Current Events (NEWS)

[Littledragon]

Sunni clerics killed in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two influential Sunni Muslim clerics were killed in Iraq, and authorities awaited word Monday on the fate of several hostages, including a Briton and two Americans.

Sheik Hazim al-Zaidi, the Sunni imam of Baghdad's al-Sajjad mosque, was kidnapped Sunday afternoon while leaving the temple in the capital's Sadr City, a heavily Shiite Muslim district, al-Zaidi spokesman Ammar al-Siger said.

His body was later delivered back to the mosque.

The second cleric, Sheik Mohammed Jado'ou, was gunned down Monday in southwest Baghdad's al-Baya'a district, al-Siger said.

Jado'ou was leaving prayers at his al-Kwather mosque when gunmen in a vehicle drove next to him and opened fire, the spokesman said.

The two clerics are members of the influential Sunni Committee of Muslim Scholars, a group that weighs in on key issues, provides religious interpretations and has helped with negotiating the release of hostages.

Meanwhile, kidnapped groups were threatened with death unless their captors' demands were met.

Three Western hostages -- two Americans and a Briton -- face beheading by kidnappers demanding the release of female prisoners from two U.S.-run detention facilities in Iraq.

Arab-language television network Al-Jazeera aired video Saturday from the Jihad and Unification group threatening to behead the three hostages within 48 hours unless their demand was met.

The United States said no women are in the two jails, Umm Qasr and Abu Ghraib, cited by the militants. But it does hold two "high value detainees" -- former members of Saddam Hussein's regime -- at undisclosed locations. (Full story)

The wife of Jack Hensley, one of the three Westerners, begged for their safety.

"Please let them go," Patty Hensley said Saturday from her home near Atlanta, Georgia. "They need to come home." (Full story)

Jihad and Unification, which claims loyalty to insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has taken responsibility for beheading U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg, South Korean translator Kim Sun-il and a Bulgarian hostage in Iraq.

Al-Jazeera also broadcast video Saturday showing kidnappers who threatened to kill 10 employees of a Turkish company if their employer did not withdraw from Iraq within three days.

The company distanced itself from the United States on Monday, saying it has no business dealings with American companies or on U.S. military bases.

Vinsan General Manager Mehmet Akpinar said that the firm has been doing business in Iraq for 10 months and has sought out partnerships with Iraqis.

Akpinar and company spokeswoman Nalan Bayrak said initial reports that Vinsan was a joint U.S.-Turkish venture were untrue and that the company is wholly Turkish owned.

In addition, a previously unknown Islamic group claimed to have captured 15 members of the Iraqi national guard Sunday and threatened to kill them unless a jailed aide of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is released, according to a video aired on Al-Jazeera.

But second video aired Monday on Al-Jazeera claiming to show the release of the men, all dressed in white robes and carrying copies of the Koran. Iraqi officials said they were unaware of any missing guardsmen, and a spokesman for al-Sadr moved quickly to distance the cleric from the reported kidnappings.

Apparent decapitations
An Islamist militant Web site posted video Sunday purportedly showing the decapitation of three members of the Kurdish Democratic Party.

In the video, a group calling itself Ansar al-Sunna -- the same group that released video last month showing the purported killings of 12 Nepalese hostages -- said that members of the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan were traitors serving "Zionists" and "Christian crusaders" fighting against Islam.

The video statement said the three men, all truck drivers, were captured as they were hauling military vehicles near the town of Taji, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

The group said it killed the men "to teach them a lesson they will never forget."

Other developments

Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi warned Monday that terrorists were flooding into his country from across the Muslim world. But former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told London newspaper The Times: "There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which al Qaeda could thrive." (Full story)


A senior defense official said the United States recently approached Syria and "very clearly communicated" the need to secure the border between Syria and Iraq. The discussions took place during a recent visit to Syria by officials from the State Department and the Pentagon, the official said. The Syrians responded by agreeing with the U.S. concern, the official said, but it is not yet clear any action will be taken. (Full story)


U.S. airstrikes Monday hit a bulldozer and a dump truck full of sand at a "municipality project" in western Falluja, according to witnesses. The strikes killed three people and wounded five others, hospital officials said. U.S. military officials outside the city, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Baghdad, said the American-led multinational forces fired on construction equipment used by insurgents to build "fortified fighting positions."


An American military convoy was struck Monday morning by a roadside bomb on a crowded street in central Baghdad, wounding at least 15 Iraqi civilians, witnesses said. The witnesses said the five-vehicle convoy was passing through a bridge at the end of Haifa Street -- site of clashes between U.S. troops and insurgents -- when an improvised explosive device detonated. No U.S. casualties were reported.


An Iraqi soldier and civilian were killed Sunday in a suicide car bombing at a military checkpoint outside Samarra in northern Iraq, a U.S. military official said. The bomber was also killed. Four U.S. soldiers and three Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the attack.

CNN's Caroline Faraj, Thaira al-Hilli, Bassem Muhy, Faris Qasira and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

 

[Littledragon]

Powell: U.S. forces to enter Iraqi 'no-go zones'.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military will move into insurgent-heavy "no-go zones" in Iraq to clear the way for legitimate elections in January, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.

The Bush administration is hoping free elections will help stabilize the country and build a sense of legitimacy for the new government.

But administration officials have acknowledged that continued violence in many parts of the country could make voting dangerous or perhaps even impossible in some areas.

"Our goal is to move right through the fall season, improve security throughout the country, and have the elections as scheduled at the end of January of 2005," Powell said, appearing on CNN's "Late Edition."

"That's [interim Iraqi] Prime Minister [Ayad] Allawi's goal, and all of our efforts are being directed toward that end," he said.

"The major thrust of our political and military and diplomatic efforts over the next several months will be to make sure there are no no-go zones," he added. The "no-go zones" are largely avoided by U.S.-led forces.

Powell said the military is putting together plans to "return these zones to government control." (Full story)

Last week Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld commented, "Let's say you tried to have an election and you could have it in three-quarters or four-fifths of the country, but some places you couldn't because the violence was too great. Well, that's -- so be it. Nothing's perfect in life. So you have an election that's not quite perfect."

