shalit's capture prompted Israel to send troops back into the Gaza Strip almost one year after withdrawing from the territory it had captured in the 1967 war. More than 260 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been killed in the subsequent Israeli offensive.

Iran officially confirms it has stepped up uranium enrichment

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran officially confirmed it has stepped up uranium enrichment by injecting gas into a second network of centrifuges, a state-run newspaper reported Saturday.The gas injection marked Iran's first known uranium enrichment since February. The process can either yield nuclear fuel or material for a warhead, but doesn't represent a major technological breakthrough and is unlikely to bring Iran within grasp of a weapon.However, Tehran's announcement signaled the Islamic Republic's resolve to expand its atomic program at a time of divisions within the U.N. Security Council over a punishment for Iran's defiance."We have exploited products from both cascades," the Iran Daily newspaper quoted Mohammad Ghannad, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying Saturday. "The second one was installed in the past two week."Ghannad said both cascades were enriching uranium by 3 to 5 percent, enough for industrial use but not for weapons. "This experience will help Iranian engineers get closer to industrial uranium enrichment," he said.The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been aware of the second cascade for the past five months, Ghannad said. "IAEA inspectors visited the cascades in Natanz last week," he said.U.S. President George W. Bush called the report Friday that Iran had doubled its enrichment capacity "speculation," but said a nuclear-armed Iran was unacceptable.Washington has long pushed for sanctions against Iran for its failure to stop enriching uranium, a process Tehran says aims only to generate electricity and others suspect is a cover for building nuclear arms.Russia and China, with strong commercial ties to Tehran, have shied away from punitive measures and left the door open to last-minute talks.All three, plus France and Britain, have veto power on the Security Council, which is now weighing a draft resolution that would impose limited sanctions on Iran.Iran touted its ability to enrich uranium last February, when it produced a small batch of low-enriched uranium using a first set of 164 centrifuges at its pilot complex in Natanz.While no experiments to enrich more uranium had been announced since, Tehran insists it never halted the process despite Western demands, and defiantly bypassed an Aug. 31 deadline to do so."Iran more likely slowed down the development program over the summer as part of a diplomatic strategy to persuade the world that it would not be nearing nuclear weapons capability any time soon," said Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "Now that the Security Council is taking up a sanctions resolution, Iran has started the second cascade as a political signal to show that it does not give in to pressure," he said.In Washington, President Bush insisted the United States would not stand for a nuclear-armed Iran."Whether they've doubled it or not, the idea of Iran having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable," Bush told reporters. "It says to me that we must double our effort to work with the international community to persuade the Iranians that there is only isolation from the world if they continue working forward on such a program."Doubling Iran's capacity would still mean it was nowhere close to churning out enough uranium to fuel a reactor. Tehran has said it plans to install 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz by year's end, but it would take 54,000 centrifuges to fuel a reactor.Still, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert compared Iran to Nazi Germany and chastised world leaders for not doing enough to stop its nuclear program.Russia's defense minister said Friday he didn't "share concerns" about the report, and suggested that Iran's new centrifuges were harmless. "They are completely empty, so to talk about enriched uranium or uranium for military use, is at the very least, premature," Sergei Ivanov told reporters in Moscow.France, one of the U.N. draft resolution's sponsors, called Iran's move a "negative signal" that should be taken into account at U.N. talks over possible sanctions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said the Iranian announcement was not a great surprise because the International Atomic Energy Agency had said in August that Iran was developing new nuclear capacities.The enrichment process takes gas produced from raw uranium and aims to increase its proportion of the uranium-235 isotope, needed for nuclear fission. The gas is pumped into a centrifuge, which spins, causing a small portion of the heavier, more prevalent uranium-238 isotope to drop away. The gas then proceeds to other centrifuges, thousands of them, where the process is repeated.

Al Qaeda: Ayman al-Zawahiri's alleged letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

In July 2005, the US forces in Iraq intercepted a 6,000-word letter written by Ayman al-Zawahiri to Zarqawi. The letter is reported to be considered as authentic by American intelligence agencies, although there is no independent way of confirming it. Extracts were recently published by the Department of Defence (DoD). The letter describes a strategy of global jihad, but it also sheds light on differences between Al Qaeda's leadership and Zarqawi regarding some of the methods used in Iraq. Terrorisme.net makes the document available here, exactly as it was published by the DoD. - Download the document (206 Ko).

