April 28,
2008: Because of increased movement of illegal weapons and explosives into the
country. Border guards have been ordered to shoot-to-kill if they encounter any
smugglers who fail to halt. It's not terrorists who are bringing the stuff in,
but the usual smugglers who know terror groups will pay well for such supplies.
Al Qaeda may not have a lot of people, but they are well funded by wealthy
backers in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabian efforts to halt this flow of cash has
not been very successful, and is a source of many complaints whenever there is
a meeting of Arab leaders or diplomats.
April 26,
2008: Fifty kilometers east of the capital, troops discovered an al Qaeda
hideout, and in the ensuing gun battle, killed ten terrorists who were hiding
in three bunkers. The ten were planning some major terror attacks. This, and
the location of the terrorist base, were discovered via information from
terrorists killed earlier in the month.
April 25,
2008: Some 250 former Islamic terrorists, who accepted the amnesty, are
threatening to return to their violent ways if they don't get the amnesty
benefits they were promised. Those who accepted the amnesty were told they
would get back the jobs they left to join terrorist groups. The unemployment
rate is about 12 percent.
April 24,
2008: Two men, long suspected of al Qaeda ties, were found and arrested. The
men were located because of tip from a local civilian.
April 23,
2008: Islamic conservatives are demanding that women be allowed to wear their
face veils (leaving only their eyes visible) in their passport photos.
April 22,
2008: Four terrorists were killed by troops, some 700 kilometers southeast of
the capital.
April 16,
2008: Over the last week, searches for Islamic terrorists hideouts has
succeeded several times, and resulted in ten terrorists killed. Documents and
weapons were captured. As a result of that, another 25 terrorist sympathizers
were arrested.
