Top Militants Among 15 Killed by Saudi Forces
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Security forces have killed 15 Islamic militants in four days, including three on their most wanted list, in the most intensive fighting seen in Saudi Arabia's two-year war on terror -- a sign that the kingdom may have al Qaeda on the defensive.
The latest slain militant was Abdul-Rahman Mohammed Mohammed Yazji, who was killed Wednesday in a police raid in the capital, Riyadh. Yazji is suspected of involvement in a 2003 bombing of a housing complex for foreign workers that killed 17 people.
EUROPE
• BELFAST -- Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams appealed to the Irish Republican Army to use words, not guns, to fulfill its aims of ending British rule in Northern Ireland. His remarks, which came on the first full day of campaigning for British parliamentary elections May 5, were cautiously welcomed in Dublin and London but dismissed by others as a cynical election ploy.
THE MIDDLE EAST
• JERUSALEM -- Israel has the right to strengthen Jewish settlements in the West Bank, an Israeli cabinet minister said, a day after President Bush affirmed support for a peace plan that calls for a construction freeze in settlements.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni acknowledged there are serious differences between Israel and the United States over the issue.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, four Palestinians were wounded by gunfire from Israeli security guards protecting a crew building Israel's separation barrier.
ASIA
• SEOUL -- South Korea summoned Japan's ambassador to protest official approval of textbooks that critics say whitewash Japanese history. Chinese stores began boycotting Japanese goods over the issue.
-- From News Services