U.S. airstrike kills women, children - doctor

RAMADI, (Reuters) - Six Iraqis including three women and two children were killed in a U.S. airstrike in the city of Ramadi in Iraq's western Anbar province, a doctor at Ramadi hospital said on Saturday.A police brigadier said five civilians were killed in the attack around dawn on Saturday.Asked about the report, the U.S. military said U.S. troops came under attack several times on Friday and responded with tank fire and "precision munitions" -- a phrase commonly associated with air-launched missiles.U.S. forces killed "numerous insurgents", including insurgents waiting in an ambush and gunmen firing at a U.S. outpost, the military said. A rocket-propelled grenade fired by an insurgent missed a U.S. patrol and hit a house, it said."Coalition forces also noted two unexplained explosions that were possible IED and rocket-propelled grenade misfires," it said, adding that it was not able to assess civilian casualties in the incident.Asked to clarify whether the U.S. military was referring to the same incident as reported by Iraqi officials, a U.S. military spokeswoman said there were no reports of airstrikes around dawn on Saturday.Doctor Kamal al-Ani said the bodies of six members of a single family killed in the strike had been brought to Ramadi hospital on Saturday before being released to relatives for burial.Police Brigadier Hamid Hamad Shuka confirmed there was an airstrike in the south of the city at dawn. He said five civilians were killed in the strike.A senior U.S. general said earlier this week that U.S. and Iraqi security forces were taking "an aggressive, offensive approach" to reclaim Ramadi from insurgents.Last week dozens of al Qaeda-linked gunmen took to the streets in a brief show of force to announce the city was joining an Islamic state comprising Iraq's mostly Sunni Arab provinces, where the once dominant minority lives.Shuka said U.S. forces had taken control of the street where the insurgents held their demonstration, ordering some families to evacuate their homes and setting up sniper positions.Last month Major General Richard Zilmer, commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, said the mission in Anbar was to train Iraqi security forces, not "to win that insurgency fight".Residents reported fresh clashes on Saturday and said U.S. troops were using loudspeakers to order people to stay in their homes. U.S. forces were also blocking entrances to the city

Iraqi PM, U.S. envoy present united front

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister and the United States papered over cracks in relations at the end of a week marked by public disagreement on a timetable for progress in Iraq in the run-up to U.S. midterm elections.In a joint statement after a meeting with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad late on Friday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said his government had "timelines" for political developments -- employing the word at the heart of the debate. But Iraqi officials, who say Maliki was angered this week when Khalilzad seemed to assure impatient American voters that the Iraqi leader was following a U.S.-backed timetable of performance "benchmarks", insisted that any "timelines" were a purely Iraqi initiative and did not commit Maliki to action.Nonetheless, the statement may ease electoral pressure on U.S. President George W. Bush, whose Republicans face possible loss of control on Congress on Nov. 7 in elections in which dismay over Bush's Iraq policy is a critical factor.News on Saturday of the death of a U.S. Marine in the restive western province of Anbar took the monthly toll for U.S. forces in October to 98, the highest in a year.Residents in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, said there were clashes in the streets on Saturday and U.S. forces were using loudspeakers to warn people to stay in their homes.U.S. officials this week were left struggling to explain their exit strategy from Iraq after Maliki denied he was working to a schedule and sharply criticised U.S. security policy, saying he could do better if given more leeway."The Iraqi government has made clear the issues that must be resolved with timelines for them to take positive steps forward on behalf of the Iraqi people," Friday's statement said.Apparently addressing speculation in Baghdad that Washington could try to ditch Maliki, it added: "The United States fully supports their goals and will help make them a success."Washington is anxious for Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim, to crack down on Shi'ite militias and death squads blamed for much of the killing.New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Saturday hundreds of people every month were abducted, tortured and killed by death squads believed to include security forcers."Evidence suggests that Iraqi security forces are involved in these horrific crimes, and thus far the government has not held them accountable," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division.U.S. troops made a foray into a Baghdad militia stronghold on Friday, hunting for a kidnapped U.S. soldier of Iraqi origin two days after a raid there drew a sharp rebuke from Maliki.Iraqi and U.S. troops also raided an office of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in eastern Baghdad, arresting three suspects during a separate search operation for the soldier. Maliki's Shi'ite-led coalition government depends on the support of Sadr's movement, and he has struggled to balance the competing demands of the various members of the government

Al Qaeda: Ayman al-Zawahiri's alleged letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

In July 2005, the US forces in Iraq intercepted a 6,000-word letter written by Ayman al-Zawahiri to Zarqawi. The letter is reported to be considered as authentic by American intelligence agencies, although there is no independent way of confirming it. Extracts were recently published by the Department of Defence (DoD). The letter describes a strategy of global jihad, but it also sheds light on differences between Al Qaeda's leadership and Zarqawi regarding some of the methods used in Iraq. Terrorisme.net makes the document available here, exactly as it was published by the DoD. - Download the document (206 Ko).

