The Guardian reports that a roadside bomb struck a Syrian military truck on Wednesday, wounding six soldiers seconds after a convoy carrying the head of the UN observer mission passed. The blast – which came just a day after former UN secretary general Kofi Annan issued a plea for peace in the country – cracked the truck's windows and caused a plume of black smoke to rise into the sky. The UN convoy was not hit. The attack was a graphic example of what the Syrian people live with every day, the head of the UN observer mission, Major General Robert Mood, told reporters. He said the observers' work would continue as usual.
According to the Washington Post, the latest al-Qaeda bomb plot targeting U.S. aircraft was unraveled from inside the terrorist group by operatives — including an agent who posed as a willing suicide bomber — working on behalf of the CIA and its counterparts in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, said U.S. and Middle Eastern officials. The Saudi intelligence service played a particularly important role in penetrating al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen and recovering the explosive device, according to officials, who described an elaborate espionage operation in which the CIA tracked the bomb’s movements for weeks and then killed suspected plotters in a drone strike after the device was seized.
The los Angeles times reports that the surprise unity government announced Tuesday by Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu has many observers predicting that the reformed coalition will embark on a more moderate path, including reopening talks with Palestinians and softening rhetoric on attackingIran. The addition of the centrist Kadima party to what has been called one of Israel's most right-wing coalition governments gives Netanyahu a comfortable 78% majority in the parliament, lessening the clout of small right-wing parties and factions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has commented on the recent waves of detentions as part of the ongoing probe into the Feb. 28 process, saying the government was uncomfortable with the drawn-out investigation, Hurriyet Daily News reports. Erdoğan was speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboğa Airport upon his return from Italy, answering questions about yesterday's recent detentions in the Feb. 28 probe.
