Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2009 – Iraqi police and U.S. advisors apprehended 15 suspects with alleged ties to al Qaida in Iraq during operations in there in the past few days, military officials said. Iraqi police arrested four suspected members of al Qaida cells today in two joint security operations near Baghdad and Kirkuk, military officials said. In a joint security operation in Karmah, west of Baghdad, police apprehended an alleged associate of a car-bomb cell believed responsible for attacks targeting government buildings and civilians in the Iraqi capital. Police also arrested a suspected accomplice. During a separate operation in a...

The recruits gather in scorching desert hideouts in Somalia, use portraits of President Barack Obama for target practice, learn how to make and detonate bombs, and vow allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Training camps in the lawless nation of Somalia are attracting hundreds of foreigners, including Americans, and Somalis recruited by a local insurgent group linked to al-Qaida, according to local and U.S. officials. American officials and private analysts say the camps pose a security threat far beyond the borders of Somalia, including to the U.S. homeland. In interviews with The Associated Press, former trainees gave rare details on the...

There is mounting evidence that the global Jihadist insurgency is fully entrenched in the USA. After the Fort Hood massacre news services seem divided between those hell-bent-for-leather on denying that it was a case of anything other than a persecuted loner “snapping” and those who proclaimed it the first “terrorist” attack on US soil since September 11th. Both were wrong. Over the last 12 months alone, we have been provided with a stack of evidence of the Jihadist insurgency inside America. Americans have largely ignored this evidence, or at least failed to “connect the dots.” I decided to go back...

Qoute: "Complete betrayal of the nation!" From CNN no less!

War On Terror: As Khalid Sheikh Mohammed receives the benefits of U.S. justice, three Navy SEALs face court-martial for allegedly punching a captured terrorist who hanged Americans from a bridge in Fallujah. Apparently our efforts to impress the world about the marvels of our criminal justice system require us to give foreign terrorists such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the man who invented the manned cruise missiles that flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and plowed into a Pennsylvania field on its way to the Capitol Building, the full rights and protections of the American citizens he conspired...

On December 18, 2007, then presidential candidate Barack Obama leveled the first of dozens of heavy criticisms against President George W. Bush. In a speech in Des Moines, Obama blasted President Bush for taking his “eye off the ball in Afghanistan." He continued: "It’s time to…increase our military, political, and economic commitment to Afghanistan. That’s what…I’ll do as president.” This was Barack Obama’s first “eye off the ball” speech. It was the beginning of a barrage of campaign speeches accusing the Bush administration of “taking our eye off of Osama bin Laden” (Denver, 1/30/08). On July 15, 2008 in Washington,...

US intelligence officials are concerned that Syria is becoming an al Qaeda haven, as the terror group becomes increasingly intertwined with Ba’athist groups operating from Iraq's neighbor to the west. Al Qaeda has refocused its efforts to build an infrastructure in eastern Syria after its network in Iraq was decimated by Iraqi and US security forces from 2007 to 2009, and now the organization is partnering with former Ba’athists from Saddam Hussein’s regime. "A major concern is that eastern Syria will begin to look like northwestern Pakistan," where al Qaeda has joined forces with the Taliban and directs attacks to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 9, 2009) — In October 2007, the Missouri National Guard personnel, with agricultural and business development expertise, as well as other essential skills, formed the Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Team to develop agribusiness in Afghanistan. Agriculture accounts for 45 percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product and employs over 70 percent of the Afghan population. However, decades of war and neglect have devastated the country’s agricultural sector. As a result, one of the great needs in the country is to develop its agriculture potential, and I am so proud of the efforts of the Missouri National Guard, who assumed...

This was found in the 9/11 pager texts; http://911.wikileaks.org/files/messages_2001_09_11-10_30_2001_09_11-10_34.html 2001-09-11 10:31:03 Skytel [005344000] A ALPHA UD REPORTS ANONYMOUS CALL TO JOC REPORTING ANGEL IS TARGET JOC = Joint Operations Command = Pentagon Angel = Air Force One This call would explain why Bush was diverted to Barksdale AFB and away from Washington.

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com that President Barack Obama was giving 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed “his wish” by giving him a trial in federal civilian court instead of trying him before a military tribunal. McCain was asked on Nov. 19 whether the administration might have to produce Mohammed’s CIA interrogators if the terrorist’s defense lawyers call them as witnesses. McCain said the answer was not clear because Obama had opened the civilian justice system to enemy combatants, a move that raised myriad problems and gave Khalid Sheik Mohammed, or KSM, what he wanted.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested 18 suspected al-Qaida in Iraq associates today, and earlier this week captured a terrorism suspect they’ve been pursuing for three years, military officials reported. Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched several houses in Mosul looking for an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq regional leader who is suspected of staging deadly attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces. Based on preliminary questioning and evidence gathered at the scene, Iraqi forces arrested 18 of his suspected associates. The arrests in Mosul are expected to contribute to greater safety for Iraqis from attacks during the...