Gunmen kidnap 11 Iraqi soldiers north of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped 11 Iraqi soldiers travelling in a minibus at a fake checkpoint in a town north of Baghdad on Saturday, a joint U.S. and Iraqi policing centre said.The soldiers were wearing civilian clothes and were taken out of the bus at gunpoint after the gunmen found their military IDs.The abduction took place in Udhaim, some 50 km (30 miles) north of Baquba, a volatile town which has witnessed recent sectarian violence and attacks against Iraq's U.S.-trained forces.On Thursday, 28 policemen were killed in an insurgent ambush near Baquba. That attack followed a separate ambush on Sunday on a convoy of buses near Baquba in which 13 police recruits were killed and several more were reported kidnapped.Building Iraq's security forces to take over security from U.S. troops is a key element in Washington's plans for an eventual withdrawal of its 140,000 troops.Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Reuters in an interview this week that his forces were outgunned by insurgents and that Iraqi police sometimes had to share rifles.

Egyptian police seize a ton of explosives near Egypt-Israel border

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian police seized one ton of explosives in a mountainous zone of the Sinai Peninsula near the border with Israel, an Egyptian security official said.The explosives were discovered Friday by Bedouin nomads working as trackers for Egyptian authorities in the Rissan mountain range some 30 kilometers east of the Israeli border, said the security official. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.Security forces and suspected terrorists had clashed in gun battles last May around the area where the explosives were found, the official said. The material was found packed in 15 plastic bags and covered with palm tree leaves, he said.Hundreds of security forces, tanks and armored vehicles were deployed to the mountain area, searching for suspects. The explosives, mostly TNT, appeared to be of the same kind than what was used in a series of terror attacks on Sinai beach resorts over the past two years, the official said.Islamic militants have carried out three major bomb attacks in Sinai's tourist resorts since October 2004, killing a total of 124 people.

White House denies Cheney endorsed `water boarding' of terror suspects

WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush said Friday the United States does not torture prisoners, commenting after Vice President Dick Cheney embraced the suggestion that a dunk in water might be useful to get terrorist suspects to talk.Human rights groups complained that Cheney's words amounted to an endorsement of a torture technique known as "water boarding," in which the victim, held underwater for an extended period, believes he is about to drown. The White House insisted Cheney was not talking about water boarding but would not explain what he meant.Less than two weeks before Nov. 7 congressional elections that Bush's Republican party could lose, the White House was put on the defensive as news of Cheney's remark spread.Bush was asked about it at a White House photo opportunity with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Presidential spokesman Tony Snow was pelted with questions at two briefings with reporters.Democrats also pointed to Cheney's statement. "Is the White House that was for torture before it was against it, now for torture again?" tweaked Sen. John Kerry. Kerry, in his unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 2004, had been skewered by Bush for saying he had voted for war funds before he voted against them. Cheney triggered the flap in a radio interview Tuesday. The interviewer, Scott Hennen, said callers had told him, "Please, let the vice president know that if it takes dunking a terrorist in water, we're all for it, if it saves lives." "Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?" Hennen asked. "Well, it's a no-brainer for me, but for a while there I was criticized as being the vice president for torture," Cheney said. "We don't torture. That's not what we're involved in."At his photo session, Bush said, "This country doesn't torture, we're not going to torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to determine whether or not they've got information that will be helpful to protect the country." Snow, at a meeting with reporters, tried to brush off the controversy. "You know as a matter of common sense that the vice president of the United States is not going to be talking about water boarding. Never would, never does, never will," Snow said. "You think Dick Cheney's going to slip up on something like this? No, come on." Snow said Cheney did not interpret the question as referring to water boarding, and the vice president did not make any comments about water boarding. He said the question put to Cheney was loosely worded.In water boarding, a prisoner is tied to a board with his head slanted down and a towel covering his face. Water is then poured on his face to create the sensation of drowning. The administration has repeatedly refused to say which techniques it believes are permitted under a new law governing interrogation of terror suspects. Asked to define a dunk in water, Snow said, "It's a dunk in the water."At a televised briefing later, the questions turned tougher and more pointed. "The vice president says he was talking in general terms about a questioning program that is legal to save American lives, and he was not referring to water boarding," Snow said. Yet, the spokesman conceded, "I can understand that people will look at this and draw the conclusions that you're trying to draw."Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said in a statement, "What's really a no-brainer is that no U.S. official, much less a vice president, should champion torture. Vice President Cheney's advocacy of water boarding sets a new human rights low at a time when human rights is already scraping the bottom of the Bush administration barrel."Human Rights Watch said Cheney's remarks were "the Bush administration's first clear endorsement" of water boarding.A new Army manual, released last month, bans torture and degrading treatment of prisoners, explicitly barring water boarding and other procedures.