But Powell's deputy Richard Armitage later said Iraq elections must be "open to all citizens" and that partial elections were not being considered.

Iraqi general arrested
The man chosen to lead the Iraqi National Guard in a province in the so-called Sunni triangle has been arrested by U.S. forces on the suspicion that he has ties to insurgent fighters, a U.S. Army spokesman said.

Gen. Talib Abed Ghayib Najm was named to head the National Guard in the Diyala province just two weeks ago, and had not yet been confirmed by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, the spokesman for the U.S. Army's First Infantry Division said.

Najm was in U.S. custody Sunday.

Also on Sunday, two rockets landed in Baghdad's al-Karrada neighborhood near Kahraman Square, killing one person and wounding three others, an Interior Ministry official told CNN.

Col. Adnan Abdul Rahman said the explosion's impact also destroyed two cars and shattered windows of nearby shops.

On Saturday, seven people were killed and 10 injured following a U.S. military airstrike in Falluja, local hospital officials said.

The airstrike was aimed at the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi terror network, according to a multinational forces statement.

Al-Zarqawi is one of the most wanted terror suspects in Iraq.

"Intelligence sources indicated that approximately 10 terrorists were meeting at this location to plan operations targeting innocent Iraqi civilians and multinational forces," the statement said.

Earlier Saturday, seven Iraqis were killed in various military operations in Falluja as coalition forces carried out strikes against the al-Zarqawi network.

In a separate airstrike Saturday, coalition forces struck a "known terrorist meeting site" of the al-Zarqawi terror network in central Falluja, which intelligence sources said was used to carry out attacks against Iraqi citizens and multinational forces.

There was disputed information on casualties with coalition forces claiming no civilian injuries and local hospital officials claiming an undetermined number of civilians wounded.

U.S. officials said the strike was meant to deliver a blow to the terror network and was carried out in an area where there were few, if any, civilians.

Blair working to free Bigley
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday his government was doing everything it "properly and legitimately" could to secure the release of a Briton taken hostage in Iraq.

But he warned against raising "false hopes" that kidnappers would free construction worker Kenneth Bigley, and gave no indication the government had shifted from its refusal to negotiate with the hostage takers.

Bigley, 62, and two American colleagues were kidnapped from their quarters in Baghdad on September 16. The two Americans have been killed by their captors. (Full story)

An Islamist Web site posted claims that Bigley had been killed, but the claims could not be verified and were discredited by British authorities. (Full story)

In another kidnapping incident, gunmen seized six Egyptian telecommunication workers Friday, Iraqi officials said. (Full story)

Other developments

Two car bombs struck an Iraqi National Guard base Sunday on a road between Falluja and Baghdad. Initial reports from the U.S. military said there were Iraqi and U.S. casualties, but details were not immediately known.


A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 25 years confinement for the murder of an Iraqi National Guard soldier in May, coalition military officials said in a news release Saturday. Spc. Federico Merida pleaded guilty and was also given a dishonorable discharge and a reduction in rank.

 

[Littledragon]

Hamas leader killed in Syria, official says.

(CNN) -- A Hamas leader was killed Sunday when a car exploded in Damascus, Syria, an official of the Palestinian militant group told CNN.

It was not clear whether the explosion that killed Izz al-Din al-Sheikh Khalil, described as a mid-level figure within the organization, was from his own car or a nearby one.

He is the latest Hamas leader to be killed in recent months -- Israel killed Hamas spiritual leader Shaikh Ahmed Yassin in late March, and just a few weeks later his successor, Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi, was killed.

Hamas spokesman Usama Hamdan accused Israel of carrying out the killing, saying the Jewish state could only do so with the help and support of the United States.

"All these assassinations will not deter Hamas or stop it from carrying out its policies and its program," Hamdan said. "It shows that there is no use for a political solution to this conflict."

Israeli officials had no comment on any possible role in Khalil's death.

Khalil, 42, was deported from Gaza in 1992 and had been living in Syria for a number of years, Hamdan said.

Israel has a history of pursuing Palestinian militant leaders beyond its border.

Israel was responsible for killing Khalal Al-Wazir, a deputy of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat also known as Abu Jihad, in Tunis in 1988; and Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shiqaqi in Malta in 1995. In Jordan in 1997, Israel tried to assassinate Khalid Misha'al, who has since become the leader of Hamas, based in Syria.

Israeli officials have warned repeatedly that they will pursue the leadership of militant Palestinian organizations wherever they are.

Moshe Yaalon, Israel's army chief of staff, recently said that "anyone who is responsible for terrorism against us should not sleep quietly."

Hamas, which is considered to be a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings last month in the Israeli city of Beersheba that left 16 people dead.

The killing comes at a time when Syria is reportedly moving to expel Palestinian militant groups from the country, and there are reports that Hamas' exiled leadership is looking for a new home.

 

[Littledragon]

Plane diverted after bomb scare.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- An Olympic Airlines flight from Athens to New York was diverted Sunday to London due to a bomb scare, a spokesman for the Greek Ministry of Public Order told CNN.

Leftrias Ikonomou said that an anonymous caller phoned an Athens newspaper after the flight took off saying that there was a bomb on the plane.

The newspaper contacted Greek officials who then contacted the airline, and the flight was ordered to land immediately, he said.

The British Ministry of Defence said British RAF aircraft escorted the plane until it landed.

Nia Cairnie, a spokeswoman for London's Stansted Airport, said the Olympic Airlines flight 411 landed "on a full emergency" just after 3:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) and all passengers were evacuated safely.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington said there were 298 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The company's Web site identified the plane as an Airbus 340.

A spokesman for Britain's Department for Transport said: "The plane has landed safely at Stansted and they are putting into place a well-rehearsed security operation to see if it is a hoax or a real threat."

Essex Police Spokeswoman Kim Perks said: "A bomb threat was made against the aircraft while it was in British airspace, and it was escorted by RAF fighter jets."