* US diplomat says destroying Qaeda real goal in Afghanistan * Core strategy is to help Afghans take responsibility of their own security LAHORE/WASHINGTON: Taliban can rejoin the “social and political fabric of Afghanistan” if they renounce Al Qaeda, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Tuesday. In an interview with SPIEGEL, Holbrooke said, “Majority of Taliban do not support Mullah Omar’s extreme views and that there is room for them to rejoin the social and political fabric of Afghanistan if they renounce Al Qaeda and reintegrate peacefully into Afghanistan. And that is a major part” of the Unites States...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2009 – Iraqi police killed a suspected bombing-cell member and arrested six others in operations over the last two days, military officials reported. Police arrested a suspect today during a combined security operation in Beiji, southwest of Kirkuk, during a search for a member of an al-Qaida in Iraq-sponsored bombing cell. Based on preliminary questioning and evidence found at the scene, police arrested a suspected accomplice of the wanted man, who was not apprehended. –In Mosul yesterday, federal police elements arrested five suspected vehicle-borne bomb cell members. A sixth suspect was shot and killed during the operation....

Cannot Defend Terror Trial in NYC thelastcrusade.com “Startling!” That’s how one legal expert describes a recent exchange between a Republican senator and the U.S. attorney general regarding the prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and suspected terrorists in federal court.Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) in a Judiciary Committee hearing last week asked Attorney General Eric Holder a question that befuddled the nation's top cop could not answer. Sen. Graham asked: "Can you give me a case in United States history where a[n] enemy combatant caught on a battlefield was tried in civilian court?"The inquiry was followed by an extensive silence...

From Bloomberg: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian who faces terrorism charges for his role in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies, asked a judge to order U.S. prosecutors to surrender information about “black sites” where he was held. Ghailani faces federal charges over the bombings of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. Ghailani had been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006, before being transferred to the U.S. in June. He is the first detainee from Guantanamo Bay to be tried in a U.S. civilian court. In a...

Iraqi forces detained two people yesterday near Tikrit. The suspects are believed to be members of al-Qaida in Iraq, and responsible for car bombings against civilians and security forces in northern Iraq. One of the suspects is believed to be linked to a Nov. 4 bombing east of Tikrit that killed a U.S. servicemember, Multinational Force Iraq officials said. Also in Tikrit, Iraqi forces arrested a suspected terrorist leader with a criminal warrant Nov. 21. The man is believed to be involved several bombing attacks against Iraqi forces, military officials said. In a Nov. 19 operation, U.S. troops and Iraqi...

Federal authorities are expected to announce charges against eight more people today in a long-running investigation into how perhaps dozens of young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia. It will be the most significant and public move to date in the case. Charges against the eight people will be announced at a joint FBI-U.S. Attorney's Office press conference in Minneapolis on Monday afternoon, a source said. Some, if not all, of the individuals will be charged with providing material support to terrorists, the source said. Many of those charged have already...

Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targetted by US drones, Pakistan's ISI has helped him to flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, where he has established a new Shura council. One-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban recently found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) assistance, the Washington Times reported quoting US intelligence officials. "Mullah Omar travelled to Karachi last month after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He inaugurated a new senior leadership council in Karachi, a city that so...

SAN`A, Yemen (AP) - A Yemeni politician and religious figure - designated a suspected terrorist by the United States - declared his innocence Saturday and called on Washington to substantiate its allegations. On Tuesday, Sheik Abdulmajid al-Zindani, an Afghan war veteran and the spiritual leader of the Islamic-oriented Islah Party, was added to a U.S. Treasury Department list of those suspected of supporting terrorist activities. The allegation claimed al-Zindani, who is in his 60s, had "a long history of working with Osama bin Laden, notably serving as one of his spiritual leaders." The Treasury Department said al-Zindani had actively recruited...