Navies help keep guard up on Gulf oil facilities

LONDON,(Reuters) - Coalition naval forces are helping to guard vital oil installations in the Gulf as part of heightened security following an Al Qaeda threat last month, naval sources said on Friday.In their sights are Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura terminal, the world's biggest offshore oil export facility, and Bahrain's Bapco refinery."Acting on information received, Coalition naval forces, operating in support of Saudi and Bahraini forces have deployed units to counter a possible maritime threat to the oil facilities at Ras Tanura," Britain's Royal Navy in Dubai said in a statement.Saudi Arabia's own security forces and navy are guarding facilities in the world's biggest oil exporter and coalition forces are patrolling only in international waters."Coalition forces are taking the prudent, precautionary measures and focusing on maritime security operations in the Gulf on these possible threats," said Kevin Aandahl, spokesman for the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain."We're constantly and routinely conducting maritime security operations in the Gulf and international waters and these operations deny terrorists the use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack."A Saudi security adviser also said any operations in the Gulf were entirely routine and added there had been no further threat since Al-Qaeda on Sept. 11 said it would target economic interests in the Gulf."This is part of the on-going exercises between the U.S., British, Bahraini and Kuwaiti forces... in the Gulf," said Nawaf Obaid.Oil prices initially rose about 30 cents to around $61 as traders recalled a foiled attack in February on Saudi Arabia's huge Abqaiq facility, the world's biggest oil processing plant. Prices later eased.Crude oil shipments were continuing as normal from the kingdom's main east coast terminal, industry sources said.Riyadh is exporting around 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil to world markets, with Ras Tanura handling most of it. The terminal has the capacity to export 6 million bpd.It was unclear how much oil the terminal was exporting on Friday and national oil company Saudi Aramco declined to make any comment.In an interview with Reuters in July, Vice Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, who is in charge of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said he was concerned that al Qaeda might attack oil facilities from the sea. He said the unsuccessful attack on the Abqaiq oil facility had made him especially wary. "When I look at that, my first reaction is that they (al Qaeda) are going to turn to the sea. I recognise that when they are thwarted in one direction they turn to another."

Iran feeds gas into 2nd atomic fuel network-ISNA

TEHRAN, (Reuters) - Iran has started enriching uranium in a second network of centrifuges, Iran's student news agency ISNA reported on Friday, expanding a programme which the West fears is intended to make nuclear bombs.ISNA quoted an "informed source" as saying "the injection of gas was carried out" in the past week. "We have obtained the product of the second cascade," the source said.Uranium UF-6 gas is injected into cylindrical centrifuges which spin at supersonic speeds to produce enriched material. The process can make fuel for power plants or material for atomic bombs.Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, says the aim of its nuclear programme is to meet energy needs. But it has failed to convince world powers, who are threatening U.N. sanctions after Tehran failed to heed a U.N. demand to halt enrichment work."This is increasing the worries of the international community about the growth of Iran's capacity to produce fissile material," French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei told reporters in Paris in response to the news."The priority is to move towards the negotiation of a Security Council resolution," he added.A British Foreign Office spokesman said it was a matter for the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog body, to investigate.Another British government source said: "The fact that they've now started to feed stuff through the centrifuge isn't going to shock anyone. But it will demonstrate further Iranian intransigence and that will all be taken in the round."Diplomats said this week Iran had started "dry testing" a network of 164 centrifuges, known as cascades, to go with an original network that yielded Iran's first batch of enriched uranium suitable for power plant fuel.The first cascade of centrifuges produced a tiny amount of low-enriched uranium in April.Western intelligence experts estimate Iran remains three to 10 years away from an industrial-scale operation of thousands of centrifuges that could yield enough fuel for nuclear bombs.Iran now faces possible sanctions for failing to halt its enrichment work, as demanded by the U.N. Security Council. A draft sanctions resolution has been drawn up by European states, but Russia has expressed misgivings about the proposal.Iran has shrugged off the threat of sanctions. Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has threatened retaliation, possibly by halting U.N. inspections of Iranian facilities."By imposing sanctions, you yourselves will be hurt more than Iran. Give up these games," an influential Iranian cleric, Ahmad Khatami, told worshippers during Friday prayers.Russia, the United States, Britain, France and China -- the five permanent council members -- plus Germany held their first meeting on Thursday on the draft resolution, which would ban Iranian trade in nuclear materials and ballistic missiles.French President Jacques Chirac said in Beijing on Friday he supported temporary, reversible and specially adapted sanctions against Iran if talks over its nuclear programme failed.Speaking in Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the draft did not match previous agreements among the major powers seeking to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions, and predicted long negotiations before the issue is resolved.The United States had wanted to suspend Russia's construction of a nuclear power plant at Bushehr, which will be Iran's first atomic power station.No agreement on the resolution is expected until sometime next week at the earliest after which the text goes to the full 15-member Security Council.

