Terrorism

24 August 2008 -- Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber has struck a dinner feast west of Baghdad, killing at least 25 people and wounding 32 others.

Officials say the attacker blew himself up at the home of a local sheikh who was celebrating his son's release from U.S. detention. The guests at the dinner included members of a Sunni Awakening council -- a U.S.-allied militia group that has turned against al-Qaida.

In other violence Sunday, a double bomb attack in Baghdad against Iraqi security forces killed four people. In the eastern province of Diyala, a roadside bomb killed four Iraqi soldiers in the town of Balad Ruz, while gunmen also killed two policemen in Baquba, the provincial capital.    » read more »

23 August 2008 -- A suicide bomber blew himself up in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk Saturday, killing at least five people and wounding at least eight others.

Local police say among those killed at a car dealership in the southern part of the city was a senior member of a U.S.-allied Sunni group from Diyala province.

Earlier Saturday, unknown gunmen killed an adviser to Iraq's culture minister in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad. Authorities say Kamel Shiya was driving on a highway when the gunmen opened fire, killing him and wounding his bodyguard.    » read more »

21 August 2008 -- Authorities in Pakistan say at least 15 people have been killed in two explosions outside a weapons factory Thursday.

The blasts occurred simultaneously at two gates outside the military facility in the town of Wah. Several people were also wounded in the explosions.

Preliminary reports suggest the explosions were caused by two suicide bombers.

Pakistani security has been engaged in a growing battle with Islamic militants based in tribal regions along the Pakistani border.

Source: VOA News

Push Ban To Keep Dangerous Materials Out Of Terrorists' Hands

August 12, 2008 -- Today Representative Peter King (R-NY), Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo warned that current restrictions on access to highly enriched uranium (HEU) are too lax and could potentially lead to terrorists acquiring the potentially lethal material. There are seven civilian facilities across the country that continue to use HEU even though safer alternative materials exist.    » read more »

August 7, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the tenth anniversary of the African embassy bombings:

"Ten years ago, al Qaeda carried out simultaneous attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Two hundred and twenty-four people were killed, including 12 Americans. Some 5,000 more people were wounded. The pain those bombings inflicted on the loved ones of the Americans that we lost - and on the people and economies of Kenya and Tanzania - can never be fully measured nor healed. I renew my condolences to all of those whose lives were changed forever on that day.    » read more »

Washington, DC, July 17, 2008 --The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated four leaders of al Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a terrorist organization that has carried out numerous attacks in Algeria. On July 3, 2008, these four individuals were added to the United Nations Consolidated List of individuals and entities associated with Usama Bin Laden, al Qaida, and the Taliban.    » read more »

House Homeland Security Committee must exercise oversight over DHS’s creation of militarized zones within the US

WASHINGTON, DC, 7/17/2008 – Today, when Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on the committee to exercise vigorous oversight of the many DHS programs that endanger U.S. citizens’ privacy and civil liberties without increasing security. DHS’s unchecked detention and deportation powers have resulted in abusive interrogations of families with children at checkpoints, creation of militarized zones within the U.S. and widespread fear in immigrant communities facing natural disasters.    » read more »