http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080306680260.html
時報廣場驚爆　美國土安全部：無立即威脅
法新社╱陳昶佑 2008-03-06 23:05

 
（法新社紐約六日電）紐約時報廣場今天發生小規模爆炸，國土安全部說，並無情資顯示美國面臨立即威脅。

國土安全部發言人庫德瓦在華府告訴法新社：「目前仍沒有可靠情資，顯示國土面臨立即威脅。」

官員說，紐約時報廣場一處軍方募兵站附近今天一早傳出小規模爆炸，警方已封鎖該區域。

庫德瓦說，並未傳出傷亡消息，當地警方與聯邦調查局人員均在現場。

紐約市警局發言人說，現場只出現小規模爆炸，並未造成人員受傷，警方正在調查爆炸起因。他不知道爆炸是否為人為。

根據本地「親眼目擊新聞頻道」（EyewitnessNews）報導，據信一名男性腳踏車騎士朝一名警官扔擲「小型引爆裝置」。

鄰近大樓一名婦女則聽見「巨大爆炸聲」，下樓查看卻遭警方阻擋。

這名婦女告訴有線電視新聞網（CNN）說：「我在四十四樓，我可以感覺到爆炸。」

本地媒體報導，爆炸發生在凌晨四時左右（台灣時間下午五時），通往時報廣場的地鐵服務暫停，但無法立即獲得官員證實這項消息；時報廣場是紐約市主要輸運中心之一。

庫德瓦說，至上午八時左右，列車服務大致上已恢復正常。

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080306%5cACQDJON200803060857DOWJONESDJONLINE000733.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=US%20Officials:%20No%20Imminent%20Threat%20In%20NY%20Times%20Sq%20Bombing%20-AFP

US Officials: No Imminent Threat In NY Times Sq Bombing -AFP

NEW YORK (AFP)--U.S. Homeland Security authorities said Thursday there was no information suggesting an imminent threat to the U.S. after a small explosion in New York City's Times Square.

"There continues to be no credible information of an imminent threat to the homeland at this time," Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa told AFP in Washington.

Police cordoned off a section of New York's Times Square early Thursday after a small explosion near a military recruiting station, officials said.

There were no injuries reported, Kudwa said, and local police and the FBI were on the scene.

A New York Police Department spokesman said only that there had been a minor explosion, that there were no injuries and that police were investigating the cause of the blast.

A man on a bicycle is believed to have thrown a "small incendiary device" at a police officer, according to a local television report.

A woman in a nearby building heard a "huge bang" and came down to investigate but was kept back by police.

"I was on the 44th floor and I could feel it," the woman told CNN.

Local reports said the explosion struck around 4 a.m. EST and that subway services to the square, one of the city's main transport hubs, had been suspended, although officials were not immediately available to confirm this.

http://news.yam.com/cna/international/200803/20080306676720.html
時代廣場爆炸 國土安全部與FBI配合調查
中央社╱中央社 2008-03-06 22:26    

（中央社記者黃兆平紐約六日專電）紐約市曼哈坦「時代廣場」安全島上的「軍方招募兵員中心」今天凌晨發生爆炸，美國土安全部「聯合反恐任務小組」、聯邦調查局等相關單位已經配合紐約市警方、爆破小組展開調查。