She said she believed two fighter jets had escorted the plane to Stansted.

"Explosives experts and officers with sniffer dogs are going onboard to search the aircraft," she added.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said the passengers and their bags were being rescreened at Stansted.

The plane had been en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport when it was diverted.

 

[Littledragon]

UK arrests over 'dirty bomb plot'.

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- British police said on Saturday they had arrested four men under anti-terrorism legislation after a tip-off from a newspaper which said the suspects tried to buy explosives for a dirty bomb.

Three of the men were arrested in a raid on a hotel in Brent Cross, north London, on Friday and the fourth was seized later the same day at his home, also in north London.

"All four were arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act, on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism," London's Metropolitan police said in a statement.

They said they had been acting on information provided by the News of the World newspaper, which said one of its reporters had infiltrated a gang trying to buy radioactive material for a Saudi Arabian who it said might be linked to al Qaeda.

The tabloid newspaper said the Saudi was prepared to pay £300,000 ($540,600) for a kilogramme of "red mercury," a mysterious radioactive substance which is rumored to have been developed by Russian scientists during the Cold War.

The paper said one of its reporters made contact with an Indian-born banker and a Somali -- the head of the gang -- who wanted to buy bomb-making material for a client in the Middle East who they said supported "the Muslim cause."

As the staunchest ally of the United States in its war on terror, Britain has long seen itself as a potential target of an attack like the ones on New York, Washington, Bali and Madrid.

Hundreds of suspects have been arrested under the country's far-reaching anti-terrorist legislation, passed in 2000, but only a handful have been convicted.

 

[Littledragon]

Frenchman shot dead in Saudi.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- A French national who worked as an engineer in Saudi Arabia was ambushed and killed by gunmen as he drove through a Jeddah neighborhood early Sunday.

A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman said Laurent Barbot, an employee of the French telecommunications company Thompson, was driving his personal car when it was targeted by machine gun fire.

No witnesses came forward, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack is the latest in a rash of violence directed toward foreigners.

A British man working for the telecommunications corporation Marconi was shot dead last week in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, The Associated Press reported.

The al-Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility for that attack, AP said.

Saudi Arabia has been hunting al Qaeda-linked militants behind a series of bombings and shootings in the Gulf kingdom that have targeted the U.S.-allied Saudi regime, security authorities and foreign interests.

The Saudi economy, particularly the oil sector, depends on foreign workers.

CNN Producer Rida Said in Jeddah contributed to this report.

 

[Amos Stevens]

5 year old boy sexually abused by other 5 year old

Bullhead City School District Named in Sexual Abuse Claim

Seeks $12 Million in Damages for School Bus Abuse of Kindergarten Student

Lawsuit to Soon Follow

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A Bullhead City mother has
filed a Government Claim against the Bullhead City School District, alleging
that the District and its employees allowed the repeated sexual abuse of her
five year old son on a School District bus, then did nothing to stop it or to
ensure the safety of her child and other students in the future. Colleen
Ochoa says she and her husband first became aware of the abuse in May of this
year and that it had been taking place on a regular basis since the beginning
of the 2003-2004 school year.
According to the claim, filed by Stephen M. Garcia of McNulty & Garcia in
Phoenix, Arizona, Ochoa's son was one of only four kindergarten students who
rode the bus to school every morning. They were all required to sit in the
front row of the bus, in plain view of the driver. But on a regular basis, a
fellow kindergarten student would force Ochoa's son to go to the back of the
bus and then would perform humiliating sexual acts on the boy. At times the
perpetrator, who later admitted that he committed the sexual abuse, would
threaten the boy, telling him that if he did not do as he was told, the
perpetrator would bring his father's gun to school and hurt the boy. The
repeated sexual abuse took place in the presence of the bus driver, who did
nothing to stop it or to stop the children from leaving their mandatory
assigned seats.
Upon learning of the sexual abuse of her son, Colleen Ochoa immediately
called the Bullhead City Police Department, which conducted an investigation
and later issued a report stating the perpetrator admitted to engaging in the
sexual misconduct.
Mrs. Ochoa also called Ted Fadler, Superintendent of Bullhead City Schools
to inform him that her son had been sexually abused on a School District bus
on a regular basis and to ask him what the District would do to stop the abuse
and ensure the safety of her son and other students in the future. According
to the claim, Mr. Fadler's response was to downplay the seriousness of what
happened and to tell Mrs. Ochoa to put the boy back on the school bus Monday
morning.
Since that time, according to the claim, the Bullhead City School District
has done nothing to curb the future abuse of the boy or to ensure the future
safety of other students. The bus driver who allowed the abuse to take place
still drives children to elementary school and was given not so much as a
reprimand.
Mrs. Ochoa's son, who has suffered enormous emotional and psychological
trauma, has been removed from the School District and placed in a private
school. The government claim is seeking $5 million in General Damages and
$10 million in special damages. According to attorney Stephen Garcia, a
lawsuit will soon be filed against the Bullhead City School District, plus its
employees, agents and other representatives involved.


SOURCE McNulty & Garcia LLP


Copyright © 1996-2004 PR Newswire Association

 

[suziwong]

Thank you very much for this information Amos

sincerely

suzi

 

[Amos Stevens]

YOu're welcome Suziwong-pretty sick story I think-heard it on the news this morning so I went looking for the story

 

[Littledragon]

Jobs, Iraq frame second presidential debate.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- A lackluster unemployment report and fresh questions about President Bush's rationale for invading Iraq frame the second face-to-face encounter Friday night between Bush and Sen. John Kerry.

Only the debate's moderator and the 15 to 20 people chosen to ask questions know what topics will be raised during the 90-minute town-hall session at Washington University. (Interactive: The debate's format)

Bush goes into the debate on the defensive, but say they aides hope the more casual format will play to his strengths as a campaigner.

Seeking to avoid a repeat of the scowls that contributed to negative reaction to his appearance in the first prime-time matchup, the president has watched tapes of the encounter.