Obama Presidency: A Boon to Islamic Terrorists Obama's General Says: Syria Allied with Al-Qaida, Attacking U.S.; White House Says: Is that a Problem? By Barry Rubin thelastcrusade.org Does anyone read the newspapers in the U.S. government? How about checking out the dispatches coming from its generals in the field? Here’s a news story which tells all. A Reuters’ dispatch from Iraq interviews the commander of U.S. forces there. What’s he say?Al-Qaida is joining forces with Saddam Hussein’s supporters. And where are both al-Qaida’s forces fighting in Iraq and Saddam’s backers headquartered with lots of money stolen from Iraq? Syria....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested five suspected members of the al-Qaida in Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq terrorist groups today during three combined security operations conducted with U.S. advisors in the Iraqi cities of Ramadi, Tikrit and Kirkuk, military officials reported. Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched two buildings in Ramadi for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader believed to be responsible for multiple vehicle-borne bomb attacks in the region. After questioning those in the buildings and examining evidence found at the scene, Iraqi forces arrested two suspected al-Qaida in Iraq associates. In Tikrit,...

SNIPPET: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Increasing numbers of English-language Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings. The U.S.-born al-Awlaki has been an inspiration to several militants arrested in the United States and Canada in recent years, with his Web-based sermons often turning up on their computers."

Senator John Kerry described international terrorism as “primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation,’’ and urged voters to think of deadly jihadist violence as merely “a nuisance’’ that we need “to reduce’’ - akin, he said, to gambling or prostitution. Kerry lost that election, and the Bush administration’s very different approach - treating terrorist attacks as acts of war, not criminal violations - continued for four more years. Pre-empting terror in advance, not prosecuting it after the fact, remained the overriding priority. Counterterrorism efforts under George W. Bush were aggressive and they drew much criticism. But whatever else might be...

A former horse riding school in the tiny Baltic state of Lithuania was used as a secret CIA prison to hold and interrogate top al-Qaeda terrorists, it has been claimed. The prison was reportedly built from scratch on the territory of a former horse riding school about 15 miles from Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, and included an underground annex. Pictures of the building said to be the former CIA jail show a bland-looking two-storey house surrounded by a fence and CCTV cameras. Locals say the building, which is now used as a training facility by Lithuania's state security service, originally...

Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to give a federal court trial instead of a military commission hearing to five Guantanamo detainees the government has linked to the 9/11 attacks has led to criticism that the Obama Administration is transforming the war on terror from a military to law-enforcement affair. This has led some critics to wonder if captured terrorist suspects would have to be read their Miranda rights on being captured by U.S. military or law enforcement representatives. In one of the highlights of Wednesday's Justice Department oversight hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina...

Our ultimate goal of homeland security will be served through a better understanding of the threat confronting it in order to “disrupt, dismantle, and eventually defeat al Qaeda and its allies.” Let me describe this global threat through a comprehensive survey that I conducted of all the al Qaeda plots in the West, all the al Qaeda affiliate plots in the West and all the plots done “in the name of al Qaeda” in the West since the formation of al Qaeda in August 1988. It is necessary to expand our inquiry because al Qaeda is now only one of...

The greatest hurdle Americans need to get over in order to properly respond to the growing threat of radical Islam is purely intellectual in nature; specifically, it is epistemological, and revolves around the abstract realm of “knowledge.” Before attempting to formulate a long-term strategy to counter radical Islam, Americans must first and foremost understand Islam, particularly its laws and doctrines, the same way Muslims understand it—without giving it undue Western (liberal) interpretations. This is apparently not as simple as expected: all peoples of whatever civilizations and religions tend to assume that other peoples more or less share in their worldview,...

A judge on Wednesday handed a six-year jail sentence to a man accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and allegedly swearing allegiance to Al-Qaeda.

WASHINGTON — Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) arrested 11 terrorism suspects in operations over the last two days, military officials reported. Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched several buildings throughout Baghdad yesterday during a series of operations to search for a suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) leader believed responsible for multiple vehicle-borne bomb attacks in the region. Credible intelligence led the security team to several locations across Baghdad in pursuit of the suspected cell leader. When a vehicle traveling at an excessive speed approached a restricted area established by the security team in the city’s Mansour district, the team attempted to...

I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammed. -Alexis de Tocqueville At last finding a war they would contemplate fighting, liberals developed one of their most menacingly crackpot fictions: their insistence that we are engaged in a war against Al Queada, as if it is some independent nation with a flag, uniformed soldiers and a national anthem. If only, they spout, we could “get” their President, Osama bin Laden, our charismatic president...

New York City experienced Muslim Day in 2008. Then there was the pro-Hamas demonstration in Florida. Will there be similar parades and demonstrations in support of the terrorists? Will there be counter demonstrations? Will angry Americans say enough is enough and confront the Muslim demonstrations? I think the answer to all of these questions is yes. Now the problem. If violent confrontations between Muslim supporters of the terrorists and angry Americans occur, who will the police and New York National Guard protect? If protection is provided to the Muslims supporting terrorists, and Americans supporting American values are injured and/or jailed,...