軍方在時代廣場最中心區，也就是每年年終水晶球倒數計算大樓前，設置招募兵員中心，今天凌晨三時四十三分發生爆炸案，造成大門扭曲、窗戶破裂，但未造成任何人員傷亡。

根據警方發布聲明稿指出，爆炸案是土製炸彈所為，發生時間是三時四十三分，所幸未影響今天清晨上班尖峰時段的週邊交通與地鐵服務。

在九一一恐怖攻擊之後，紐約市對任何爆炸案特別謹慎。警方發現這起爆炸案發生時間與前幾次偶發案件的時間點有些關聯。

去年十月二十六日凌晨三時四十分，位於曼哈坦東三十九街的墨西哥駐紐約總領事館，被人投擲兩顆假手榴彈，當時未造成人員傷亡，僅大樓窗戶破碎。

再往前，二零零五年五月五日凌晨三時五十五分，位於曼哈坦中城第三大道的英國駐紐約領事館發生爆炸案，也未造成人員傷亡，但爆炸聲震碎大樓一樓窗戶並損壞門口的大型盆栽。

上述三起爆炸意外發生點都是清晨接近四時，夜深人靜之時，且都是針對公家機關。

根據軍方招募兵員中心人員指出，此一中心平常由兩位士官負責看管及處理相關招募服務，但凌晨事發時並未有人留守。若此事是針對美軍，就必須很嚴肅看待。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080306676353.html
紐約時報廣場驚爆　警方封鎖戒備
法新社╱陳昶佑 2008-03-06 20:20     

 
 
（法新社紐約六日電）官員說，紐約時報廣場一個軍方徵兵站附近今天凌晨發生小規模爆炸，警方已經封鎖了部分地區。

紐約市警局發言人說，現場只出現小規模爆炸，並未造成人員受傷，警方正在調查爆炸起因。他不知道爆炸是否為人為。

根據本地「親眼目擊新聞頻道」（EyewitnessNews）報導，據信一名男性腳踏車騎士朝一名警官扔擲「小型引爆裝置」。

鄰近大樓一名婦女則聽見「巨大爆炸聲」，下樓查看卻遭警方阻擋。

這名婦女告訴有線電視新聞網（CNN）說：「我在四十四樓，我可以感覺到爆炸。」

本地媒體報導，爆炸發生在凌晨四時左右（台灣時間下午五時），通往時報廣場的地鐵服務暫停，但無法立即獲得官員證實這項消息；時報廣場是紐約市主要疏運中心之一。

自二零零一年九一一攻擊以來，紐約便處於高度警戒狀態。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080306664213.html
美不能證實將四度與伊朗會談伊拉克安全問題
法新社╱張仲琬 2008-03-06 10:05     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓五日電）美國國務院今天表示，無法證實美國與伊朗官員，明天是否將在伊拉克首都巴格達會面，重啟延宕多時的伊拉克安全會談。

「伊朗學生通訊社」報導，由芮沙阿米力為首的伊朗代表團今天已抵達巴格達。本次會談將是美國與伊朗敵對雙方第四度討論伊拉克問題。

不過，美國國務院副發言人凱西在華盛頓一場記者會上向記者指出，會議日期只是「謠言」，負責中東事務的副助理國務卿沙特菲德也並未向他證實確有這項消息。

凱西表示：「沒有任何既定行程。伊拉克也沒有向我們發佈任何消息指出，伊朗已經推動會談，並安排一個日期。」

凱西說：「我們一直都很樂意開啟會談，也嘗試規劃一些預定日期。不過，無論原因為何，伊朗都認為這些日子對他們而言並不方便。」

他說：「只要我們知道伊朗也有意願，我們仍然會準備好。」

記者問及美國是否有可能發現預定會議時間不便，凱西表示有可能。

伊朗學生通訊社引用芮沙阿米力的話表示，伊拉克政府已經同意明天在巴格達主辦會談。

報導引述芮沙阿米力的話指出：「第四回伊拉克三方安全會談，基於與伊拉克政府達成的協定，將在明天舉辦，與會者包括伊朗、伊拉克與美國的代表。」

伊朗學生通訊社報導，伊朗代表團今天已抵達巴格達，並報導這場會談將是「專家」級會議，意謂著伊朗與美國駐伊拉克的大使將不會參與討論。

伊朗總統艾馬丹加本周稍早在歷史性訪問伊拉克的行程中，已與伊拉克領導人會談。他是第一位造訪伊拉克的伊朗總統。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080306664174.html
伊朗表示將與美國就伊拉克問題舉行會談
法新社╱盧瑞珠 2008-03-06 09:20     

 
 