Kerry, criticized as times for what some call a stiff and aloof manner, will try to build on the momentum he gained after favorable impressions of his performance at the Miami debate.

The Massachusetts senator holds a slight lead nationally over Bush in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Thursday, reversing Bush's advantage from mid-September. (AP poll: Kerry takes slim lead)

Although voters cite Iraq as a major concern, the economy consistently ranks at the top.

The unemployment report -- the last to be released before Election Day -- provided fresh fodder for the campaigns. Unemployment held steady at 5.4 percent but job creation was lower than expected. (CNN/Money: September jobs report)

Bush cast the addition of 96,000 jobs as proof his tax cuts have bolstered the jobs market and the economy overall while Kerry pointed out that the country has seen a net job loss under the Bush administration, a first since the Depression.

On the day the report came out, Bush's campaign unveiled an advertisement for national cable networks that touts "nearly 2 million jobs in just over a year," resulting in "nearly 2 million more people back working," and "nearly 2 million more people with wages."

Kerry called the number "disappointing" and contended that even the jobs that have been created under Bush pay less and offer fewer benefits than those that have been lost.

"The president does not seem to understand how many middle-class families are being squeezed by falling incomes and spiraling health care, tuition and energy costs," he said in a statement.

Hard sparring over Iraq on the eve of the debate also offered a preview of the discussion to come.

A final report from the chief U.S. weapons hunter in Iraq concluded that Saddam Hussein had no stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons, had no programs to make either them or nuclear bombs, and had little ability -- or immediate plans -- to revive those programs. (Report: No WMD stockpiles in Iraq)

The findings contradicted Bush's main rationale for going to war, and Kerry charged the commander in chief with purposely exaggerating the evidence in the run-up to the invasion. "You don't make up or find reasons to go to war after the fact," Kerry said Thursday in Colorado. (Iraq WMD report enters political fray)

Bush not only insisted that going to war was right, but turned the tables to say Kerry was the one not being candid.

He dredged up Kerry remarks from two years ago in which the Massachusetts senator talked about the threat Saddam would pose if he possessed weapons of mass destruction.

"Just who's the one trying to mislead the American people?" Bush said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin.

Kerry's campaign accused Bush of taking Kerry's quotes out of context to suit his own political purposes.

Kerry spokesman Phil Singer noted that Bush failed to mention that, in his 2002 remarks, Kerry also cautioned against a rush to war and questioned whether the Bush administration was relying on the right reasons to threaten invasion.

Their third and final debate is October 13 in Tempe, Arizona, and will focus on economic and domestic policy.

 

[Littledragon]

At least 26 killed as bombs rock Egyptian resorts.

TABA, Egypt (CNN) -- Following the bombings of three Egyptian resorts popular with vacationing Israelis -- attacks that killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens more -- a top Israeli official Friday said al Qaeda is most likely to blame.

At least 39 people are missing and officials fear the death toll will rise.

Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said the attacks bear all the hallmarks of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network or one of its offshoots, although he said he's not ruling out the possibility that the attack was staged by a Palestinian militant group.

Egyptian officials said authorities were still working to determine the exact source of the explosions, although they are calling it an attack on the hotel.

There has been no claim of responsibility.

One powerful explosion ripped through the 400-room Hilton Hotel at Taba, a Red Sea resort just across Egypt's border with Israel, about 100 yards from a border crossing point. CNN's Ben Wedeman said the west side of the hotel was demolished in the blast.

According to a senior Israeli government source, the blast was caused by a truck bomb that crashed into the hotel lobby. A possible second blast was believed triggered by a suicide bomber around the pool area.

At least 22 people were killed in the Taba bombings and more than 120 wounded, with emergency vehicles carrying Israelis across the border for treatment, Israeli security officials said. The British Foreign Office said two Britons were among those wounded, but their injuries were not serious.

Mustafa Afifi, the governor of the Sinai Peninsula, told Egyptian television that the region's hospitals received three dead -- two Egyptians and one Israeli -- and 13 wounded.

The bombing in Taba marks the deadliest terrorist attack on an Israeli target outside of Israel.

Guests at the hotel said a metal detector screened people as they entered the hotel lobby but that there was no security preventing vehicles from pulling up to the front of the facility.

Israeli police officials said forensic scientists were sent to the scene.

About two hours after the attack, two other bombs went off in nearby camping areas in Ras al Sultan and the village of Tarabeen near Nuweiba, Israeli radio said.

Afifi said those blasts were the result of truck bombs that killed at least two people -- an Egyptian and an Israeli. Ten others were wounded in the attacks, he said.

In Taba, dozens of ambulances and emergency vehicles were on the scene shortly after the blast, and police cordoned off streets around the Hilton. Video showed people walking in a daze, while emergency crews scrambled to tend to the wounded.

Ambulances from Israel filtered across the border into Egypt, but only after delays approaching 30 minutes, a hotel guest said. Israeli rescue teams said initially Egyptian border guards were only allowing one Israeli ambulance in and one ambulance out at a time, but said cooperation has been good since that time.

By midmorning Friday, Israeli tourists were pouring across the border to leave Egypt, following a call by Jerusalem for citizens to return home. The border into Egypt was closed except to emergency personnel, who were bringing in heavy equipment to move the blast rubble.

One witness described the blast as the "gates of hell."

Israelis Jackie Miller and Zia Hazan were in the hotel's casino at the time of the bombing.

Miller said she heard a big explosion, followed by the sounds of people panicking and running everywhere.

Hazan said she tried to return to the hotel lobby a short time after the blast, but it was not there. Just a short time earlier, an entertainer was performing there for children whose parents were gambling in the casino.

Jacob Hart, the deputy director of the Josftal Hospital in Eilat, Israel, told CNN the hospital had received 80 wounded, of which about seven had "medium to severe" injuries.

"The most severe cases are still in the area of the hotel," he said, adding that the hospital was told to prepare for more wounded.

The Israeli government had warned its citizens against traveling to the Sinai Peninsula during the holidays due to the potential threat of terrorist attacks.

