Yemen: 17 al Qaeda terrorists killed

(CNN) -- Ongoing clashes have left seven Yemeni soldiers and 17 Islamic militants dead in the past two days in the southern province of Abyan, a senior security official said Monday.

At least eight soldiers were wounded in the clashes, three of them in serious condition, said the official, who is not authorized to speak to the media and requested his name not be used. The fighting is mainly concentrated in the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar, the official said.

State-run Yemen TV reported that at least 17 al Qaeda militants have been killed in the fighting.

Qasim Bin Hadi, the head of security in Zinjibar in Abyan, said that city has turned into a ghost town and that clashes between government forces and al Qaeda militants have been nonstop since Saturday.

"Bodies of dead people are everywhere in the streets," Bin Hadi said.

Militants seized control of Zinjibar several weeks ago, local residents said.

Airstrikes targeting militant hideouts in Zinjibar and Jaar were behind many of the deaths reported Sunday, said the security official who requested anonymity.

Medics at the Republican hospital in Aden, where injured soldiers are being taken for treatment, said at least 29 soldiers were admitted at the hospital since Saturday night, all having come from Abyan.

"Most of those admitted to the hospital were injured, but the death toll among security forces will rise over the next 48 hours," said one medic, who asked not to be named, as he is concerned for his safety.

On Sunday, more than 100 influential religious and tribal leaders said President Ali Abdullah Saleh was not able to lead the country and should step down.

"Saleh was injured seriously during the assassination attempt on his life. We call on Saleh to hand over powers to his vice president Abdu Rabu Mansoor Hadi, to save the country from further clashes and bloodshed," said the statement, which was circulated to the media.

Saleh and other senior officials were injured in a June 3 attack on the mosque at the presidential palace. Saleh is being treated in Saudi Arabia. Officials loyal to him have said he will return when he has recovered.

Among those signing the statement was Sheikh Abdul Majid al-Zindani, Yemen's most prominent cleric. The United States considers al-Zindani a terrorist, accused in 2004 of supplying weapons to al Qaeda. But he wields considerable influence in Yemen.

The influential signatories are the latest in a growing number of powerful voices seeking Saleh's ouster and demanding a transitional government be formed as quickly as possible.

Unrest has consumed Yemen for months as protesters have demanded an end to Saleh's rule.

In recent weeks, government troops have battled both anti-government tribal forces and Islamic militants, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.

CNN

Bin Laden 'was talking with terrorists'

"These are not just the writings of an elderly jihadi," one official said of bin Laden's communications.Handwritten materials from compound show responses, U.S. official saysPersonal journal has guidance on how to attack U.S.Ideas, not concrete plans, are seen, official says

(CNN) -- Data and documents taken from the compound show that messages from Osama bin Laden did make it out of the compound to other members of al Qaeda, a U.S. official says.

"There are strong indications there is back and forth with other terrorists," the official said.

U.S. officials have said they view the raided compound as the al Qaeda leader's "command and control center" but had not explained before why they believed that to be the case.

"These are not just the writings of an elderly jihadi," the official said.

The source said there is evidence of two-way written communications demonstrating that not only was bin Laden sending messages, he was getting responses as well.

Bin Laden relatives want probe and proof of death

The official also provided new details on bin Laden's personal journal, which was seized during the Navy SEAL raid, the official said. The handwritten journal, which was referred to last week by other officials as the al Qaeda playbook, is being reviewed by intelligence officials. Other handwritten materials are being reviewed, too.

The initial assessment is that the writings are from bin Laden, not the other occupants of the house. The official emphasized that the U.S. government is continuing to look at all the material, and the initial assessment could change.

The journal includes information about the importance of attacking the U.S. and lists key dates on the American calendar -- including July 4, Christmas and the 10th anniversary of September 11 -- and other guidance for how to attack the United States, the official said. U.S. investigators believe similar information is contained in other documents, the source said.

Official: Bin Laden death offers 'new narrative' ahead of Obama speech

Both New York and Washington are mentioned in the document.

