Posts Tagged ‘ Iraq ’
How the Al Qaeda Terrorism Threat is Mutating
Terrorist chieftain Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding in one of the world’s most remote areas-the tribal territories between Pakistan and Afghanistan-but tracking him down remains a priority for the CIA, seven years after the 9/11 attacks. At the moment, bin Laden “appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of...
CIA Director says al Qaeda is on the run in Indonesia, but is getting stronger in the Middle East and Africa
CIA Director Michael Hayden said today that a once-feared Indonesian al Qaeda affiliate, Jemaah Islamayih, has increasingly been disrupted in its terrorist actions.
Along Iran Border, Iraqi Forces Take More Responsibility as U.S. Troops Begin Stepping Back
KHANAQIN, IRAQ–The five men led the train of 17 donkeys quietly through the still and clear night. The braying animals, weighed down with explosives, were strung together with ropes, so that a mere handful of men could conduct the entire convoy. The smugglers made their way through the crumbling soil of the desert, choosing...
U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Battle a Dangerous Foe Under the Ground—Land Mines
MANDALI, IRAQ-For the U.S. military engineers working this desolate stretch of heavily mined land along the border between Iraq and Iran, the danger isn’t what they can see but what they cannot.
Iraqi Insurgents Build House Bombs to Deter Refugees from Returning Home
NAQUIB, Iraq—Flying several hundred feet over the Diyala River basin in eastern Iraq, it’s not difficult to see why one government leader here calls it a disaster area. Shattered remains of houses dot the landscape, both over the brown and dusty desert areas and the lush, green river basins that have earned this area...
In Iraq, U.S. Marines Rely on Allies Like a Hatchet-Wielding Colonel to Keep the Peace
RAMADI, IRAQ-Col. Ahmed Hamid Sharqi was many things-businessman, smuggler, policeman for Saddam Hussein. Now, the U.S. marines stationed here consider him one of their greatest assets in keeping the streets of the capital of Anbar province-only recently some of the most dangerous in the world-safe.