Immediately following the explosions Thursday, the government requested that Israeli citizens in Egypt be allowed quick entry back into Israel without passport examinations.


Injured Israelis are helped into an ambulance after the Hilton Hotel blast.
At least two Israeli helicopters carrying medics were allowed to enter Egypt to tend to the wounded. Israeli consular officials were flying from Cairo to Taba.

Itzik Hai, the manager of the Israeli side of the border crossing at Eilat and Taba, told Israeli radio that they were "moving ambulances there as best we can."

"Egyptians are allowing people to cross back into Israel," he said. "We're in contact with Egyptian officials on the other side of the border and coordinating with them."

He said 30,000 Israelis had crossed the border into Egypt for the start of the holidays and that about 10,000 were believed to still be there.

"We're allowing all to cross back, with or without passports," Hai said.

Thursday marked the the end of the Succoth holiday and the beginning of Simchat Torah, which celebrates the Torah.

Thursday's bombings brought to mind the November 2002 attack in the Kenyan city of Mombasa, when three suicide bombers blew up the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel, killing 12 people. That blast came just after assailants fired two missiles at an Israeli charter plane carrying 271 people but missed their target.

Those attacks were blamed on al Qaeda.

CNN's John Vause and Ben Wedeman contributed to this story.

 

[Littledragon]

Car bombs rock Baghdad; Rumsfeld visits Marines.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two suicide car bombs exploded in separate sections of Baghdad Sunday morning, killing seven people, including a U.S. soldier, officials said.

Earlier, Iraqi police said 17 people were killed. There was no explanation for the change.

The attacks occurred as U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was visiting the region in an unannounced trip.

The first car bomb apparently exploded prematurely, killing its six victims before reaching its intended target -- an Iraqi police academy.

That explosion, at 7 a.m. (1000 GMT), happened at a busy intersection near the Iraqi Oil Ministry and 200 yards from the police academy, police said.

A second suicide car bomb exploded at 7:15 a.m. as a U.S. military convoy passed, near an empty supermarket in a southern section of Baghdad. A U.S. soldier who was wounded in the attack later died, Iraqi police and the military said.

The death put the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war at 1,072 -- 817 killed in hostile action and 255 in nonhostile situations, according to the U.S. military.

Rumsfeld meets with Marines
The Associated Press reported that Rumsfeld, after breakfast with U.S. military leaders, held a "town meeting" event with about 1,500 Marines in an aircraft hanger at Al Asad airfield in Iraq's western desert.

Rumsfeld predicted violence will increase in the run-up to January elections in Iraq and the United States will probably not pull out any troops before then, the AP said.

"Our hope is that as we build up Iraqi forces we will be able to relieve the stress on our forces and see a reduction in coalition forces over some period of time, probably post-Iraqi election." Rumsfeld said, according to the AP.

"We're so fortunate to be able to count on you in this time of peril," he said.

It was the defense secretary's first visit to Iraq since June 28.

Peace deal for Sadr City
On Saturday, a breakthrough peace initiative to end battles in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City was announced by Iraq's interim government and militia loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Attacks on U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and almost daily U.S. airstrikes have been going on for weeks in the sprawling slum, which is populated by 2 million people.

Under the plan, al-Sadr's Mehdi militia will hand over medium and heavy weapons during a five-day grace period beginning on Monday.

Thousands of weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and mortars will be handed in at various centers controlled by police, the National Guard and City Council officials, according to Iraq's interim government.

And in the process, Iraqi security forces, backed up by U.S. forces, will take control of the area.

They would be allowed to conduct weapons searches and operations against those who oppose the initiative.

Interim National Security Adviser Kasim Dawood called the plan a "breakthrough" deal and a "big achievement" toward consolidating national unity in Iraq.

There won't be an officially signed cease-fire, but an unofficial cessation of violence would be established and it would come soon, enabling the parties involved to usher in the weapons handover plan. During the five days, there will be a truce.

In return for the weapons handover, the interim government said, there will be ongoing amnesty arrangements for people who "have not been involved in criminality." Also, al-Sadr himself and his allies would be permitted to get involved in the country's nascent political culture.

The first big political order of business in Iraq is January's election for a transitional national assembly. U.S. and Iraqi leaders have insisted the January election will not be postponed because of the escalating insurgency.

After the weapons handover and the re-establishment of security by Iraqi forces, construction projects for the neighborhood are expected to begin and the daily U.S. airstrikes and engagements end.

Earlier, Sheikh Ali Smeisem confirmed the weapons handover. Iraqi companies will be allowed to resume normal operations within Sadr City, but foreign companies will not be allowed in at this time, he said.

In August, after three weeks of fighting in the southern city of Najaf, a truce was established between U.S.-led forces and the Mehdi army. But fighting continued to rage in Sadr City.

Other developments

Ten Turkish hostages have been released in Iraq, the general manager of the construction company that employed them said Sunday. (Full story)


A U.S. Marine assigned to the 1 Marine Expeditionary force was killed Saturday in Al Anbar province, the U.S. military announced Sunday. No further details were released.


The family of Ken Bigley, the British engineer who was taken hostage with two Americans in Iraq three weeks ago, said Friday that he had been killed. "We can confirm that the family has now received absolute proof that Ken Bigley has been executed," Phil Bigley said in a televised statement. (Full story)


In central Baghdad, a rocket attack hit the Sheraton Hotel on Thursday, setting off a fire and drawing machine-gun fire from U.S. positions . The lower level of the Sheraton, which houses Western journalists and foreign contractors, was damaged. There was no word of casualties.


Task Force Baghdad troops detained a truck carrying more than 1,500 155-millimeter artillery rounds Thursday. This seizure is one of the largest by the task force to date.


A report on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program entered the U.S. presidential campaign, as Republicans and Democrats used its conclusions Thursday to bolster their positions on the Iraq war. (Full story)

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ayman Mohyeldin, Kianne Sadeq, Ingrid Formanek and Brent Sadler contributed to this report

 

[Littledragon]

Bush campaign to base ad on Kerry terror quote.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's campaign announced Sunday its plans to use as the basis of a new commercial a quote from an 8,000-word New York Times Magazine article about Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

The parsing prompted the Kerry camp to retort that the soon-to-be-released Bush ad was another example of the president's campaign taking words out of context to create a misleading impression.