Attacks on Iraqi police show security challenge

BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - Authorities imposed a vehicle ban in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday after the bodies of 12 people, including four police officers, were found in the past 24 hours, police said.The ban, triggered by insurgent threats against police, came a day after Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki criticised Washington for failing to bring security to the country.Police said insurgents had distributed leaflets in Mosul on Thursday threatening attacks on the police if they did not release several people detained during the past month.Mosul, whose population mostly a mix of ethnic Kurds and Sunni Arabs, has long been a flashpoint of violence, particularly against security forces. Six suicide bombs aimed at security forces last week killed 20 people on a single day.In further evidence of the obstacles Iraq faces in building a police force capable of taking over from U.S. forces, 28 policemen were killed in a rebel ambush north of Baghdad on Thursday, police said.Maliki, given only qualified backing by U.S. President George W. Bush in comments this week aimed at reassuring Americans over his project in Iraq, told Reuters on Thursday his Shi'ite-led government could get violence under control in six months if U.S. forces gave them more weapons and responsibility.Ahead of Nov. 7 polls that may cost Bush's Republicans control of Congress, a survey found about 50 percent of likely voters believe U.S. troops should be pulled out of Iraq by the end of next year. Fifteen percent want an immediate withdrawal.But attacks on Iraqi police and soldiers make it more difficult for the U.S. forces to withdraw.The U.S. military death toll in October is edging closer to 100 and is already the highest monthly toll in a year, at 96.The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ended this week, saw an upsurge in attacks, as in previous years. Major General William Caldwell said there was a sharp drop in the days since it ended but it was too soon to call it a trend.U.S. officials, training more than 300,000 Iraqi soldiers and police, are increasingly stressing their goal of eventually withdrawing their troops, as Iraq pitches toward civil war.Caldwell told a news conference: "The achievement of our shared goal is ultimately the responsibility of the Iraqi people and their leaders."Bush said on Wednesday he would not leave American troops in the crossfire of a civil war and said his support for Maliki depended on him continuing to take "tough decisions."Maliki told Reuters his police were having to share rifles but, with better American help, could bring respite from dozens of daily killings in half the 12-18 months the U.S. commander in Iraq says is needed before Iraqis can take control. "If, as we are asking, the rebuilding of our forces was in our own hands, then it would take not 12-18 months but six might be enough," he said. "If anyone is responsible for the poor security situation in Iraq it is the (U.S.-led) Coalition.

Al Qaeda: Ayman al-Zawahiri's alleged letter to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

In July 2005, the US forces in Iraq intercepted a 6,000-word letter written by Ayman al-Zawahiri to Zarqawi. The letter is reported to be considered as authentic by American intelligence agencies, although there is no independent way of confirming it. Extracts were recently published by the Department of Defence (DoD). The letter describes a strategy of global jihad, but it also sheds light on differences between Al Qaeda's leadership and Zarqawi regarding some of the methods used in Iraq. Terrorisme.net makes the document available here, exactly as it was published by the DoD. - Download the document (206 Ko).

U.N. expert: New U.S. terror law violates international treaties

GENEVA (AP) - The United States' new anti-terrorism law contains a number of provisions that fail to meet obligations the U.S. has under international law, with some appearing to contradict the right to a fair trial, a key U.N. rights expert said Friday.Martin Scheinin, the United Nations' expert on protecting human rights in combatting terrorism, said the Military Commissions Act signed into law earlier this month by U.S. President George W. Bush "contains a number of provisions that are incompatible with the international obligations of the United States under human rights law and humanitarian law.""One of the most serious aspects of this legislation is the power of the president to declare anyone, including U.S. citizens, without charge as an 'unlawful enemy combatant', a term unknown in international humanitarian law," said Scheinin, a legal expert from Finland.As a result, he said, those detainees are subject to the jurisdiction of a military commission composed of military officers, rather than a court of law. He also deplored the denial of the habeas corpus rights of foreigners, including legal, permanent U.S. residents, to challenge the legality of their detention, "in manifest contradiction with" the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty that the U.S. ratified in 1992.

