Fighting terror notebook

Inquiry: Friendly fire killed U.S. soldier in convoy

WASHINGTON -- Military investigators have concluded that a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, killed at the outset of a major battle in eastern Afghanistan last March, died from mistaken fire by an American Air Force AC-130 gunship and not by al-Qaida mortars as originally thought, defense officials said Tuesday.

Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman, 34, a native of Nixa, Mo., and a member of the Army's Special Forces, was the first of eight Americans killed in Operation Anaconda, the last major battle in Afghanistan. The seven others were killed when two U.S. helicopters took enemy fire from al-Qaida defenders.

The Pentagon originally said Harriman was killed by enemy mortar fire as his convoy of U.S. and Afghan forces moved into position at the outset of Operation Anaconda on March 2. But a subsequent investigation found that he was hit with gunfire from an Air Force AC-130 gunship that mistook his convoy for enemy forces, several news services reported.

Islamic extremists held in diplomat's death

AMMAN, Jordan -- Officials rounded up dozens of known Islamic extremists for questioning Tuesday in the assassination of American diplomat Laurence Foley as suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaida or the terrorist movement's sympathizers.

A Jordanian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that most of those detained were Jordanians of Palestinian origin who belonged to militant Islamic cells. Some were released; none had been charged.

In Beirut, Lebanon, the prominent Arabic language newspaper An-Nahar speculated that the killing was the work of al-Qaida sleeper cells that have threatened strikes against American targets. There was no way to confirm independently the paper's report.

Suspect recasts dealings with Sept. 11 ringleader

HAMBURG, Germany -- A Moroccan student accused of aiding the Sept. 11 attackers sought Tuesday to distance himself from suspected lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, describing him as little more than a casual acquaintance from the university they attended.

Mounir el Motassadeq, who is charged with more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and being a member of a terrorist organization, played down earlier testimony that he often discussed religion and politics with Atta.

El Motassadeq, 28, testified that he met Atta in 1996 and that they were among 30 to 40 Muslim friends at Hamburg-Harburg Technical University who frequently shared meals.

"It was no organized group . . . just maybe people you'd meet on the street and agree to eat together," he said. "I knew many people much better than Atta."

Also . . .

ANTHRAX TREATMENT: Less than half of the people who were prescribed a 60-day course of antibiotics for anthrax during last year's attacks completed the treatment, and a majority complained of side effects, federal officials reported Tuesday.

Many postal workers, Senate office workers and media employees possibly exposed to anthrax reported side effects from the antibiotics, including stomach pain, nausea, headaches and dizziness. A few required hospitalization.

Despite the problems, Dr. Colin Shepard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the effectiveness of antibiotics during the attacks was "reassuring" because most of the side effects were mild. No one on medication developed anthrax.

BALI BOMBING SUSPECT: Investigators have a suspect in the Bali nightclub bombings that killed nearly 200 people, a top police general said Tuesday. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said detectives had a composite sketch of the unnamed Indonesian suspect in the Oct. 12 bombing, based on witness testimony.

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