The article, a largely analytical cover story in the magazine, says the interviewer asked Kerry "what it would take for Americans to feel safe again."

''We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance,'' the article states as the Massachusetts senator's reply.

''As a former law enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life.''

Kerry was a prosecutor before he got into politics, and made fighting organized crime a priority.

Bush campaign Chairman Marc Racicot, in an appearance on CNN's "Late Edition," interpreted Kerry's remarks as saying "that the war on terrorism is like a nuisance. He equated it to prostitution and gambling, a nuisance activity. You know, quite frankly, I just don't think he has the right view of the world. It's a pre-9/11 view of the world."

Republican Party Chairman Ed Gillespie, on CBS' "Face the Nation," used similar language.

"Terrorism is not a law enforcement matter, as John Kerry repeatedly says. Terrorist activities are not like gambling. Terrorist activities are not like prostitution. And this demonstrates a disconcerting pre-September 11 mindset that will not make our country safer. And that is what we see relative to winning the war on terror and relative to Iraq."

The Bush-Cheney campaign also announced it was releasing an ad highlighting Kerry's comment.

Reuters reported that the new Bush commercial's script asks "How can Kerry protect us when he doesn't understand the threat?"

Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer called the Republican charges "absolutely ridiculous."

"This is yet another example of the Bush campaign taking John Kerry's words out of context, and then blowing it up into something that is nothing," he said.

"The whole article is about how John Kerry recognizes that the war on terror requires a multipronged approach. It's not just the military aspect, but you need diplomacy to be able to enlist your allies. The Bush people have never understood that. John Kerry has always said that terrorism is the No. 1 threat to the U.S."

Kerry consistently has rejected assertions that he underestimates the threat of terrorism or views the battle against it as solely a law enforcement matter. He argues that law enforcement and intelligence are critical elements of the battle against terrorism, and that Bush has said the same thing.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who was chairman of the Democratic National Convention, where Kerry got his party's nomination in July, said on "Late Edition," "Senator Kerry has said that the No. 1 threat to America is international terrorism, al Qaeda."

 

[Amos Stevens]

Arizona debate

ASU, Tempe expect to gain from debate

10/11/2004
PHOENIX (AP) -- Tempe officials expect the city's restaurants, hotels and shops will gain $500,000 worth of business from Wednesday's presidential debate.
Meanwhile, Arizona State University officials say they'll get an opportunity to bring prestige to the school.

ASU paid $750,000 to the Commission on Presidential Debates to serve as a venue for the event. It cost an additional $1.7 million to put on the debate. Private donations offset much of those costs.

---------------------------------

Last-minute flurry to ready Gammage

The Arizona Republic
Oct. 11, 2004 12:00 AM

As local, state and federal officials put the final touches on preparations for the presidential debate Wednesday at Arizona State University, here are some things that have happened along the way:


Banner blues


The plan was to put up a giant banner on the balcony of Arizona State University's Gammage Auditorium. The banner features the ASU debate seal, which depicts the front of Gammage and an American flag. advertisement




Early Friday, ASU information officers told newspaper and TV stations to get their cameras to Gammage, but bad luck, the "cherry picker" machine detailed for the job could not raise the banner high enough on the building. Media folks had to come back at 5 p.m., when ASU officials found a bigger machine.


Finger-pointer


Inside Gammage, Clyde Parker, ASU technical director for public events, said the set that had been used in the Miami debate would arrive soon and dress up the bare stage.

"There have been many, many meetings for this debate," he said wearily. "But we're about there. At this point, most of the technical problems have been dealt with. Now, my main job is to tell people where to place things. I'm the executive finger-pointer."


Credentials


ASU information officer Carolyne Kennedy spent much of Friday explaining to journalists why, if they hadn't already applied for credentials to get inside the debate security perimeter, they weren't going to get them.

"I've had calls from dozens of people wondering why we can't just produce credentials for them," she said. "They don't seem to understand the extent of the security arrangements here and the background check that goes on for each journalist."

ASU decided to set aside a separate area on the campus for journalists without credentials.




Gammage shutdown


The frantic activity to ready Gammage for the debate and to prepare the huge (32,000-square-foot) media tent in the adjoining parking lot will come to a dead halt Tuesday at 3 p.m. At that time, everyone who isn't with a police agency must leave the area.

Then the Secret Service and other police will spend nine hours going over about every square inch with bomb detectors and probing devices to make sure nothing dangerous is on the site. At 12:15 a.m. Wednesday , the Secret Service will allow people back in.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Wash teen found alive 8 days after car crash

Wash. teen found alive 8 days after car crash
CTV.ca News Staff

The family of Laura Hatch is overjoyed that their daughter has been found alive after surviving in a ravine for eight days after crashing her car.

Hatch's family in Washington state had almost given up hope on the 17-year-old, whom they had begun to assume was dead. The local sheriff's deputies had all but written her off as a runaway.

But on Sunday morning, friends of the family found the girl's crumpled Toyota Camry 60 metres down a steep, densely vegetated embankment in Redmond, Wa. Inside was Hatch, badly hurt and severely dehydrated.

Doctors later found she also had broken facial bones and a blood clot in the brain.

It may have been the dehydration that kept the girl alive, doctors now say, because the lack of water may have kept the clot in her brain from getting bigger.

The family's friend, Sha Nohr, says it the power of prayer that saved the girl. Nohr says she had had several vivid dreams of a wooded area and heard the message, "Keep going, keep going.''

On Sunday, Nohr and her daughter volunteered to help in a search and drove to the area where the crash occurred, praying along the way.

"I just thought, 'Let her speak out to us,' '' Nohr told the Seattle Times.

Nohr said something drew her to stop and climb over a concrete barrier and head down into a steep, densely vegetated embankment. There, she found Hatch in her car.