The idea of targeting railroads, which authorities warned about last week, was learned from this notebook, the official said.

At this point, the official said, there is no indication of a time, date or place for any specific attack, and much of what has been seen are more bin Laden ideas than actual plans.

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AP: U.S. screening blocks 350 suspected terrorists

By Josh Reynolds, AP

A TSA employee checks documents for passengers in line at a security checkpoint at Logan Airport in Boston last January.

EnlargeCloseBy Josh Reynolds, AP

A TSA employee checks documents for passengers in line at a security checkpoint at Logan Airport in Boston last January.

The tighter security rules — imposed after the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas 2009 — reveal a security threat that persisted for more than seven years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Until then, even as commercial passengers were forced to remove their shoes, limit the amount of shampoo in their carry-on luggage and endure pat downs, hundreds of foreigners with known or suspected ties to terrorism passed through security and successfully flew to the United States each year, U.S. officials told the AP. The government said these foreigners typically told Customs officers they were flying to the U.S. for legitimate reasons such as vacations or business.

Security practices changed after an admitted al-Qaeda operative from Nigeria was accused of trying to blow himself up on a flight to Detroit on Christmas 2009. Until then, airlines only kept passengers off U.S.-bound planes if they were on the no-fly list, a list of people considered a threat to aviation.

Now before an international flight leaves for the U.S., the government checks passengers against a larger watch list that includes al-Qaeda financiers and people who attended training camps but aren't considered threats to planes. The government was checking this list before, but only after the flight was en route. If someone on the flight was on the watch list, the person would be questioned and likely refused to enter the country after the plane landed.

"As terrorists keep adapting and changing their approach, so must we," Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., told the AP. During a Senate hearing shortly after the attempted Christmas attack, Rockefeller raised concerns about divisions among the different watch lists.

Hundreds of people linked to al-Qaeda, Hamas, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terror groups have been kept off airplanes under the new rules. They include what U.S. officials described as a member of a terrorist organization who received weapons training, recruited others, fought against American troops and had a ticket to fly to the U.S. Another traveler prevented from boarding a U.S.-bound flight was a member of a terrorist organization whom intelligence officials believe had purchased equipment for terrorism.

A third case, in January, involved a Jordanian man booked from Amman, Jordan, to Chicago, who was considered a threat to national security, according to a law enforcement official. The State Department had already revoked his visa. He was on the terrorist watch list but not the no-fly list. He was not considered a threat to aviation.

After U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers performed the now-routine check, the man was kept off the flight. Before the change, he would have arrived in Chicago, where he would have likely been stopped at customs, questioned and sent home.

The law enforcement official and other U.S. officials insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues. They would not provide the names of the people suspected of terror ties or some key details about the cases for security reasons.

"We've gotten better with our techniques and applying them predeparture, ensuring we're looking at as broad a section of potential risk as possible," said Kevin McAleenan, deputy assistant commissioner of field operations at Customs and Border Protection.

CBP said the gap in U.S. security practices wasn't obvious until after the attempted Christmas attack. Officials were prepared to question the accused bomber when he landed in Detroit — but that turned out to be too late.

"We had the skill set, the systems and the techniques, and we needed to move backwards in time," McAleenan said.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the terror watch list and its derivative, the no-fly list, became some of the government's best-known counterterrorism tools. They also became some of the most criticized, as innocent travelers were inconvenienced when they were mistaken for terrorism suspects. Outrage forced the government to pare the lists, which airlines checked before allowing people to fly.

After the attempted Christmas attack, the intelligence community took a closer look at the names on the terror watch list and set new standards for adding names. The watch list and no-fly list are constantly reviewed, and names are added and removed each day. There are about 30,000 people on the no-fly list and a companion list for people who must receive extra screening at airports, a counterterrorism official told the AP.

The more expansive terror watch list includes about 450,000 names of people the U.S. intelligence community believes are, or could be, a threat to national security because of terrorist ties. Some of the people on the watch list are still being investigated, and there is not enough information for the government to arrest them.