The sea lanes of the South Atlantic have become a favored route for drug traffickers carrying narcotics from Latin America to West and North Africa, where al Qaeda-related groups are increasingly involved in transporting the drugs to Europe, intelligence officials and counternarcotics specialists say. A Middle Eastern intelligence official said his agency has picked up "very worrisome reports" of rapidly growing cooperation between Islamic militants operating in North and West Africa and drug lords in Latin America. With U.S. attention focused on the Caribbean and Africans lacking the means to police their shores, the vast sea lanes of the South...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2009 – Iraqi security forces arrested 11 terrorism suspects in operations over the last two days, military officials reported. Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched several buildings throughout Baghdad today during a series of operations to search for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader believed responsible for multiple vehicle-borne bomb attacks in the region. Credible intelligence led the security team to several locations across Baghdad in pursuit of the suspected cell leader. When a vehicle traveling at an excessive speed approached a restricted area established by the security team in the city’s Mansour district, the team attempted...

NO JAIL FOR JIHADIS thelastcrusade.org If you’re a terrorist, go to England and get arrested. The British government will provide you with living costs, “subsistence” funds, and, best of all, an annual subsidy. This news was released from the Home Office by Parliament this week. Since April 2007, 13 Islamic terror suspects have collected £611,470 - - approximately $1,040,000 while under house arrest for accomodations, taxes, utlity bills, prepaid telephone cards, phone bills, and food. In addition to having their expenses paid while they are free to walk around Piccadilly Circus, nine receive public welfare and all receive additional...

The CIA has paid millions of dollars to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since 9/11, "accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget", says a media report. The ISI also collected "tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA programme", which pays for the capture or killing of wanted militants, a newspaper reported on Monday citing current and former US officials. An intense debate has been triggered within the US government due to "long-standing suspicions that the ISI continues to help Taliban extremists who undermine US efforts in Afghanistan and provide sanctuary to Al Qaeda...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2009 – Iraqi security forces, working with U.S. advisors, arrested 21 terrorism suspects in various operations in recent days, military officials reported. In southern Baghdad today, Iraqi security forces and U.S. advisors searched a building for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader alleged in an arrest warrant to be responsible for multiple vehicle-borne bomb attacks in the region. Based on questioning and evidence found at the scene, they arrested a suspected associate of the wanted man. In western Mosul yesterday, Iraqi police and U.S. advisors searched several buildings for an alleged member of the Islamic State of...

King is trying to prevent the transfer of Guantanamo Bay terrorists to a prison near the Iowa-Illinois border. He has asked 1st District Congressman Bruce Braley, whose district is closest to the prison, to join his efforts.

It's not just a defensive game; cyber-security includes attack plans too, and the U.S. has already used some of them successfully. In May 2007, President Bush authorized the National Security Agency, based at Fort Meade, Md., to launch a sophisticated attack on an enemy thousands of miles away without firing a bullet or dropping a bomb. At the request of his national intelligence director, Bush ordered an NSA cyberattack on the cellular phones and computers that insurgents in Iraq were using to plan roadside bombings. The devices allowed the fighters to coordinate their strikes and, later, post videos of the...

On Wednesday, November 18, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder will attempt to explain his decision to bring war criminal Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to trial in Manhattan's federal courtroom six blocks from Ground Zero. This is our Action Alert to you: Americans, it is time to unite, not as Republicans or Democrats, not as Conservatives or Liberals or Progressives. It is time to unite as CITIZENS. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have forgotten that their chief duty is the safety and the security of the American people. IT IS TIME FOR US TO REMIND THEM. AG Eric Holder...

In Afghanistan, IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device, a roadside, or suicide car bomb) now cause over 70 percent of NATO casualties. It has also been discovered that there was one big difference between the IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan; the explosives used. In Iraq, there were thousands of tons of munitions and explosives scattered around the country after the 2003 invasion was over. This was the legacy of Saddam Hussein, and the billions he spent on weapons during his three decades in power. The Iraqi terrorists grabbed a lot of these munitions, and used them for a five year bombing campaign....

The government will have to choose between vigorous prosecution and revealing classified sources and methods. This is a prosecutorial decision as well as a national security decision," President Barack Obama said last week about the attorney general's announcement that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other al Qaeda operatives will be put on trial in New York City federal court. No, it is not. It is a presidential decision—one about the hard, ever-present trade-off between civil liberties and national security. Trying KSM in civilian court will be an intelligence bonanza for al Qaeda and the hostile nations that will view the U.S....

