North America

3 Indicted in Suspected Plot on East Coast Finance Sites (NYT) - Three men have been indicted in the suspected terrorist plot at financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington that led to the security crackdown last summer in the Northeast, the Justice Department announced Tuesday (4/12). A four-count federal indictment unsealed Tuesday said the men conducted scouting missions from the summer of 2000 through April 2001 at the New York Stock Exchange and Citicorp building in New York, the Prudential Building in Newark and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.

Anti-terrorism Plan Would Track Overseas Wire Transfers (NYT) - The Bush administration is developing a plan to give the government access to possibly hundreds of millions of international banking records in an effort to trace and deter terrorist financing. The initiative would vastly expand the government's database of financial transactions by gaining access to logs of international wire transfers into and out of American banks. Such overseas transactions were used by the Sept. 11 hijackers to wire more than $130,000, officials said, and are still believed to be available to terrorist financiers.

Middle East

Palestinian Gunmen Sign Peace Pledge for Jobs (Reuters) - More than 200 Palestinian militants have pledged not to carry out acts of violence in exchange for jobs, in a first step toward disarming gunmen wanted by Israel, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday (4/12). The effort to secure signed pledges has been aimed mainly at Fatah militants in the West Bank. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Islamic factions sworn to Israel's destruction, have refused to lay down arms although they have committed to a de facto truce.

Hamas Says de facto Truce at Risk of Collapse (Reuters) - Hamas has said a de facto truce was in danger of collapse due to Israel's failure to release all the Palestinian prisoners it had promised and its continuing military actions in occupied territory. Israel has said that despite the truce it reserves the right to act against militants it considers "ticking bombs".

Islamic Jihad Says Truce with Israel Still in Force (Reuters) - A top leader of Islamic Jihad said on Saturday (4/9) a de facto truce with Israel was still in force despite the Israeli army's killing of three Palestinian youths in the Gaza Strip. He spoke after a leader of a branch of Islamic Jihad said it was no longer bound by the truce.

U.S. Reopens Embassy in Yemen after Attack Fear (Reuters) - - The U.S. embassy in Yemen reopened on Monday (4/11) after a two-day closure over concerns of possible militant attacks in the Arab state. The British embassy was also shut down due to the fears.

Hezbollah Claims U.S. Tried to Open Relations after 9/11 (New York Sun) - A Hezbollah leader told a delegation of former European and American officials that the Bush administration approached the organization for talks following September 11, 2001, and that the group would be open to new discussions. A spokesman for the National Security Council denied the claim: "There was no envoy or outreach to Hezbollah following September 11."

Hezbollah Outlines Arms Talks Conditions (Reuters) - Hezbollah would be prepared to discuss the fate of its armed wing if Israel withdrew from a disputed border area, the group's deputy leader said in a British newspaper interview Friday (4/8). Sheikh Naim Kassem said one alternative could involve Hezbollah's fighters becoming a kind of "reservist army" working with Lebanese authorities, the Financial Times reported. The United States and United Nations have called for Hezbollah to be disarmed.

Hezbollah Spy Drone Flies over Israel (AP) - Hezbollah flew a spy drone over northern Israel Monday (4/11) in retaliation for Israeli overflights in Lebanon, the militant group said. It was the second time in recent months the Lebanese Shiite Muslim guerrilla group sent a drone over Israel.

Iraq

Military Raid in Baghdad Captures 65 (NYT) - Hundreds of Iraqi troops and commandos backed by American soldiers swept through central and southern Baghdad early Monday (4/11) morning, capturing at least 65 suspected insurgents in one of the largest raids in the capital since the fall of Saddam Hussein, military officials said. Those captured included men suspected of assassinations, beheadings, kidnappings and attacks on Iraqi and American forces.

Zarqawi Rejects Amnesty Offer (Turkish Daily News) - Al-Qaeda's wing in Iraq dismissed an amnesty offered to insurgents by Iraq's newly elected president, calling Jalal Talabani America's "tail," according to an Internet statement posted on Sunday (4/10). Talabani, a veteran Kurdish leader, said after being sworn in last week that the government's top priority would be to bring stability to Iraq and that some insurgents might be offered an amnesty if their crimes were not too serious.

Suicide Bombings Kill 10 in Iraq (Reuters) - Suicide car bombings around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have killed 10 Iraqi civilians, the U.S. military says. Military statements said on Tuesday (4/12) that five Iraqis were killed by a suicide car bomb in northern Mosul, including a family of four. Five others died in a similar attack in the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul.

Afghanistan and Pakistan

German Spy Chief: U.S. Decision to Let Afghans Chase bin Laden was Mistake (AP) - Osama bin Laden bribed Afghan militias to give him free passage into hiding after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the head of Germany's spy agency was quoted Tuesday (4/12) as saying, in remarks critical of the United States.

Europe

Tunisian Acquitted in German Terror Case (Washington Post) - A Tunisian man accused of planning attacks on Jewish or American targets in Berlin was acquitted of terrorism charges Wednesday (4/6), but found guilty of lesser offenses, including tax evasion and illegal possession of weapons. Ihsan Garnaoui, 34, the defendant in tightly guarded proceedings known in Germany as the "Berlin al-Qaeda trial," was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

Spain Frees 9 Madrid Bombing Suspects (Reuters) - A Spanish judge released nine suspects in the Madrid train bombing investigation from detention on Wednesday (4/6), ruling there was insufficient evidence to remand them, a court official said. 

Asia

Kashmir Bus Passenger Complex Attacked (Reuters) - Islamic Militants attacked and set afire on Wednesday (4/6) a heavily guarded complex housing people due to take a historic bus across divided Kashmir, but security forces said the passengers were safe. The bus was due to take passengers from Kashmir to the Pakistani sector on Thursday, reuniting families from the divided Himalayan region in a major boost to the peace process between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. Militants opposed to the peace process had threatened to turn the bus into a “coffin.”

Ten Die, 20 Hurt in Kashmir Violence (AFP) - Ten people were killed and 20 injured Sunday (4/10) in a grenade blast and in clashes between militants and soldiers and police in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

This report was compiled by Jonathan L. Snow and edited by Avi Jorisch. 

- Mr. Snow is the Manager of Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies 

- Avi Jorisch is an FDD Senior Fellow.