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MADRID, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, famous for bringing criminal cases against Latin American military regimes and al Qaeda, now says the spotlight should be turned on Spain's own dictatorial past. In an interview with Reuters, Garzon called for a "truth commission" to investigate crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from the end of civil war in 1939 to his death in 1975. He also warned that law enforcement must keep close watch on Islamist militant groups in Europe that are linked to Ansar al Islam, one of the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Half of insurgents captured at Samara were Africans SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMTuesday, October 5, 2004 BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has established that Al Qaida-aligned insurgents from North Africa have played a leading role in the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.Officials said about half of the insurgents captured in Samara last week were nationals from Arab states in North Africa. They said an initial interrogation has determined that the insurgents arrived from such countries as Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia.U.S. officials said insurgents from such countries as Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia have been recruited for operations against the Multinational Force in...

US general calls for bolder action to stop 'Muslim extremism' DOHA, Nov 27: A top US general called on Friday for bolder international action to stop the "spread of Muslim extremism", suggesting curbs were needed to prevent the Internet and other media from being used by groups like Al Qaeda. "Why is it that people have the right to get on the Internet and spread this hatred and insanity without there being some curb, some law?" said Gen John Abizaid, the chief of the US Central Command. "To me if we think this is some kind of freedom of speech...

Morocco has always prided itself on being the liberal face of Islam, but that was before the men in beards took control of the big city slums. And before the suicide bombing in Madrid. Andrew Hussey reports from Casablanca on the country's slide towards fundamentalism Sunday April 4, 2004 The Observer The early evening drinkers in the Don Quichotte bar, a lowlife den near the docks of Casablanca, are a fairly relaxed bunch. Even the prostitutes are friendly and unhurried, settling in a group at the end of the bar where they smoke and chat among themselves. Although Morocco, a...

REUTERS: 27 Sep 2003 10:59:07 GMTAlgerian army kills 150 Islamic rebels - report ALGIERS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Algeria's armed forces have killed 150 Islamic rebels in their most successful attack on guerrilla hideouts since the North African country plunged into violence a decade ago, a newspaper said on Saturday. A crackdown on the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) by the armed forces and state-armed militias started two weeks ago and is still going on in the province of Setif, 300 kms (190 miles) east of Algiers, the influential El Watan newspaper said, citing military sources. It said...

LONDON [MENL] -- Al Qaida operatives have been relocating to the southern Sahara Desert in Algeria and have prepared secret bases near the border with Mali. Western intelligence sources said the Al Qaida effort was detected in early 2003 and has been aided by the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call. They said the Salafist leadership has provided Al Qaida with hideouts and logistics in the mountain region. "The area is ideal for Al Qaida training and command functions," an intelligence source said. "The area is isolated and is located along the border with Mali, where there is no trace...

PARIS (AP) - An extremist group known for deadly bombings and a brutal campaign to create an Islamic state in Algeria is moving to establish stronger ties to al-Qaida, raising fears the militants may launch terrorist attacks beyond their North African territory. The new leader of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, an armed organization whose decade-long aim has been to overthrow the Algerian government, declared allegiance to Osama bin Laden's network in the fall. At the time, it received little attention, but now authorities worry the Salafists could become a dangerous affiliate of al-Qaida, which has shown an...

DUBAI (Reuters) - A hitherto unknown group of Iraqi Muslim militants has warned in a video tape aired on an Arab television channel that they will fight a "holy war" against U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration. "Bush, Rumsfeld and decision makers in the 'Black House' and in the Pentagon...we will shake the ground under your feet and we will send a fire upon you which only God can prevent," a masked man said on a tape aired on the Dubai-based Al Arabiya. The man called his group the "Salafist Jihad Group". "America -- you have declared war...

GLOBAL JIHAD Islamists clench missing tourists Reports confirm Europeans believed held by Muslim militants in Algeria Reports across Europe say 31 tourists missing for two months are in the custody of Islamic militants tied to the al-Qaida terror network, confirming information reported last week by WorldNetDaily and the G2 Bulletin. Algerian police have discovered one of the vehicles used by some of the 31 tourists who vanished without a trace in the Sahara Desert, Germany's ARD radio reported. And a senior Algerian army official told the French newspaper Le Monde the trekkers are in the hands of more than a...