SNIPPET: "TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf has been linked to a fresh Al Qaida plot to launch attacks on the US. The Birmingham-born extremist has been named by witnesses due to testify against Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for plotting suicide bombings in New York. MI6 officers have linked the plot to a complex terror network said to be directed from Pakistan by Rauf and fellow jihadists. Zazi, 24, was identified through an intercepted communication, and was further implicated by US national Bryant Neal Vinas, who was captured in Pakistan last November. Vinas, 26, allegedly admits meeting Rauf and receiving training...

WASH­ING­TON — Not long after he was roust­ed from bed and seized in a predawn raid in Pak­is­tan in March 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mo­hammed gave his cap­tors two de­mands: He want­ed a lawyer, and he want­ed to be taken to New York. After a near­ly sev­en-year odyssey that took him to se­cret Cen­tral In­tel­li­gence Agen­cy jails in Eu­rope and an Amer­i­can mil­i­tary prison in Cuba, Mr. Mo­hammed is fi­nal­ly like­ly to get his wish. He will be the most se­nior lead­er of Al Qaeda to date held to ac­count for the mass mur­der of near­ly 3,000 Amer­i­cans, fac­ing trial in...

SOME of Britain’s most dangerous Al-Qaeda leaders are promoting jihad from inside high-security prisons by smuggling out propaganda for the internet and finding recruits. In an authoritative report, Quilliam, a think tank funded by the Home Office, claims “mismanagement” by the Prison Service is helping AlQaeda gain recruits and risks “strengthening jihadist movements”. Abu Qatada, described by MI5 as “Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, has published fatwas — religious rulings — on the internet from Long Lartin prison, in Worcestershire, calling for holy war and the murder of moderate Muslims, it reveals. Abu Doha — said to be...

Posted: Nov 13, 2009 3:14 PM Updated: Nov 13, 2009 3:15 PM MARION, IL (KFVS) - SNIPPET: "Ali Al-Marri, 43, is serving an eight year sentence for being a so called "sleeper agent." He has admitted to training in Al-Qaeda camps and having contact with the alleged planner of the September 11th attacks."

Saudi Arabian troops and aircraft are now enforcing a ten kilometer deep "kill zone" on the Yemen side of their Yemen border. This is the first combat operation for Saudi forces since 1991 (during the liberation of Kuwait.) This is in support of a four month war between rebel Shia tribesmen and the Yemeni armed forces. Since November 5th, Saudi fighter bombers have flown over a hundred sorties against rebel targets just across the border. Hundreds of smart bombs and missiles have been used. Saudi artillery has fired hundreds of shells at the rebels, and Saudi helicopters and infantry now...

How do we know that the attack at Fort Hood was an act of Islamist terrorism? Simple, Major Nidal Hassan told us so. You’ve seen reports of a long list of things he did and said along these lines. But what’s most amazing of all is this: Hassan is the first terrorist in history to give an academic lecture explaining why he was about to attack. Yet that still isn’t enough for too many people—including the president of the United States--to understand that the murderous assault at Fort Hood was a Jihad attack. It was reported that the audience was...

Candidate Barack Obama urged a return to pre-9/11 counterterrorism-by-courts. President Obama’s Justice Department overflows with lawyers who spent the last eight years representing America’s enemies. Thus, Friday’s announcement that top al-Qaeda terrorists will be brought to New York City for a civilian trial is no surprise. That doesn’t make it any less inexcusable. The treatment of jihadist terror as a mere law-enforcement issue, fit for civilian courts, was among the worst of the national-security derelictions of the Nineties. While the champions of this approach stress that prosecutors scored a 100 percent conviction rate, they conveniently omit mention of the paltry...

The Obama administration has taken a giant step in its march to throw in the towel in the war against radical Islam. On FoxNews this morning, Peter King said of the decision to try the soldiers of al-Qaeda — who by their own account have no country but their cause — as civilians “may be the worst decision by a U.S. president in history.” It certainly is. It sends a signal to terrorists everywhere to attack civilians.

On October 15, the State Security Court of Jordan imposed jail sentences of 15 to 20 years on 12 alleged Jordanian members of al-Qaeda accused of attacks against a church in the Kingdom last year (Al-Ghad [Amman], October 16; Al-Rai [Amman], October 16). In a reaction similar to those seen in trials of Salafi-Jihadis, plot leader Shaker al-Khatib and the rest of the convicted group prostrated themselves, thanking Allah as a sign of defiance against the court (al-Jazeera, October 15). Al-Khatib and four others in the group, aged between 19 and 28, received the death penalty, but the court commuted...