World support for King's int'l counter-terrorism center initiative

Yemeni president says Israel-linked terrorist cell dismantled

Yemeni call on Red Sea Arab countries to consider naval security

UNSC sanctions int'l force to protect Somali coasts

Pakistani parliament discusses overall anti-terror strategy

Identities of two terrorists killed in security operations back 2005 was revealed by the Saudi Interior Ministry.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Interior Ministry said that the terrorists, who were among 15 others killed in the operation, were identified as Saudi nationals Saud Mohammad Al-Sadoun and Mishaal Al-Harbi.

Both terrorists were involved in operations against innocent civilians in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan as well as spreading extremist ideologies through the distribution of flayers promoting violence and terror.

Yemen announced the dismantling of a "terrorist cell" which Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said was linked to Israeli intelligence services.

"A terrorist cell was arrested five days ago and will be referred to the judicial authorities for its links with the Israeli intelligence services," Saleh was quoted as saying by the official Saba news agency.

He said the group operated under the "slogan of Islam." Israel is considered an enemy by Islamist militants.

It was not immediately clear if Saleh was referring to militants belonging to a group calling itself Islamic Jihad, who were arrested last month. A Yemeni security official told Reuters that authorities had found evidence of contacts by those militants with Israelis.

The Yemeni president made the statement during a meeting with politicians, security and military officials, and tribal leaders at Al-Mukalla University in the eastern province of Hadhramaut.

Saleh did not say how many people were arrested or give details on their links to Israeli intelligence.

"Details of the trial will be announced later," he told the gathering.

"You will hear about what goes on in the proceedings," Saleh said, urging Yemen's political parties to close ranks and cooperate to confront acts of terrorism, Saba reported.

In August, Yemeni security forces arrested five suspected al-Qaeda militants in Hadhramaut, days after the authorities revealed they had uncovered a new "terrorist" cell near the port city of al-Mukalla.

Yemen, ancestral homeland of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, has been battling suspected al-Qaeda militants since before the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula country has in past months seen a series of attacks on security services and oil installations claimed by groups linked to al-Qaeda.

The latest attack in September targeted the U.S. embassy in the capital Sana'a, where 18 people were killed when militants detonated a booby-trapped car before firing a volley of rockets at the heavily fortified mission. The attack was the second since April targeting the U.S. embassy.

The twin suicide car bombings on the embassy were the biggest militant operation in Yemen since the attacks on the French tanker Limburg in 2002 and the U.S. warship Cole in 2000.

The government joined the U.S.-led war against terrorism following the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001.

It has jailed scores of militants in connection with bombings of Western targets and clashes with authorities, but is still viewed in the West as a haven for Islamist militants.

It is essential to join forces with all countries located on the borders of the Red Sea to fight the increased piracy in the south of the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aden to guarantee safety and security of ships said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abu Bakr al-Qurbi.

Al-Qurbi said that all countries located in the Red and Arabian Sea has to bear their responsibilities in coordinating strategic planning amongst them to fight piracy and not to depend on foreign countries. The visit that President Saleh made last week to Jordan and Egypt came in the frame of coordinating with the countries located on the Red Sea and to gather efforts to combat the phenomena of maritime piracy perpetrated by Somali pirates.

“Yemen is very concerned about the safety and security of the Red Sea and the Arabian national security,” said al-Qurbi, calling on all foreign donor countries to assist Yemen in its fight against terrorism.

Terrorist attacks and other extremist attacks have cost Yemen more than two billion dollars of economic losses, which extremely affects the economic state of Yemen, who is one of the weakest economies in the world.

Official sources said that currently there are a number of US and British ships in the Yemen territorial water guaranteeing safety for traveling.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution urging states to deploy naval vessels and military aircraft to actively join the fight against rampant piracy off the coast of lawless Somalia.

Resolution 1838 "calls upon all states interested in the security of maritime activities to take part actively in the fight against piracy on the high seas off the coast of Somalia, in particular by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft."

