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Fighting terror: notebook
Compiled from Times wires Up to 2,000 U.S. troops on new Afghan searchWASHINGTON -- In the largest ground operation in Afghanistan in six months, up to 2,000 U.S. Army troops are searching the mountains of southeastern Afghanistan for Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts. The troops from the 82nd Airborne are part of a new strategy that puts more regular soldiers into the hunt for enemy fighters while lessening the strain on special operations units that could be needed for a war in Iraq. Afghan President Hamid Karzai suggested during a visit to Qatar over the weekend that deposed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar might be hiding along the Pakistani border. TROOPS FIND AMMO: Acting on a tip from the local governor, U.S. troops found bunkers, fortifications and tunnels stuffed with machine gun ammunition on a farm in central Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday. The troops needed three trucks to remove 400,000 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition and 140,000 rounds of 14.5mm ammunition. Bail delayed for six terror suspects from New YorkNEW YORK -- A federal judge has delayed a decision on granting bail to six Buffalo-area men accused of receiving terrorist training at an al-Qaida camp, amid new evidence introduced this week by prosecutors. U.S. Magistrate H. Kenneth Schroeder, who had been expected to rule today on granting bail, postponed the decision until next week at the request of defense attorneys. He scheduled a hearing today in a Buffalo federal court to hear arguments on new allegations tying one of the defendants to a document about suicide bombings, written in Arabic. The latest evidence, which had been filed in court papers by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of Western New York, also suggests that some of the men from Lackawanna, N.Y., had used multiple identities. All the defendants are U.S. citizens of Yemeni descent. Official: Top al-Qaida operative visited IraqA top al-Qaida operative was in Baghdad about two months ago, and U.S. officials suspect his presence was known to the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a defense official told the Associated Press. Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian, is believed to have left Iraq, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. U.S. counterterrorism officials have called Zarqawi -- also known as Ahmad Fadeel al-Khalaylah -- one of al-Qaida's top two dozen leaders.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