（法新社德黑蘭五日電）「伊朗學生通訊社」（ISNA）今天引述伊朗代表芮沙阿米力的話指出，伊朗和美國官員明天將就伊拉克安全問題舉行會談。

ISNA引述他的話表示：「基於和伊拉克政府達成的協議，有關伊拉克安全的第四回合三方會談，將在明天舉行，由伊朗、伊拉克和美國的代表共同參與。」

但美國方面表示，無法證實這項會議。

美國國務院副發言人凱西在華盛頓表示：「沒有這個行程，我們沒有從伊拉克方面得知伊朗已經訂好時間了。」

ISNA表示，伊朗代表團在今天抵達巴格達，強調這次會談是「專家」層次，也就是不會包括伊朗和美國的駐伊拉克大使。

這個消息在伊朗總統艾馬丹加於本週稍早，前往伊拉克進行一項歷史性訪問後傳出。ISNA報導，伊拉克總理馬里奇提議舉行三方會談。

這項會議原本要在上個月舉行，但伊朗外交部以技術理由暫時取消。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080302587549.html
布希總統下台前 美可能從伊撤出更多部隊
法新社╱陳維聰 2008-03-02 14:05     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓一日電）儘管美國政府上月宣布暫緩從伊拉克撤軍，不過美國在布希總統下台之前，仍有可能從伊拉克撤出更多部隊。

華盛頓郵報今天引述一名未具名政府高級官員的話說，美國國防部長蓋茨上月宣布的暫緩撤軍行動，可能在今年夏季持續進行四至六週，以評估地面情勢的狀況。

郵報引述這名官員的談話說：「這不是拖延戰術，我預料今年會進一步撤軍，預期總統也會這樣。宣布撤軍、生效時間及撤軍速度，這只是時間問題而已。」

不過這名官員無法預估布希總統任期於二零零九年一月屆滿之前，美國可能撤出多少部隊。

蓋茨先前曾表示，希望美國在伊拉克的部隊在二零零八年年底之前，從十五萬八千人減少至十萬人。不過他宣布暫緩撤軍行動已引起國會抨擊，美國國會質疑撤軍行動是否會繼續執行下去。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200803/20080302587431.html
美總統布希警告伊朗　呼籲北約增兵到阿富汗
法新社╱鄭詩韻 2008-03-02 13:05     

 
 
（法新社德州克勞福一日電）伊朗總統艾馬丹加明天前往伊拉克進行歷史性訪問前夕，美國總統布希警告艾馬丹加「停止輸出恐怖行動」。　　布希在他的德州克勞福農場，與來訪的丹麥總理拉斯穆森舉行記者會時表示，伊拉克雖然需要與其鄰國舉行會談，也應該清楚告訴德黑蘭，必須停止提供武器給伊拉克民兵。

他說：「這個訊息必須是『停止送來殺害我們百姓的精密器材』。」

布希說，他要告訴艾馬丹加的訊息是，「停止輸出恐怖行動」。

美國指控伊朗，提供伊拉克叛軍用以攻擊美軍的炸彈，也越來越關切德黑蘭對這個什葉派居多數國家的影響力。

艾馬丹加希望他明天的伊拉克訪問，將是伊朗與這個西部鄰國增強關係的重要一步，為曾在一九八零年代的兩伊戰爭中交戰八年的兩國寫下新頁。

布希是在與拉斯穆森結束兩天高峰會後，發表上述談話。布希並告訴記者，他將遊說北大西洋公約組織會員，提供更多軍隊進行阿富汗的任務。

布希說，他了解「特定國家有特定的政治限制」，但他表示，他打算在四月布加勒斯特的高峰會上，要求北約增兵。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200802/20080229551792.html
伊拉克同意處決前獨裁者海珊親信化學阿里
法新社╱陳政一 2008-02-29 16:35  

 
 
（法新社巴格達二十九日電）一名伊拉克高階官員今天告訴法新社，伊拉克總統委員會已同意處決前獨裁者海珊最惡名昭彰的親信「化學阿里」梅吉德。

這名官員表示，「總統委員會已同意處決化學阿里」，但是實際處決的時間仍未決定。

梅吉德曾在已遭處決的海珊手下擔任國防部長，他在一九八零年代下令以瓦斯攻擊伊拉克庫德族人後，獲得了「化學阿里」的綽號。

他因這項屠殺被以種族屠殺罪名定罪，最初被判決在去年六月處以絞刑。

根據伊拉克法律，梅吉德和兩名共犯應在去年十月前處決，但是法律爭執使這項處決遲遲未能執行。這三人因在一九八八年對庫德族人發動安法爾（Anfal，意為戰利品）攻擊而被定罪。