The French-drafted text urges states with naval vessels and military aircraft operating on the high seas and airspace off the Somali coast "to use the necessary means, in conformity with international law ... for the repression of acts of piracy."

It again "condemns and deplores all acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia."

It said that "the provisions in this resolution apply only with respect to the situation in Somalia and shall not affect the rights or obligations or responsibilities of member states under international law."

Last June, the 15-member Council had already adopted a resolution empowering states to send warships into Somalia's territorial waters with the government's consent to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea.

The June resolution had given a six-month mandate to states cooperating with Somalia's transitional government (TFG) in fighting piracy to "enter the territorial waters of Somalia for the purposes of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

The waters off Somalia - which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity - are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

Dozens of ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized by pirates off Somalia's 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) of largely unpatrolled coastline.

The pirates operate high-powered speedboats and are heavily armed, sometimes holding ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners.

Pirates holding a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and military hardware with 21-member crew off the coast of Somalia said that a deal could be reached soon for the vessel's release.

"A deal might be sealed and then we will issue a statement regarding the end of the matter," said Sugule Ali, a spokesman for the estimated 50 pirates holding the MV Faina since Sept. 25.

The pirate wouldn't comment on the amount of ransom being negotiated.

Mortar rounds slammed into a market in Somalia's capital, killing at least 21 people, after a failed insurgent attack on the presidential palace.

Also, a remote-controlled land mine killed a Somali driver and wounded two aid workers — an Italian and a Somali — some 60 miles southwest of Mogadishu. The aid workers' injuries were not critical, Dr. Abdi Rahman said.

Witnesses said those killed in the capital included a 13-year-old. The fighting began when insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace but missed, according to military spokesman Dahir Hersi.

Al-Shabab, a radical Islamic group at the heart of the Somali insurgency, claimed responsibility for the initial attack.

Mortar shells then slammed into the Bakara Market, where people can buy everything from packets of rice and sugar to grenades and AK-47s. The government suspects insurgents use the market as a base and it often comes under fire.

Twenty-four humanitarian workers have been killed in Somalia this year, 52 aid groups issued a joint statement calling for international help for the devastated people.

"The international community has completely failed Somali civilians," the statement said. It appealed to the warring sides to allow aid workers unhindered access to all parts of Somalia.

"The poorest of Mogadishu's residents have no means to flee the extreme violence and have limited means to earn a living, leaving them completely dependent on humanitarian assistance," the statement said.

Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.

A quarter of Somali children die before age 5; nearly every public institution has collapsed. Fighting is a daily occurrence, with violent deaths reported nearly every day.

Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaeda have been battling the government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. Within weeks of being driven out, the Islamists launched an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians.

In recent months, the militants appear to be gaining strength. The group has taken over the port of Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, and dismantled pro-government roadblocks. They also effectively closed the Mogadishu airport by threatening to attack any plane using it.

Human Rights Watch welcomes this initiative by the United Nations Security Council to discuss the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Somalia. The situation in Somalia is one of the world’s starkest and most neglected tragedies. In basic human terms the scope of the crisis is enormous. It is also a situation with serious regional implications that must be squarely addressed by the Security Council.

Since early 2007, thousands of civilians have been killed in appalling circumstances: crushed to death in their homes after indiscriminate bombardment; injured by shrapnel from mortars, heavy artillery, and bullets and dying slow, agonizing deaths when they are unable to reach medical care; deliberately executed by members of armed groups on all sides; and caught in ceaseless crossfire in densely-populated neighborhoods. Thousands more have been injured, assaulted, raped, and looted of all their property as they fled the violence in Mogadishu. Each day adds to the toll of civilian deaths and injuries.

Up to 700,000 people have been displaced by violence from their homes in Mogadishu in the past year, with 50,000 people displaced in the first months of 2008 alone. These newly displaced people join some 400,000 people who were previously displaced, plus several hundred thousand Somali refugees, for a total of more than one million internally displaced people in south-central Somalia—at least ten percent of the entire population.