The new policy has not turned the 450,000-person terror watch list into the no-fly list. Simply being on the terror watch list does not mean a person won't be allowed to enter the U.S., McAleenan said. When CBP reviews passenger lists and matches someone on the terror watch list, CBP will review information available on the person before it recommends to the airline whether the person can board the plane, McAleenan said. In most cases, if CBP recommends against allowing the passenger to board, it's because the person would be turned away upon arrival inside the United States due to security concerns.

Most people on the watch list are foreigners. About 6,000 are U.S. citizens.

American citizens who are not considered threats to aviation but are on the terror watch list cannot automatically be prevented from flying to the U.S.

Customs officers will likely question a U.S. citizen who is on the terror watch list when he or she comes into the country. But without grounds for arrest, the officers must let them arrive. This also applies to a U.S. citizen who is on the no-fly list but who walks or drives back into the U.S. through land-border crossings.

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Accused 9/11 terrorists to face military tribunals

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 terrorists will be tried before military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay. STORY HIGHLIGHTSAttorney General Holder will say the suspected 9/11 terrorists will face a military tribunalThe tribunal will be held at Guantanamo Bay, CubaThe decision is a reversal for the Obama administration, which had wanted civilian trialsHolder has promised to seek the death penalty for all of the suspects Washington (CNN) -- Attorney General Eric Holder will announce Monday that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 terrorists will be tried before military tribunals at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, according to two U.S. officials and a government source.

The decision is a sharp reversal for the Obama administration, which wanted the alleged terrorists to have federal civilian trials.

Holder is expected to hold a news conference discussing the decision at 2 p.m. ET.

Five suspects are charged before military commissions with participating in the 9/11 plot: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. All five are currently at Guantanamo.

Holder has promised to seek the death penalty for each of the five men.

President Barack Obama's primary concern is that the accused perpetrators "be brought to justice as swiftly as possible," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

Initially, the attorney general was also a staunch advocate of civilian trials for the suspects. In November 2009, he said that "they will be brought to New York ... to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the Twin Towers once stood."

"I am confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200 years," he insisted at the time.

Holder's plan was sharply criticized by both Republican leaders and key members of the New York congressional delegation. Among other things, critics cited cost and security concerns tied to a trial in Manhattan. They also argued that the suspects -- who are not American citizens -- should not receive the rights and protections provided to defendants in civilian courts.

Texas GOP Rep. Lamar Smith, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a written statement that it is "unfortunate that it took the Obama administration more than two years to figure out what the majority of Americans already know: that 9-11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is not a common criminal, he's a war criminal."

GOP Rep. Peter King of New York, head of the House Homeland Security Committee, called the decision a "long-awaited step in the right direction."

"These terror trials belong in a military commission at Guantanamo," he said. The decision is a "vindication of President (George W.) Bush's detention policies."

A number of Democrats and civil liberties activists have expressed dismay at the idea of holding military tribunals, warning that such a move represents a dangerous breakdown in the U.S. judicial system.

"We are extremely disappointed by the administration's decision to try what is arguably the most important criminal case the U.S. has ever seen in an untested and flawed system, instead of in our legitimate criminal justice system," said Mason Clutter, an attorney with the progressive Constitution Project.

"Our civilian justice system has a proven capacity to handle complex terrorism cases," Clutter added. "Today's decision will only continue to delay justice for the victims of 9-11 and their families."

"We weren't out advocating for this decision," a senior Defense official told CNN. "But we do have a court system (at Guantanamo Bay) that is both prepared to handle, and is already handling, people accused of crimes relating to terrorism."

The official said a lack of funding from Congress on more permanent detainment options for terrorist suspects within the continental United States "left the Justice Department short on options."

Obama promised to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year of taking office -- a promise he was unable to keep in the face of congressional resistance.

CNN's Alan Silverleib, Terry Frieden, Carol Cratty, and Ed Henry contributed to this report

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