UPI NewsTrack TopNews - July 15, 2007
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Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:36:41 GMT |
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Fatah gunmen disarm under amnesty deal
JENIN, West Bank, July 15 Dozens of Fatah gunmen have surrendered their weapons to Palestinian security forces in return for Israel's amnesty for 180 wanted terror suspects.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signed the amnesty agreement Saturday night as a further show of support for Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction was ousted from Gaza last month by Hamas forces.
Among those granted amnesty was Zakariya Zubeid, the head of Fatah's military wing in Jenin, Ynetnews reported Sunday.
Fearing Israel would scrap the amnesty deal if Fatah gunmen did not disarm, Abbas paid renegade activists for their hand guns, M-16 rifles and Kalashnikovs.
The Palestinian Authority aims to integrate dozens of Fatah gunmen into its security forces with Israel preserving the right to pursue those suspected of terror activities, Ynetnews reported.
British terror threat tied to foreign camp
LONDON, July 15 British security officials say some 4,000 Islamic extremists residing within their nation's borders received training at terror camps in Afghanistan.
Security officials said that Afghanistan was a major training base for al-Qaida from 1996 to 2001.
"There are 3,000 to 4,000 people who went from the U.K. to Afghanistan and came back," a senior security source told the Sunday Telegraph. "The important question is, where are they now?"
Last fall, Britain's MI-5 intelligence organization estimated that 1,600 people are currently planning future terror attacks while residing in Britain.
Other intelligence estimations put the number of terrorist operatives receiving training at al-Qaida camps, like those in Afghanistan, at somewhere between 20,000 and 70,000 people.
The Telegraph said that while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown began taking steps last week to shore up his nation's border security, such estimates show that those precautions may be coming too late.
Saudis play big role in Iraqi insurgency
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 15 While U.S. officials often blame Syria and Iran for fueling the insurgency in Iraq, the largest number of militants come from Saudi Arabia, it was reported.
About 45 percent of all foreign fighters in Iraq are Sunni extremists from Saudi Arabia, with the remaining majority coming from Syria, Lebanon and North Africa, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
Almost half of the 135 foreigners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia, said a senior U.S. military official who gave the statistics to The Times.
Saudi fighters are believed to be responsible for more suicide bombings than any other nationality, the newspaper reported. In the last six months, suicide bombings have killed or injured nearly 4,000 Iraqis.
At best, Saudi Arabia has been unable to keep its citizens from fueling the attacks in Iraq, the newspaper reported. At worst, Saudi officials share complicity in sending Sunni extremists to kill U.S. soldiers, Iraqi civilians and those in the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, the Times reported.
Iran claims 600 missiles aimed at Israel
JERUSALEM, July 15 Iran's claim to have enough missiles to hit 600 Israeli targets comes a day after Iranian-made rocket launchers were found pointed at a U.S. base in Iraq.
Iranian leaders said they would retaliate with the missiles if attacked by the United States or Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday.
U.S. military leaders Saturday announced the discovery of a field in Iraq containing 50 Iranian-made rocket launchers, all aimed at a U.S. Army base.
Earlier in the day, two U.S. soldiers were killed in Baghdad by a high-tech bomb army officials believe was smuggled in from Iran. Iran has denied the charge.
Meantime, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Saturday said he believes Iraqi forces are capable of caring for their country and U.S. troops can leave "any time they want."
An aide to al-Maliki said the United States has embarrassed the Iraqi government by violating human rights and treating Iraq like an "experiment in an American laboratory."
Typhoon Man-yi weakens near Japan
TOKYO, July 15 A typhoon that killed three people in Japan weakened to a storm as it brushed Tokyo Sunday, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and mudslides.
More than 70 people were injured and thousands evacuated from their homes before Typhoon Man-yi weakened and headed for the Pacific, ITV News reported.
The storm disrupted air, car and train travel during a three-day Japanese holiday weekend and thousands were without electricity and water, it was reported.
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