Free Republic

Bulgaria’s security services recently thwarted a planned terror attack against Israeli tourists in the capital Sofia, it was published on Sunday. According to reports, the Bulgarians were able to locate suspicious suitcases that had been loaded with explosives and which the terrorists planned to blow up on a bus carrying Israelis who were on their way to a resort in the country. Local security forces are investigating whether there is a connection between the thwarted attack and a European terrorist cell run by the Lebanon-based Hizbullah group. Also being investigated is a possible connection between the timing of the attack...

OTTAWA—Canadian authorities said they found and foiled a terrorist bomb-making plot by three men here—one allegedly with links to the conflict in Afghanistan and another, a pathologist who auditioned for the TV show "Canadian Idol.'' The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested the trio of Canadian citizens after raids on their houses turned up schematics, videos, drawings, books and manuals for making explosives, said Serge Therriault, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in charge of criminal investigations. The suspects—identified as Hiva Alizadeh, 30 years old; X-ray technician Misbahuddin Ahmed, 26, both of Ottawa; and hospital worker Khurram Syed Sher, 28, of London,...

BAGHDAD — Coalition Forces thwarted a potentially deadly attack on the International Zone this week, and officials responded to news reports citing unnamed senior military members as being critical of the Iraqi government. Coalition forces detained an individual suspected of planning a multi-vehicle suicide operation inside Baghdad’s International Zone. They arrested the suspect at the residence of Dr. Adnan al Dulaymi in Baghdad Sept. 29. Dulaymi is the leader of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni parliamentary bloc. Credible intelligence indicates the individual, a member of Dulaymi’s personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual’s cell were...

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 19, 2006 – A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter, providing nontraditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to coalition ground forces, killed a member of an improvised explosive device cell and identified an IED emplacement yesterday near Baqubah, Iraq, U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials reported today. The F-16 identified three possible IED emplacers and passed the information to ground forces. Ground unit personnel positively identified the terrorists and requested the F-16 engage the hostile forces. The F-16 strafed the terrorists, killing one and ending the engagement. Coalition aircraft, operationally controlled by U.S. Central Command Air Forces from...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2005 – Increased numbers of Iraqi security forces and government-implemented precautions combined to thwart insurgents' desire to stop the Iraqi Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, a senior U.S. military officer said today in Baghdad. Roughly 63 percent of registered voters -- about 10 million Iraqis -- went to the polls to vote on a new constitution, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said. Officials reported "a significant reduction in the number of attacks" during the referendum compared to during the Jan. 30 elections, Lynch said. For example, he said, there were 299 attacks...

An Independence woman managed to fight off an attacker who forced his way into her home and tried to rape her Monday night, Independence police said. The attack occurred about 9 p.m. near Crysler and South avenues. Police said the 26-year-old woman had just returned from grocery shopping with her 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son when someone knocked on the door. According to police: After the woman unlocked the door, a man shoved his way in and threw her onto the living room couch. The woman tried to call 911, but the assailant flung the phone away. After the assailant...