Israel kills three in West Bank raids - residents

JENIN, West Bank,(Reuters) - Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians in raids against militants in the occupied West Bank on Friday, local residents said.Two men were shot dead in al-Fara refugee camp, near the city of Jenin. Residents said the men were civilians and one had been throwing rocks at troops.In the village of Yamoun, west of Jenin, soldiers killed a man who had climbed on to the roof of his home to watch the Israeli troops, residents said.An Israeli army spokesman said troops in al-Fara shot two Palestinians, one of whom was carrying a gun while the other had an axe. They were in a group of people moving towards the troops in a threatening manner, said the spokesman. He said the gunman was killed and the other man was wounded in the leg and taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment.In Yamoun, soldiers fired at several gunmen and hit at least two of them, the spokesman said.The Israeli army carries out frequent raids against militants in the West Bank. The Jenin area is a militant stronghold.In the northern Gaza Strip, local residents said unidentified gunmen kidnapped a man and wounded his wife, an Israeli Arab, in a shooting incident. The motive for the incident was unclear.Residents identified the man as Reyadh al-Louh, a Palestinian who holds an Israeli identity card. Hospital staff in Gaza City said Louh's wife was in a serious condition.Local residents say the couple were visiting family in the coastal territory during the Eid ul-Fitr holiday.On Thursday EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called for a restart of the dormant Middle East peace process after meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli leaders."The Palestinian people have suffered and suffered a lot, and it is time that the occupation that started in 1967 is over," he said after talks with the embattled Abbas on the continuing first leg of a Middle East tour, part of a new drive to try and provide impetus to the moribund peace process."That is the objective of the roadmap," he said, referring to an internationally drafted plan which seeks to create a Palestinian state living in peace alongside a secure Israel, but has been largely dormant since its inception in 2003.After earlier meetings with Israeli leaders, Solana expressed pessisim about the lack of progress."We have the feeling that it is now stalled," Solana said after a working breakfast with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Tel Aviv, stressing that the European Union was ready to offer its help to revive peace efforts.Europe would like to see "some movement... to give not only hope to the people, but (to) realities on the ground," he said."We the Europeans are more committed than ever" to the stalled peace drive, he added.Solana's six-day Middle East trip, which will also take in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, is part of an EU drive to use its newfound influence beyond just being a substantial provider of humanitarian aid. But it takes place at a difficult political time in Israel and in the Palestinian territories.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is struggling to build a stable coalition and his government outright refuses to deal with the Hamas-led Palestinian cabinet, run by what the Jewish state considers to be a terrorist organisation.Abbas, widely accepted by the West as the main Palestinian interlocutor since Hamas came to power in March after January elections, has so far failed to persuade the Islamist-led administration to sanction an internationally acceptable cabinet.With the European Union backing Abbas, Hamas has steadfastly refused pressure to organise a government that honours international conditions to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by past peace agreements.In Israel, Solana noted in particular the dire situation in the Gaza Strip and the closure of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt.The crossing, the Palestinians' only gateway from Gaza to the outside world that bypasses Israel, has opened only occasionally since an Israeli soldier was seized by Gaza-based militants at the end of June.While thanking the EU for its contributions, particularly in monitoring the crossing, Livni suggested that Israel may seek changes in the way the crossing is operated when its mandate comes up for renewal next month."We are going to negotiate with the Europeans about the future terms," she told reporters.The EU, Russia, United Nations and United States drafted the roadmap, which seeks to create a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel, which must in turn end illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.The EU has donated some 600 million euros (760 million dollars) to the Palestinians this year, more than in an average year, although the money has been sent in ways that keep it out of the hands of Hamas.But boots on the ground in the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon and on the Rafah border crossing, not to mention a nascent Palestinian police support mission, have given the EU new diplomatic leverage.

Germany suspends two soldiers over skull photos

BERLIN,(Reuters) - Germany has suspended two soldiers for their part in the desecration of human skulls in Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said on Friday."They will no longer be a part of the German army," Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in Berlin.Images of soldiers in Afghanistan striking a variety of poses with skulls were published on Wednesday and Thursday in Germany, sparking condemnation from politicians and NATO, as well as igniting fears the army could suffer as a result.Some of the pictures were reportedly from 2003, others from a year later. The Defence Ministry said the two soldiers suspended were involved in the images taken in 2003.The ministry has said it has investigated a total of nine suspects, a number of whom are no longer in the army.On Thursday Germany warned its embassies to tighten security measures due to concerns the photos, which were condemned by Chancellor Angela Merkel, could harm its army's image abroad.The images emerged as the government unveiled a new long-term national security policy which sees an increasingly important role for the Bundeswehr outside Germany.But as the German armed forces make a bigger commitment to peace-keeping in trouble spots like Afghanistan and Congo, fears have arisen troops could now be exposed to greater dangers.

Germany suspends two soldiers over skull photos

BERLIN,(Reuters) - Germany has suspended two soldiers for their part in the desecration of human skulls in Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said on Friday."They will no longer be a part of the German army," Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in Berlin.Images of soldiers in Afghanistan striking a variety of poses with skulls were published on Wednesday and Thursday in Germany, sparking condemnation from politicians and NATO, as well as igniting fears the army could suffer as a result.Some of the pictures were reportedly from 2003, others from a year later. The Defence Ministry said the two soldiers suspended were involved in the images taken in 2003.The ministry has said it has investigated a total of nine suspects, a number of whom are no longer in the army.On Thursday Germany warned its embassies to tighten security measures due to concerns the photos, which were condemned by Chancellor Angela Merkel, could harm its army's image abroad.The images emerged as the government unveiled a new long-term national security policy which sees an increasingly important role for the Bundeswehr outside Germany.But as the German armed forces make a bigger commitment to peace-keeping in trouble spots like Afghanistan and Congo, fears have arisen troops could now be exposed to greater dangers.

