Free Republic

The militant is known as Abu Ubaida al Masri, and charting his path reveals his vulnerabilities and those of the terrorist group. COPENHAGEN -- If Al Qaeda strikes the West in the coming months, it's likely the mastermind will be a stocky Egyptian explosives expert with two missing fingers. His alias is Abu Ubaida al Masri. Hardly anyone has heard of him outside a select circle of anti-terrorism officials and Islamic militants. He has overseen the major plots that the network needs to stay viable, investigators say: the London transportation bombings in 2005, a foiled transatlantic "spectacular" aimed at U.S.-bound...

Sep 2, 2007, 13:56 GMT Munich - A German-based Islamist who was detained for several weeks in Pakistan on suspicion of links with terrorism has been denied residency back home in Germany and sent to his country of citizenship, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a news magazine said Sunday. Focus quoted German authorities as confirming that the 29-year-old man from the south-western city of Pforzheim was taken in the middle of last week to Bosnia and placed in custody there. Asked Sunday by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa for confirmation, a federal interior ministry spokesman declined to comment. No other details were available. German officials had...

Did Clinton nod to Mubarak overthrow? Book suggests foreign policy goof led to Luxor terror massacre © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com A secret deal between the Clinton administration and terrorists linked with Osama bin Laden led directly to the senseless slaughter of some 70 West European tourists and the wounding of hundreds, according to a book written by a former congressional terrorism expert. According to Yossef Bodansky, author of "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America," a Central Intelligence Agency operative dealing with Islamic terrorists on matters of security for the U.S. forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina led them to believe President Clinton ...

VATICAN CITY, SEP 25, 2006 (VIS) - This morning in the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo, Benedict XVI received Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and representatives from Muslim-majority countries that maintain diplomatic links with the Holy See. Participating in the meeting were heads of mission from Kuwait, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, Albania, the Arab League, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Iran and Azerbaijan. Also present were 14 members of the Islamic Council of Italy and representatives from the Italian Islamic Cultural Center and the Office of...

Russia says it will pump more gas to Europe after various countries said their supplies had fallen by up to 40% after Moscow cut Ukraine's provision. France, Italy, Germany and Poland were among those reporting falling volumes. Russia said it was sending an extra 95m cubic metres a day to make up for gas "stolen" by Ukraine. Ukraine denies it has siphoned off $25m (£15m) worth of gas from a pipeline crossing its territory after Russia cut off its supply in a price dispute. Russian gas monopoly Gazprom raised the price of 1,000 cubic metres of gas from $50 to...

Researcher Says Balkan Hill Is Pyramid Visocica Hill Is 2,300 Feet High SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- A Sarajevo-born researcher said he has discovered an ancient pyramid in the hills of central Bosnia.

Islam is no laughing matter. The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten is being protected by security guards and several cartoonists have gone into hiding after the newspaper published a series of twelve cartoons (view them here) about the prophet Muhammad. According to the Islam it is blasphemous to make images of the prophet. Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to bomb the paper’s offices and kill the cartoonists. The newspaper published the cartoons when a Danish author complained that he could find no-one to illustrate his book about Muhammad. Jyllands-Posten wondered whether there were more cases of self-censorship regarding Islam in Denmark and asked...

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- When NATO forces first came to Bosnia nearly a decade ago, they lived in heavily guarded compounds, patrolled the streets in tanks, and often wore full body armor. Now, as part of an effort to bring the troops closer to the people they are protecting, scores of soldiers rent ordinary homes in communities throughout the country, shop in neighborhood stores, eat at local cafes, and conduct what military officials call "soft patrols" without flak jackets or helmets. The changes, which one military official called "the next step in the evolution of peacekeeping," leave troops in Sarajevo exposed...

Former Bosnian President Izetbegovic Dies Former Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic Dies of Complications After Fall at Age 78 The Associated Press SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina Oct. 19 — Alija Izetbegovic, who led Bosnia's Muslims during the 1992-95 war for independence then became one of the multiethnic republic's first postwar presidents, died Sunday, a hospital official said. He was 78. Izetbegovic died of complications that developed after he was hospitalized for injuries sustained from a fall in his home, said Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanovic, the head of Sarajevo's Kosevo clinic. "The former president of Bosnian-Herzegovina died in the Kosevo hospital today," Gavrankapetanovic was quoted...

Clinton Opens Massacre Memorial in BosniaALEXANDAR S. DRAGICEVICAssociated Press A Bosnian Muslim woman weeps as she squats next to the grave of her relative in the foggy morning during a memorial ceremony for 107 identified victims of the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995. AMEL EMRIC, Associated Press. SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Former President Clinton called for ethnic and religious tolerance Saturday as he joined survivors of Europe's worst massacre since World War II in opening a memorial center for the victims.Srebrenica, 50 miles northeast of Sarajevo, had been declared a "safe zone" by the United Nations when it was overrun...