UN agencies currently estimate that up to sixty percent of Mogadishu’s residents have fled the city. Many people remain camped on the fringes of the capital in squalid camps. Malnutrition rates are reportedly rising among children. Humanitarian agencies face huge challenges in their efforts to provide assistance to the displaced people and other vulnerable groups living in other areas of Somalia, partly due to continuing obstruction, but also due to serious security concerns. Compounding the humanitarian needs, the poor rains are contributing to increased fear of drought across the region.

Pakistan's new spy chief briefed lawmakers in an unusual private session focused on the fledgling government's fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants entrenched in the tribal belt along the Afghan border.

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier indicates the way to a motorist at a closed road leading to national assembly in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008. Security is beefed up in the capital as Pakistani lawmakers are heading into a debate over the government's tough line against terrorism amid rising violence between security forces and Islamic militants.

The government called the special session of parliament as it sought political unity to stabilize this key U.S. ally in the war on terror. Officials said the briefing was an effort to include opposition parties in the policy discussion.

Some lawmakers said they expected to be sworn to secrecy.

"We are fighting the war against terrorism and we will welcome any good advice or suggestion," Law Minister Farooq Naek said before the meeting began.

Army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan confirmed that the army general newly appointed as head of the country's main spy agency, Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, was talking to lawmakers.

Pakistan and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who is rumored to be hiding somewhere along the Pakistan-Afghan border, came up during the U.S. presidential debate.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama said if the U.S. had a chance to attack bin Laden on Pakistani soil, it should do so if Pakistan was unable or unwilling. Republican John McCain chided Obama as being too bellicose, characterizing his statement as a plan to "attack Pakistan"--something Obama denied.

Pakistan's pro-Western President Asif Ali Zardari's government has pleaded with the U.S. to halt stepped up cross-border operations--usually missile strikes--into Pakistan's border areas, saying they only fuel sympathy for extremists.

An opposition leader and ex-premier, Nawaz Sharif, warned that a national counterterrorism policy cannot be crafted overnight.

"This needs a detailed discussion and deliberation in the parliament for days to reach a consensus national policy to counter the threat of terrorism," Sharif told reporters.

"It was essential that those who are responsible for law making and who are representing the people should get insight about what actually going on in the country," Information Minister Sherry Rehman said.

Security was tight around the parliament building, with concrete barriers and barbed wire ringing a large perimeter outside the facility. The media was not allowed in.

Army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan confirmed that the army general newly appointed as head of the country's main spy agency, Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, spoke to lawmakers. Pasha is the director general of military operations and is expected to take up his spy posting soon.

Afterward, some lawmakers told television channels that while they could not mention specifics of what was discussed, they had hoped for more depth.

"The briefing that was given to us was rather superficial. It was more like the description of the symptoms than diagnosis of the disease," said Khurram Dastagir, a member of the opposition party of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

"I am seeking to find out what is causing this extremism and how did it come about," he said in an interview on Dawn News Television.

Sharif painted the session as a sign that Pakistan had truly moved to civilian rule after years of being under the military rule of Musharraf, who quit the presidency in August.

"Parliament is a sovereign body and it should be given right to discuss the matter and come up with a national policy," Sharif said.

Syria has released into U.S. custody two American journalists who Syrian officials said had illegally entered the country, a senior State Department official said.

The editor, Sameer Barhoum, said both journalists told him they were in good health and would return to Amman.

Chmela and Luck had not been heard from since October 1, when they left the Lebanese capital of Beirut, where they were vacationing.

The Syrian foreign ministry announced that the pair had been arrested on suspicion of illegally crossing from Lebanon into northern Syria with the help of a smuggler.

The ministry said it summoned U.S. Charge d'Affaires Maura Connelly at noon local time to inform her that they had been arrested.

Luck, an editor with the Jordan Times, and Chmela, who had worked as a freelancer for the newspaper, arrived in Beirut on September 29, Barhoum said.