U.S. seeks missing soldier in Baghdad Shi'ite slum

BAGHDAD,(Reuters) - U.S. forces moved into part of Baghdad's sprawling slum district of Sadr City on Friday, hunting for a U.S. soldier of Iraqi descent who was kidnapped on Monday, a U.S. military spokesman said.Witnesses and an official of the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said there was a strong U.S. troop presence backed by air support in the northeast part of Sadr City. The official said the U.S. troops had not taken any aggressive action.U.S. troops rarely venture into the area, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia that Washington wants the government to disarm amid accusations it operates sectarian death squads.Asked about the U.S. activity in Sadr City, U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver said: "It's ongoing operations specifically related to the search for the missing soldier."U.S. forces were in the area where the soldier was thought to be, he said.The move into Sadr City came a day after the prime minister said Iraq's most notorious death squad leader escaped a major U.S.-led raid in Sadr City.Wednesday's ground and air assault targeted Abu Deraa, a feared warlord held responsible for a rash of brutal sectarian killings and kidnappings of Iraqi Sunnis.The operation, carried out by Iraqi special forces with U.S. advisers and air support, killed 10 "enemy fighters", according to a U.S. military statement.The U.S. military said during Wednesday's raid Iraqi forces also searched a mosque in connection with the hunt for the missing U.S. soldier, who left the safety of the fortified "Green Zone" on Monday to visit a relative.The raid caused tensions with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose government relies on Sadr's support. Maliki said he was not informed in advance of the full scope of the mission.U.S. forces have been out in force in various districts of the capital since Monday, conducting house-to-house searches and setting up checkpoints.They have been on the outskirts of Sadr City for several days, though U.S. Major General William Caldwell declined to say on Thursday which group was thought responsible for the kidnapping of the soldier, a linguist of Iraqi descent.

Israel may bomb along border with Egypt - paper

JERUSALEM, (Reuters) - Israel may soon use "smart" bombs on the narrow border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to destroy tunnels used to smuggle weapons into the Palestinian territory, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.Maariv daily said the precision-guided weapons would be used to penetrate deep underground in the hope of destroying the tunnel network that Israel says riddles the narrow border area.The border strip, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, is 11 km long (6.5 miles) and approximately 100 metres wide. "The plan (as it was presented) includes detailed reference to the proximity to the Egyptian border and the surrounding civilian population," Maariv said.An Israeli army spokesman declined to comment on the report, saying that private discussions of the army chief of staff could not be disclosed.Egyptian officials were unavailable for comment.Israel says it has been unable to control weapons smuggling into Gaza since it withdrew its forces from the coastal strip last year.The decision to use "smart" bombs may be a substitute to reoccupying the entire region, the newspaper said.Egyptian police recently seized 195 crates of automatic weapons and ammunition meant to be smuggled across the border.Israel estimates that tonnes of munitions, including advanced shoulder-fire missiles, have been smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels, though they have presented scarce evidence that such weaponry is being used by Gaza militants.The Israeli army said its troops discovered 15 tunnels along the border during the past week.Maariv said the air force was given the green light to drop bombs after a similar campaign successfully destroyed tunnels along the northern Gaza border with Israel.The army began targeting underground passages in Gaza after Palestinian militants tunneled into Israel and abducted one of its soldiers in a raid on June 25.Israel has since launched an expanded offensive to retrieve the captured soldier. More than 250 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, about half of them civilians.

Exiled Islamic Cleric Bakri: Seized Cash Was a Surprise "Eid" Gift

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Exiled Islamic cleric Omar Bakri insists that the £13,000 seized from his son by anti-terror police at Heathrow Airport were intended to help him purchase a car.In a telephone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat from Beirut yesterday, Bakri insisted that "the money was a present from his students and loved ones for the sole purpose of purchasing a car, and was intended to be a surprise for the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration."The former Muhajiroun leader also told Asharq Al-Awsat that his son was delivering the money personally because the bank transfer would have taken four weeks and the Eid occasion would have passed.Bakri also asserted that the money was legitimate and is not a part of any money laundering or terror financing schemes.Bakri's son Abdul Rahman Fostok, 23, was stopped by anti-terror police at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday as he was preparing to board a flight to Beirut.Although the envelope of money marked "Daddy" was confiscated by authorities Bakri's son was allowed to continue his journey to Beirut.Bakri was barred from Britain last August when then home secretary Charles Clarke ruled that his presence in the United Kingdom was "not conducive to the public good".