這兩名共犯分別是海珊的國防部長塔伊和武裝部隊作戰行動副司令提克瑞提。

在這項轟炸、大規模驅逐與瓦斯攻擊的殘暴行動中，據估有十八萬兩千名庫德族人遭到殺害，四千個村落被摧毀。

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080229/wl_afp/iraqtrialali_080229100011
Iraq approves execution of 'Chemical Ali'

by Jay Deshmukh
2 hours, 19 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's presidency has endorsed the execution for genocide of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's enforcer known to the world as "Chemical Ali" for ordering gas attacks on Kurds in the 1980s, Iraqi and US officials said on Friday.
 
"The presidency has approved Chemical Ali's execution," a top Iraqi official told AFP on conditition of anonymity. "The approval was given two days ago."

Majid was sentenced to death for genocide in June last year along with two other Saddam cohorts Sultan Hashim al-Tai, Saddam's defence minister, and Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, his armed forces deputy chief of operations.

The three were convicted after being found responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurds in the so-called Anfal campaign of 1988.

The Iraqi official said no date for the execution had been decided by the presidency council, which comprises President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Shiite Adel Abdel Mahdi and Sunni Tareq al-Hashemi.

"The prime minister has not made up his mind on the date of the execution," he said, but suggested it could be within 30 days following the presidency's endorsement of the sentence.

"The clock has started to tick since two days," he said, speaking in English.

Under Iraqi law the three men were supposed to have been executed by October 4 last year, 30 days after their sentences were upheld by the Iraq Supreme Court.

But their hangings were held up by legal wranglings after Iraq decided to postpone them until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan because of the outcry over Saddam's hanging during another Muslim holiday in December 2006.

The executions were further delayed because two members of the presidential council -- Talabani and Hashemi -- refused to sign the execution orders.

US embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said the embassy was "aware" of the approval, which concerns only Majid and not his two fellow convicts.

The three men are in the custody of the US military which has refused to hand them over to the Iraqis until all legal wranglings have been resolved.

On Friday, the Iraqi official said Baghdad has approached the US military to take over custody of Majid.

But Nantango said: "Our stand remains the same."

In the Anfal campaign, an estimated 182,000 Kurds were killed and 4,000 villages wiped out in the brutal campaign of bombings, mass deportation and gas attacks.

"Thousands of people were killed, displaced and disappeared," Iraqi High Tribunal chief judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah said after he had passed sentence in June.

"They were civilians with no weapons and nothing to do with war."

Majid, in his 60s, was the last of the six defendants to learn his fate in the Anfal case -- the second trial of former Saddam cohorts on charges of crimes against humanity since the fall of the feared regime in 2003.

He muttered only "Thanks be to God" before being led from the court.

He and the other two are also being tried in a separate case over their alleged roles in brutally crushing a Shiite uprising in southern Iraq in 1991. Saddam's regime said the Anfal campaign was a necessary counter-insurgency operation during Iraq's bloody eight-year war with neighbouring Iran.

Saddam, driven from power by a US-led invasion in April 2003, was executed on December 30, 2006 for crimes against humanity in a separate case, and charges against him over the Anfal campaign were dropped.

Saddam's former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan was hanged for crimes against humanity on March 20 last year, while the dictator's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, the ex-chief of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, were hanged on January 15.

Over the course of the Anfal trial, a defiant Majid said he was right to order the attacks.

"I am the one who gave orders to the army to demolish villages and relocate the villagers," he said at one hearing. "I am not defending myself. I am not apologising. I did not make a mistake."

Iraqi Kurds were jubilant following the verdicts but initial plans to execute Majid in the Kurdish town of Halabja were scrapped in case the hanging appeared motivated by revenge.

On March 16, 1988, Saddam's troops strafed Halabja with chemical gases, killing 5,000 Kurds in one of the biggest military operations against the people of the northern Kurdish region during the Iran-Iraq war.

Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that the Anfal verdicts were "flawed".

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200802/20080228539570.html
伊拉克總理誇稱全國和解成功 消除內戰威脅
法新社╱張佑之 2008-02-28 23:05     

 
 
（法新社伊拉克卡巴拉二十八日電）伊拉克總理馬里奇今天說，該國已成功實現全國和解，消除了教派衝突。

馬里奇在伊拉克中部聖城卡巴拉的一項什葉派宗教儀式中說：「恐怖份子企圖將伊拉克撕裂．．．並破壞伊拉克統一。他們希望發生教派衝突和內戰，但各位已親手消除了內戰的威脅。」

他對聚集在胡笙教長聖壇以慶渡回教四十日節的數百萬名什葉派教徒發表談話說：「透過人民的覺醒，我們成功了。感謝真主，伊拉克人民間的全國和解已經成功，我們成功地消除了教派主義。」

馬里奇籲請伊拉克人民，協助將蓋達部隊自北部的摩蘇爾、基爾庫克和迪雅拉等根據地逐出，然後「我們才能專注於國家重建」。

美軍方面說，伊拉克境內的蓋達份子在自中部和西部被逐出後，便轉入上述地區。

目前約有九百萬名什葉派教徒聚集在卡巴拉，以慶渡四十日節，這個節日是在紀念第七世紀教長胡笙遇害的儀式過後第四十天。

http://news.yam.com/afp/international/200802/20080228539571.html
美情報首長：塔利班再次控制阿富汗10%領土
法新社╱張佑之 2008-02-28 23:05     

 
 
（法新社華盛頓二十八日電）美國情報官員昨天在國會說，塔利班組織已重新控制了阿富汗大約百分之十的領土，而此時距該組織被美軍逐出阿國不及七年。

美國國家情報總監麥康奈在參院軍事委員會作證指出：「塔利班已能控制．．．該地區，約占阿富汗面積百分之十至十一。」

他說，與此同時，美國支持下的阿國總統卡賽政府僅控制「百分之三十或三十一的領土，其餘領土是由地方勢力控制」。

國防情報局局長馬波斯則告訴議員，塔利班的嶄獲可部份歸因於蓋達國際恐怖組織網為其提供援助。

馬波斯在聽證會中說：「我們認為，蓋達已擴大支持阿富汗反叛勢力。」

過去一年被視為自塔利班二零零一年遭推翻以來，阿國暴亂最嚴重的時期，這使美國及其北約盟邦所受壓力增加，必須加強兵力，以防阿國再次落入回教激進份子手中。

馬波斯在參院的聽證會中說：「另一方面，蓋達組織對巴基斯坦所構成的威脅也已增加，因該組織持續自形同避風港且大致處於無政府狀態的巴國邊界省份策劃、支持和指揮跨國攻擊行動。」

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080227/pl_afp/usafghanistantaliban_080227223331
Taliban controls 10 percent of Afghanistan: US intelligence

Wed Feb 27, 5:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Taliban has retaken control of about 10 percent of Afghanistan's territory, less than seven years after being run out of the country by US military forces, intelligence officials told Congress Wednesday.
 
"The Taliban was able to control ... in the area about 10 to 11 percent of the country," Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said in testimony before the Senate's Armed Services Committee.

The US-backed Hamid Karzai government meanwhile, controls just "30, 31 percent, and then the rest of it was local control," McConnell told lawmakers.

Another top intelligence official, General Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency told lawmakers that the gains can be attributed in part to aid from the Al-Qaeda international terror network.

"We believe that Al-Qaeda has expanded its support to the Afghan insurgency," Maples said at the hearing.

Afghanistan has in the last year seen its most violent period since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, increasing pressure on the United States and its allies in NATO to beef up their military contingents to avoid the country falling again to the radical Islamists.

"At the same time, Al-Qaeda presents an increased threat to Pakistan, while it continues to plan, support and direct transnational attacks from its de facto safe haven in Pakistan's largely ungoverned frontier provinces," Maples told the senators at the hearing.