"I told her that people were looking for her and they loved her,'' Nohr recalled, "and she said, 'I think I might be late for curfew.' ''

Hatch, who remained hospitalized Monday in serious condition, was last seen at a party Oct. 2. When she did not show up by the next day, her family filed a missing person's report.

The search was slowed for four days because there were underage drinkers at the party who were unwilling to cooperate with police, sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said.

By Oct. 6, detectives learned where the party had been held and began searching along her likely route home, Urquhart said. But by then, hope was beginning to fade.

"We had already given her up and let her be dead in our hearts,'' her mother, Jean Hatch, told KOMO-TV.

When she was found, Hatch was disoriented, thinking only a day had passed. Doctors says she is "in amazing shape for someone lost for eight days.''

Urquhart said an investigation into the accident is underway.

© 2004 Bell Globemedia Inc.

 

[Littledragon]

Army probes whether GIs broke military code.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military said Friday it is investigating whether members of a reservist unit in Iraq broke military code when they failed to follow orders to take part in a dangerous refueling mission.

The military said all 19 members of the Army's 343rd Quartermaster Company -- which has been in Iraq for nine months -- were told to report to duty Wednesday to deliver fuel from Tallil to Taji, a dangerous area north of Baghdad.

Relatives of the soldiers said the troops considered their equipment too unsafe to carry out the mission, according to The Associated Press.

One relative told CNN the gas to be delivered was contaminated with water and was previously refused on a delivery to a less dangerous area.

Some soldiers refused to take part in the mission, resulting in the investigation launched by their commanding officer to determine if there were any violations of the uniform code of military justice.

The military calls it "an isolated incident" and said it's too early in the investigation to speculate as to what exactly happened, why it happened or any action that might be taken as a result.

"Initial indication is that the soldiers scheduled for the convoy mission raised some valid concerns and the command is addressing them," the military statement said, according to Reuters, adding that some soldiers apparently expressed their concerns "in an inappropriate manner."

The mission was eventually carried out by other soldiers in the same unit.

"It was not a mutiny," said Maj. William Ritter of the 81st Reserve Support Command.

There have been no arrests, no one has been detained and everyone is back at their regular jobs, the military said.

Relatives of the reservists said the soldiers had been detained following the incident.

The soldiers refused the order because their vehicles were considered extremely unsafe, Patricia McCook told The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.

Her husband, Sgt. Larry O. McCook, was among those who refused the mission, The AP reported. She said her husband had telephoned her from Iraq saying he had been detained after disobeying orders.

Kathy Harris, the mother of 20-year-old Aaron Gordon of Vicksburg, Mississippi, said she received an e-mail from her son in the unit. It said the reservists were being ordered to deliver a load of contaminated fuel.

Harris said her son had just returned from a delivery in which the load of fuel was refused because it was contaminated and that they were being ordered to deliver the same fuel to an even more dangerous area.

He asked his mom to find out what the penalties were if he refused or if he "struck a superior officer." She said she e-mailed him back not to hit an officer.

Teresa Hill, the mother of 21-year-old Spc. Amber McClenny said her daughter left an urgent phone message Thursday about what had happened and called back Friday.

Hill said her daughter told her their punishment would depend on their actions in the next two weeks.

Her mom is concerned: "You can hear the fear in her voice," she said.

 

[Littledragon]

Kerry, Bush in search of the persuadable voter.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Persuadable voters watching the presidential debates tended to give higher marks to Democrat John Kerry than President Bush, but many sound reluctant to make a final decision in the presidential race.

"In the debates, Kerry's intelligence came through. He just seemed really thoughtful," said Mindy Kershner of San Francisco, who is still not ready to commit. "I probably won't decide until I actually vote." (Early poll gives Kerry the edge in final debate)

The three presidential debates, including the final one Wednesday night, have not answered questions some of these voters still have about the candidates. (Special Report: America Votes 2004)

Undecided Maryland voter Thomas Cox said: "Kerry is too liberal and Bush is too conservative and never the twain shall meet. We should have 'neither of the above' and try it again."

About one in five voters are persuadable, according to AP-Ipsos polling.

This includes about 5 percent undecided and another 15 percent who are leaning toward a candidate but haven't made a final decision.

For those persuadable voters who tuned in, the debates offered an extensive look at the two leading presidential candidates.

For 83-year-old Dorothy Van Asdale, of Yuma, Arizona, the debates offered a firsthand look at a Democratic candidate she knew about mostly through the narrative of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh.

"I listen to Rush Limbaugh when I'm in my car," she said.

"We can only get one radio station really clear around here. It's so negative. I never heard a good thing about Kerry."

But when she tuned in to the presidential debates, she "liked Kerry's presence. I liked the way he spoke."

A CBS News poll of 211 persuadable voters after the debates found many liked what they heard from the Democrat.

Asked who won the debate, 39 percent of the persuadable voters said Kerry, 25 percent said Bush and 36 percent said they tied.

The number of voters who thought Kerry has clear positions on the issues, doubled after the debate to six in 10.

Women were more likely than men in the CBS News poll to give Kerry high marks. The CBS poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 7 percentage points. (Special Reports: America Votes 2004, the poll tracker)

In two other post-debate polls, Kerry was judged the winner in the CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll and Bush and Kerry were tied in an ABC News poll.

It may be several days before national and state polls offer more of a long range picture.

Michele Janka, 53, of Great Falls, Virginia, said she was leaning toward Kerry but now she's undecided again because "Kerry has too many big spending plans."

"If President Bush would fire Mr. (Paul) Wolfowitz and Mr. (Douglas) Feith, I would vote for him. They have hijacked his foreign policy," the businesswoman said, referring to Wolfowitz, the U.S. deputy secretary of defense, and Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy.

"The debates were really a lot of rhetoric," said Kenneth Whitman, a 63-year-old resident of La Follette, Tennessee, who leans towards Bush.

"I don't think they really explain a whole lot to the public one way or another. I think what will do it will be just gut feeling when we get right down to the election." (Special Report: America Votes 2004, the debates)

For some in this voter group, long-range concerns override debate results.