Interview with Bahaa al-Araji of the United Iraqi Alliance

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Iraqi Shia leader, Muqtada al Sadr, expressed his rejection of sectarian violence in Iraq during a sermon on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr in Najaf. He said, "I totally reject any Shia-Shia or Sunni-Shia killings, whatever their motive.”AFP reported that the cleric said, “Our only objective in Iraq is to end the US occupation, not to fight one another.” Addressing his supporters at Al Hanana mosque in Najaf, he said, “My only enemy is the occupier and the Nawasib (term used to describe extremist Sunnis). Aggression against any Iraqi is an aggression against me.” Muqtada al Sadr heads the Al Mahdi Army that the Americans hold responsible for much of the sectarian violence, the latest of which has seen violent clashes between elements of this militia and the Iraqi security authorities in Amarah in southern Iraq.In an interview with Asharq Al Awsat, Bahaa al Araji, member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives defended Muqtada al Sadr and the al Mahdi Army. He told Asharq Al Awsat, “Act 91 of 2004 stipulating the disbanding of militias was adopted by the Governing Council after the new Iraqi state was established in the wake of the fall of Saddam Hussein. However, neither the government nor the occupation forces have been serious in this matter. We were surprised to find out that conditions have been imposed on the Maliki government and former governments to disband the militias. We do not disagree as we seek to establish Iraq on genuine institutions but we say that there are three militias in Iraq. These are the Peshmerga in northern Iraq (Kurdistan), the Badr Organization and al Mahdi Army. The Peshmerga has merged into state institutions and this issue has been solved. As for the Badr Organization, as we have heard, it is has become a political organization and is no longer a militia. All these measures are intended to disband the al Mahdi Army. We said that according to international specifications, this army cannot be considered a militia.The member of the Sadr movement explained, “The al Mahdi Army came into existence in response to the presence of occupation forces in the country and its task is to resist the occupation. It was the first to have confronted the occupation. Also, its members do not wear special uniforms and do not receive salaries or regular financial allocations. What is most important is that a militia is affiliated with a party and the al Mahdi Army is affiliated with the al Sadr movement, which is not a party. The members of al Mahdi Army are employees, soldiers, or policemen in the state.” Al Araji added that the al Mahdi Army is an ideological Islamic army that is guided by a national spirit. “When there is occupation, there is resistance. We have decided that at this time, the resistance should be peaceful, political, and diplomatic because we have joined the political process. This is why al Mahdi Army operations against the occupation have been suspended but this does not mean that these operations have been suspended definitively. The resistance will be ready to operate again when we see that pressure is being put on the Iraqi people. There is a lot of harm being done to the al Mahdi Army as Iraq is an open arena and groups and movements that carry out kidnappings and kill our people attribute such actions to the al Mahdi Army whilst we have nothing to do with them.”Asked about clashes between members of the al Mahdi Army and members of some armed groups, Al Araji said, “The al Mahdi Army had nothing to do with the incidents in Basra which stemmed from political disagreements in which the Sadr movement was not involved. As for the incidents in Amarah and one month before that in Diwaniyah, these were the result of personal differences and this reflects on the political process. Since our society is a tribal society, these disputes spread quickly.” Al Araji accused the Iranian Mujahideen-e-Khalq opposition movement of involvement in terrorist operations against the Iraqis with support from the US forces, “which established a protected camp for them and supplies them with weapons and other means to carry out terrorist operations that are attributed to al Mahdi Army, noting that this organization is part of the occupation forces as it receives orders from them. The Mujahideen-e-Khalq might also carry out operations against Iran. In the Council of Representatives, we decided to classify this group as a terrorist organization and the government and ourselves believe it must not remain in Iraq; however the occupation insisted on keeping it in Iraq.”Al Araji stressed that the Sadr movement “resists the occupation peacefully, politically, and diplomatically, adding that the movement did not sign the document on the government's political program before the government was formed because the program is of a political nature for the government and not for the Iraqi parliament and because this program was drafted by the political blocs as a result of accord and not commitment. Furthermore, from the very beginning, we were against the formation of a national unity government and we said that the occupation had concocted many lies, from democracy to a national unity government. We see that the constitutions of the world and the national and political norms affirm that the major bloc that wins the majority vote is the one that is responsible for forming a government. However, the circumstances that Iraq has experienced have led to the formation of a national unity government, pointing out that the Sunnis were not represented adequately in this government. This means that the Sunni community is the one that is being subjected to unfair treatment the most. The other parties and lists presented weak figures and appointed them as ministers to fail the government. If this government fails, they will say that the coalition (United Iraqi Alliance) has failed in forming a government. This is why we believe that this government is very weak because it is a national unity and quota-sharing government. However, this is not because Nuri al-Maliki is the prime minister as he is a good Islamic and national figure but he was afflicted with this government. We will support him and ask the members of parliament and the presidential bodies to support him for undertaking a major cabinet reshuffle as a way out of this dilemma that Iraq faces.”Asked about how Muqtada al Sadr deals with the court decision to arrest him for involvement in the killing of Abdul Majid al Khoei in Najaf in 2003, al Araji stated, “This crisis is political. Abdul Majid al Khoei was ready to assume a major role in Iraq. This took place with the emergence of the Sadr movement, and the occupation forces and some sick people sought to kill two birds with one stone. It is for this reason that Muqtada al Sadr or some of his supporters have been accused of killing al Khoei, while he (Sadr) is innocent and has nothing to do with this crime. I will not discuss the incident as you are more familiar with it. Killing the son of a key religious authority is a serious issue for us. There was some confusion, and the occupation forces exploited this issue to put pressure on Muqtada al Sadr.”