They had planned to travel by land to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo before returning to Jordan -- also by land --, Barhoum said.

Luck's mother called Barhoum after she hadn't heard from her son in three days, he said. His mother said the last time Luck used his credit card was October 1 in Lebanon, according to Barhoum.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut asked for help in finding the missing Americans.

After learning that the journalists were in Syrian custody, Luck's family released a statement thanking the U.S. State Department.

"We are grateful to so many in the U.S. State Department [in Washington, Beirut, Damascus and Amman] for all of their hard work that resulted in locating them," the statement said. "'Thank you' will never convey the gratitude we feel toward everyone involved in this extraordinary international effort."

A federal judge ordered the Bush administration to release 17 detainees at Guantanamo Bay by the end of the week, the first such ruling in nearly seven years of legal disputes over the administration’s detention policies.

“I think the moment has arrived for the court to shine the light of constitutionality on the reasons for detention,” Judge Urbina said.

Saying the men had never fought the United States and were not a security threat, he tersely rejected Bush administration claims that he lacked the power to order the men set free in the United States and government requests that he stay his order to permit an immediate appeal.

The ruling was a sharp setback for the administration, which has waged a long legal battle to defend its policies of detention at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, arguing a broad executive power in waging war. Federal courts up to the Supreme Court have waded through detention questions and in several major cases the courts have rejected administration contentions.

The government recently conceded that it would no longer try to prove that the Uighurs were enemy combatants, the classification it uses to detain people at Guantanamo, where 255 men are now held. But it has fought efforts by lawyers for the men to have them released into the United States, saying the Uighurs admitted to receiving weapons training in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The White House press secretary, Dana Perino, said the administration was “deeply concerned by, and strongly disagrees with” the decision. She added that the ruling, “if allowed to stand, could be used as precedent for other detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, including sworn enemies of the United States suspected of planning the attacks of 9/11, who may also seek release into our country.”

Justice Department lawyers said they were filing an emergency application for a stay from the federal appeals court in Washington.

Judge Urbina’s decision came in a habeas corpus lawsuit authorized by a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June that gave detainees the right to have federal judges review the reason for their detention. Speaking from the bench in a courtroom crowded with Uighur supporters of the detainees, Judge Urbina suggested that the government was seeking a stay as a tactic to keep the men imprisoned.

“All of this means more delay,” he said with evident impatience, “and delay is the name of the game up until this point.” The centuries-old doctrine of habeas corpus permits a judge to demand production of a prisoner, a power Judge Urbina sought to exercise with his order that the men be brought to him.

“I want to see the individuals,” he said.

The Uighurs have long been at the center of contentious legal cases because they said they were swept into detention in Afghanistan in 2001 by mistake. They said they were in Afghanistan to seek refuge from China, where the Uighurs, Turkic Muslims, often bridle at Han Chinese rule.

The Bush administration has fought the Uighurs in court for years, contending that their encampment in Afghanistan had ties to a Uighur terror group. Last summer, a federal appeals court ridiculed as inadequate the government’s secret evidence for holding one of the men. In the months since, the government has said that it would “serve no useful purpose” to continue to try to prove that any of these 17 men were enemy combatants.

Lawyers for the Uighurs said the men would be persecuted or killed if they were returned to China. The administration said that since transferring five Uighur detainees to Albania in 2006, it had been unable to persuade governments to accept the other 17. Diplomats say many governments fear reprisal by China, which considers Uighur separatist groups terrorists.

The administration insisted during arguments that the courts did not have the power to release the men into the United States.

Judge Urbina, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, underscored the significance of his ruling with repeated references to the constitutional separation of powers and the judiciary’s role.

He rejected Justice Department arguments as assertions of executive power to detain people indefinitely without court review. He said that “is not in keeping with our system of government.”

More than 40 Uighurs, a few in native attire that included sequined velvet caps, watched in anxious silence. Only when the judge rose to leave the bench did they break into applause.