"Really, it boils down to one thing for me personally. I feel more comfortable with Bush at this particular time," said Wayne Moser, 64, of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, "Kerry scares me because of his legislative record. Kerry's got to win me over and he didn't."

 

[Littledragon]

Police identify mystery ringleader of Madrid bombings.

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- One of the alleged ringleaders of the March 11 train bombings in Madrid was one of seven suspects who blew themselves up during a police raid on their apartment, Spain's interior ministry said Friday.

Forensic tests confirmed that Allekema Lamari, an Algerian who Spanish authorities described as "the emir of the train bombings," was among the dead, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Police searching for suspects in the train bombings raided the apartment in the Madrid district of Leganes on April 3. All seven people inside blew themselves up, killing a special operations police officer and wounding 15 other policemen.

Lamari's was the last of the bodies to be identified.

"The unidentified remains found in Leganes belong to the Algerian citizen Allekema Lamaria," the statement said.

Spanish biologists identified the body using saliva samples taken from Lamari's parents Mohammed and Teldja Lamari, the statement added.

An Interior Ministry spokeswoman, who spoke on customarily condition of anonymity, described Lamiri as "one of the ringleaders" of the train bombings.

In 1997, he was arrested by Spanish authorities and convicted of belonging to an Algerian extremist group.

He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but was released in 2002 when his sentence was reduced due to irregularities in the judicial process.

He became a prime suspect of the March 11 bombings when his fingerprints were found on a book of Quranic verses found at the Leganes apartment during the investigations led by the National Court.

DNA tests on clothes in a car that had been used by the alleged bombers also led police to suspect Lamari.

The other suspected terrorists killed in the April suicide blast were identified as: Tunisian Serhane Ben Abdelmajid, Moroccans Jamal Ahmidan, Asri Rifaat, Abdennabi Kounjaa, and Rachid and Oulad Akcha, brothers who were also from Morocco.

Officials say several of the seven were ringleaders of the attack.

Another suspect, an Egyptian called Rabei Osman Ahmed who is currently in Italian custody awaiting extradition to Spain, is also suspected of helping mastermind the Madrid train bombings.

In wiretapped telephone conversations recorded before his arrest in Milan in June, he allegedly said: "The Madrid attack is my project."

The train bombings were the worst terrorist attack in Spain: 10 bombs exploded on four morning rush-hour commuter trains, killing 191 people and injuring more than 2,000. Islamic militants with links to al-Qaeda were blamed for the attacks.

 

[Littledragon]

Police 'closing in' on Scream robbers.

OSLO, Norway (Reuters) -- Norwegian police said on Friday they were closing in on gunmen who stole Edvard Munch's masterpiece "The Scream" from an Oslo museum almost two months ago.

Police said they had identified a group of people linked to the getaway car used in the bold daytime robbery of a version of one of the world's most famous paintings in late August, the first armed theft at a gallery in Norway.

"Police believe they identified some individuals and now have to figure out who did what where," Oslo police said in a statement. "It is like an enormous jigsaw puzzle."

Two masked robbers brandished a gun and cut wires attached to "The Scream" and "Madonna," another Munch painting, and walked out of the museum's front door to a waiting car with art worth up to an estimated $90 million.

Police said they were in the last phase of technical investigation of the car, a black Audi. The car was found on the outskirts of Oslo hours after the theft of the 1893 paintings.

"The technical findings will be further analyzed, and the results will probably give police further leads in finding the criminals," police said.

The thieves let off a fire extinguisher in the car, hoping the powder would erase fingerprints or DNA genetic evidence.

The Munch museum has been among Norway's most visited tourist attractions, largely because of "The Scream," an icon of existential angst showing a waif-like figure against a blood-red sky.

The other main version of "The Scream" was stolen from Norway's National Gallery in 1994 when thieves broke a window and climbed in with a ladder on the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

The government refused to pay a ransom for "The Scream" in 1994 and police caught the thieves and recovered the picture several months later.

 

[Littledragon]

Muslim activist gets jail for Libya dealings.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) -- A prominent Muslim activist who once was invited to the White House was sentenced Friday to the maximum 23 years in prison for illegal business dealings with Libya.

Abdurahman Alamoudi pleaded guilty in July to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from high-ranking Libyan officials while serving as a go-between for them and Saudi Arabian dissidents.

Alamoudi also admitted participating in a Libyan plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Abdullah. And though he was not charged in connection with that, prosecutors cited the plot as reason for him to receive the maximum sentence.

"This conduct is so base, so reprehensible that this defendant deserves every day of prison that this court will impose upon him," government attorney Steven Ward said.

Defense lawyer Stanley Cohen asked for leniency and Alamoudi said he was sorry.

"Your honor, I regret my involvement in everything," Alamoudi said before U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton imposed the sentence.

According to a 20-page "statement of facts" filed by prosecutors, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi wanted Abdullah killed after a March 2003 Arab League Summit during which the two called each other names.

Within two weeks, Alamoudi, who had in the past frequently traveled illegally to meet Libyan government officials, was summoned to a meeting in Tripoli and told Gadhafi wanted to punish Saudi leaders. The unidentified Libyan officials wanted Alamoudi to introduce them to Saudi dissidents who could create "headaches" for the Saudi regime, authorities said.

Alamoudi was not initially told the ultimate plan was to assassinate Abdullah, learning of it only several months later from an unidentified "high-ranking Libyan government official," the papers said.

Last year, a Libyan official paid Alamoudi $250,000. Court documents indicate Alamoudi used some of the cash for himself and transferred the rest to two others for personal use.

Alamoudi received more cash from Libya and provided some to the Saudi dissidents. He was carrying $340,000 of that cash in England when it was seized by airport authorities there during a routine baggage search. Alamoudi was questioned about the money but not arrested.

He returned to Libya and was arrested September 28, 2003, when he returned to the United States.

Alamoudi is a founder of the American Muslim Council and related American Muslim Foundation. He visited the White House during the Clinton administration and participated in a group discussion with George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign.