ALGERIA: In no hurry to recognize Libyan rebel government

Algeria will not recognize Libyan rebels' new government until it makes a strong commitment to fight Al Qaeda in North Africa, an Algerian government source told Reuters.

The high-ranking source, who asked not to be identified, also said Algeria, a U.S. ally in the campaign against Al Qaeda, had evidence that Libyan militants it had handed over to Moammar Kadafi's government are now at large in Libya and some have joined the rebels.

“There is proof that Libyan Islamists who were delivered by Algeria to Tripoli have managed to flee and join the rebels. We even saw one of them on Al Jazeera television, speaking in the name of the NTC,” said the source, referring to the rebels' National Transitional Council government.

More than 30 countries recognize the NTC as the legitimate representative of Libya.

The Algerian press has carried reports [link in French] about ongoing fighting in Tripoli.

PAKISTAN: Osama bin Laden's wife questioned, scrutinized in wake of raid

Amal Sadah, 29, became Osama bin Laden's fifth wife a year before the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, according to CNN. The Yemeni bride was 18; the Al Qaeda leader was 43.

Sheikh Rashed Mohammed Saeed Ismail, an Al Qaeda leader in Yemen, told the Yemen Post in 2008 that he arranged the marriage.

“I was the match-maker for his wife Amal al-Sadah, who was one of my students," Ismail said.

He said he accompanied the young bride-to-be to Afghanistan in July 2000.

Last year, Ismail described Sadah to journalist Hala Jaber as pious.

“Even at her young age, she was religious and spiritual enough, and believed in the things that Bin Laden -- a very religious, pious and spiritual man -- believed in," he said.

EGYPT: Islamic leader condemns Osama bin Laden's sea burial

The head of Cairo's Al Azhar institution, the most influential seat of Sunni Muslim learning, said that the burial of Osama bin Laden at sea was a violation of Islamic tradition.

The action “runs contrary to the principles of Islamic laws, religious values and humanitarian customs," Sheik Ahmed Tayeb was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

The customary Muslim practice is to place the body in a grave with the head pointed toward the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Sea burials are permitted only when death occurs on a ship, and the body cannot be quickly brought to shore, religious scholars said.

U.S. officials said a burial at sea was chosen after Bin Laden was killed in a firefight in Pakistan because no country would accept the remains. They said Muslim tradition was followed, with the body washed, wrapped in a white sheet and buried within 24 hours.

— Alexandra Zavis

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SAUDI ARABIA: Muted response to Osama bin Laden's death

 

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, expressed hope Monday that the death of its most notorious native son would help the battle against terrorism. 

“An official source expressed the hope of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that the elimination of the leader of the terrorist Al Qaeda organization would be a step toward supporting international efforts aimed at fighting terrorism," the state’s official news agency said, Reuters news agency reported.

The muted reaction underscored Saudi Arabia’s complicated history with Bin Laden.

As a young man in the 1980s, Bin Laden helped Saudi efforts in funding Arab fighters battling the Soviet-backed Afghanistan government.

Eventually, Bin Laden turned against the Saudi royal family over its decision to allow U.S. troops on the Arabian peninsula during Iraq’s 1990-1991 invasion of Kuwait. He was stripped of his citizenship in 1994, but his family retained privileged status in Saudi Arabia.

Bin Laden’s radical politics continued to hold sway with some Saudi youth as Al Qaeda carried out attacks in the desert kingdom mainly in 2003. With an internal crackdown against Al Qaeda, Saudi fighters headed to Iraq to battle the US military and Iraq’s Shiite-led government through 2007.

Only after concerted pressure from the Americans, did the Saudi royal family make a serious effort to try to stop the the migration of young Saudi radicals to Iraq.

— Ned Parker in Cairo

Photo: Saudi men watch a TV broadcasting a report about Osama bin Laden in Riyadh. Credit: Hassan Ammar/AP

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MUSLIM WORLD: Radical Islamist websites praise and squabble over Bin Laden

 
On radical Islamist websites, tributes started to pour in for Osama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda mastermind, who was killed by the U.S. military in Pakistan. The accolades illustrated Bin Laden’s enduring appeal in extremist circles.

On one radical website, called Al Hasahisa, the messages paid tribute to Bin Laden’s legacy as the man who launched the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and built up networks of jihadists around the globe under the umbrella name Al Qaeda.

“He was like a renewer of Islam. He was eminent not only as a Mujahid [Islamic warrior], but as a religious scholar,” Muntasir Taj wrote online. “So, it is not strange that all of Islam is saying eulogies and sending condolences. Even if he is dead, his sweet-smelling reputation is not. He was like a father for all, he was the Imam of all, and all times.”

Photos: The death of Osama bin Laden

A site called Jazeeratalk.net propagated the theory that Bin Laden wasn’t even dead. It compared old pictures of him with a photo of his corpse and concluded the latest images were digitally altered. One Facebook page dedicated to Bin Laden’s memory included promises of revenge. There, a man, named Ayam Omry, wrote  “You worshippers of the Cross, don’t be happy and celebrate a lot. Death will invade you in your homes.”

A notorious Al Qaeda ideologue who goes by the name Asad Jihad2, the Lion of Jihad, weighed in with an online eulogy counseling patience, according to the Associated Press. “Woe to his enemies. By God, we will avenge the killing of the Sheik of Islam," he posted. "Those who wish that Jihad has ended or weakened, I tell them: Let us wait a little bit."

Jihad2, who often comments on religious and doctrinal disputes for Islamic fighters, urged true believers to bide their time. "The battle between us and international tyranny is long and will not be stopped by the martyrdom of our beloved one, the lion of Islam," he added. "How many martyrdom seekers have been born today?"

On at least one militant website, arguments broke out over Bin Laden’s legacy. The arguments showed what a  divisive figure he had become since the Sept. 11 attacks and that day's decade-long aftermath of bloodshed across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

“Go to hell, Go to hell Qaeda, nobody is sorry for you,” Hiqooq Ensan wrote on a website called Palestine. His words prompted several heated defenses of Bin Laden.

One user praised Al Qaeda for “launching harmful strikes to the American enemy” and then warned Essan: “You should be afraid of God and you will be punished for the bad words you are saying about Qaeda and Bin Laden.”

RELATED:

Full coverage: U.S. kills Osama bin Laden

Bin Laden had been losing support in Islamic world

Osama may have tried to use wife as shield, officials say

-- Salar Jaff in Baghdad and Ned Parker in Cairo

Photo: A television news broadcast in Kuta, Bali, reports on the death of Osama bin Laden. A radical Indonesian Islamist group on May 2, hailed assassinated the dead Al Qaeda leader as a "martyr" who championed Islam against America. Credit: Sonny Tumbelaka / AFP /Getty Images

GAZA STRIP: Suspect in killing of Italian activist dies in standoff

Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday that a man suspected of killing an Italian pro-Palestinian activist in the territory committed suicide during a tense police standoff.

The suspect, a Jordanian citizen, shot himself after he hurled a grenade at two of his partners, critically injuring one of them, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said in a statement published on its website.

Three policemen were injured during an exchange of fire, the statement added.

GAZA STRIP: Kidnapped Italian activist found dead; Hamas condemns rival radical group

Hours after an Islamist extremist group announced it had kidnapped an Italian peace activist in the Gaza Strip, the man's body was discovered in the restive seaside territory. It was the first kidnapping of a Westerner in four years and one of the few times such an abduction has ended fatally.

The hostage, Vittorio Arrigoni, a pro-Palestinian activist for the advocacy group the International Solidarity Movement, had appeared blindfolded in an Internet video released by the Tawhid and Jihad group, which threatened to kill him unless its imprisoned leader and two other members of radical groups were freed by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza.

The group set a deadline of Friday evening, but Arrigoni’s body was found by Hamas police well short of that, Hamas officials said. They said they had arrested two suspects and were searching for a third. Hamas said it "condemns the heinous crime that does not reflect our values, our religion or our custom and tradition," according to an Interior Ministry statement released to Palestinian news media.

But the kidnapping raised questions about Hamas' control over Gaza, and it represents the latest example of how smaller, more radical groups in the territory -– some with alleged ties to Al Qaeda -– are challenging the rule of Hamas, which itself is viewed by Israel and the United States as a terrorist organization.Those groups complain that Hamas has become too moderate.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has been cracking down on Islamist Salafists over the last 18 months, arresting their members and killing one of their spiritual leaders during an armed clash in August 2009.

Gaza residents said Arrigoni arrived in 2009 aboard a ship challenging the Israeli naval blockade after the 2008-09 Israeli offensive in Gaza known as Operation Cast Lead. His abduction was the first of a foreigner since Hamas took control of the territory. The last foreigner kidnapped here was BBC reporter Alan Johnston, who was abducted in March 2007 and released three months later.

-- Ahmed Aldabba in Gaza City

YEMEN: Scores killed in explosion at weapons factory

At least 80 people were killed when a powerful blast ripped through a weapons factory in southern Yemen on Monday after Islamic militants temporarily seized control of the plant and local residents began looting, media reports said.

[Updated, 12:55 p.m.: An earlier version of this post began by saying the death toll was at least 100. Although death tolls vary according to media reports, newer information indicates that the toll might be lower.]

The death toll from the blast varied widely among news agencies, with some reporting more than 100 dead. A local journalist and other media reports said the death toll was at least 80.

According to the Associated Press, quoting doctors in the town of Jaar where the explosion occurred,  more bodies were expected to be pulled from the rubble. The medical workers said men, women and children were among the dead.

"This accident is a true catastrophe, the first of its kind" in the Abyan region, where Jaar is located, a doctor at the town's state-run hospital was quoted as saying. “There are so many burned bodies. I can't even describe the situation.”

Yemen's state-run Saba news agency said the local governor had instructed that a committee be formed to investigate the incident.  It added that the factory was completely destroyed in the blast. Some reports suggested the explosion might have been caused by a cigarette.

The incident came a day after clashes broke out between militants and the Yemeni army, fueling fears that Yemen might descend into chaos and boost Al Qaeda in the country while the government of President Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for more than 30 years, is in deep crisis after massive popular protests.

Islamist militants reportedly took control of a number of buildings in Jaar, including the weapons plant, on Sunday. They reportedly entered the factory, took what they wanted and left. Looters from the area then entered the building. 

The plant reportedly makes Kalashnikov rifles, munitions, and explosives used in road construction.

Media reports say police and security forces have recently deserted some towns in Yemen amid an escalating wave of anti-government protests. In some cases, they were chased out by protesters from villages and cities, including the area surrounding the weapons factory.

--  Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

 

 

IRAQ: Protests continue in north; militants attack oil refinery

One day after thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in a "day of rage" to protest food and water shortages, protesters gathered in the northern regions of the country to call attention to poor basic services. Around 2,000 protesters gathered in Sulaymaniyah in Kurdish northern Iraq, while a small group of about 100 protested in Fallujah.

Hospital sources told Reuters that one person died and 11 were hurt in clashes in the north.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a Shiite cleric, urged Iraq's leaders to listen to the protesters and fight corruption, improve the economy and fix basic services. Eight years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, there are still only basic services and usually only a few hours of power a day.

Also on Saturday, militants detonated bombs at Iraq's largest oil refinery, killing at least one employee. The attack at the refinery in Baiji, 112 miles north of Baghdad, occured at 4:30 a.m. and prompted a temporary closure of the refinery, one of three in Iraq. The refinery is in an area that was at one time controlled by Al Qaeda.

-- Alana Semuels

Photo: Workers try to extinguish a fire at the Baiji refinery after it was attacked by militants. Credit: Bassem Daham / Associated Press

YEMEN: Journalists, advocacy groups denounce conviction of Al Qaeda 'media advisor'

A journalist accused of acting as a media advisor to Al Qaeda in Yemen was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, but colleagues and advocacy groups are calling foul, accusing the government of seeking to suppress press freedoms.

Abdul Elah Haidar Sha'ee, 34, is well known for his coverage of militant Islamist groups, particularly Al Qaeda, scoring exclusive interviews with several high-ranking figures in the movement, including the presumed leader of the local branch of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Naser Abdel-Karim Wahishi, and the American-born cleric Anwar Awlaki.

"We will work in a number of ways to expose this ruling, and we call on all political parties, civil society and human rights organizations to condemn it and stand behind Al Sha'ee and escalate the demonstrations for his release" Jamal Anaam, head of the freedoms committee of the Yemeni journalists syndicate, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday (Arabic link).

Sha'ee was arrested in August along with his colleague, 28-year-old Abdul Karim Shami, who received a sentence of two years.

DUBAI: Bungled Stockholm suicide bomber received training in Iraq, says top security official

New developments have surfaced in the case of Taimour Abdulwahab Abdaly, a 28-year-old Iraq-born Swedish suicide bomber who died in a botched attack on central Stockholm on Dec. 11, in revenge for what he called Sweden's "war on Islam."

This weekend, Iraq's top security official Gen. Dhai Kanani told the Dubai-based pan-Arab news channel Al-Arabiya (link in Arabic) that Abdaly received explosives training for three months in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and that Iraqi authorities informed U.S. officials about a planned bombing plot in Sweden two months before Abdaly's bungled attack in the Swedish capital, which killed him and injured two others when a bomb belt he was wearing detonated prematurely. 

Ten minutes before Abdaly blew himself up, he reportedly sent e-mail to SAPO, the state-run Swedish news agency, and his wife and family containing an audio message in which he, among other things, apologized to his family for lying about his trips to the Middle East.

"I went for jihad," he said in the recording.

IRAN: Suspected Al Qaeda members arrested with alleged propaganda

Does being a proponent of the kind of puritanical strain of Islam touted by Osama bin Laden automatically make you a member of Al Qaeda?

Iran seems to think so. 

Iranian security forces arrested seven alleged Al Qaeda operatives in the northwestern city of Sardasht, the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted an unnamed official as saying Wednesday.

The operatives had been identified nearly a month ago and were arrested after judiciary authorities gave a green light, the official said.

Were they caught with bombs or suicide vests?

According to the Iranians, they are accused so far only of using books and leaflets to promote "Wahabbi" or Salafist Sunni Islam in predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran.

"The suspects were nabbed with an appreciable number of books, leaflets and documents about Wahhabism and other depraved cults,” the official said. "They sought to sow sectarian discord, but they were finally arrested by security forces and handed over to the judiciary."

-- Los Angeles Times

Photo: English-language translation of a book about Salafist Islam. Credit: Salafibookstore.com