Trial to get under way for Fort Dix plot suspects

Trial to get under way for Fort Dix plot suspects

CAMDEN, N.J. — A jury will hear opening arguments Monday in the trial of five men accused of plotting to kill soldiers on Fort Dix, a case the government has presented as one of the most frightening examples of homegrown terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The five defendants — all foreign-born Muslim men in their 20s who have spent much of their lives in the southern New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia — were arrested in May 2007 and accused of plotting to sneak onto Fort Dix to attack soldiers. The Army base primarily trains reservists for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

No attack was carried out and the men’s lawyers say there was no plot.

The men face charges of attempted murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on all counts.

Pakistan officials say 30 militants killed in clashes

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani forces killed at least 30 militants near the Afghan border, as the region’s provincial chief called for “peaceful dialogue” in a meeting with a U.S. State Department official.

The U.S. Embassy would not comment on U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher’s meeting with North West Frontier Province Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, other than to say his trip had been planned for some time and that he was meeting a range of government officials.

Boucher’s trip comes amid strains between Islamabad and Washington over suspected American missile attacks targeting militants inside Pakistan. Washington wants Islamabad to do more to root out the al-Qaida and Taliban fighters based inside Pakistan whom they blame for rising attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and other targets.

Taliban bus attack leaves about 30 civilians dead

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Taliban militants stopped a bus traveling on Afghanistan’s main highway through a dangerous part of the south, seized about 50 people on board and killed about 30 of them, officials said Sunday.

A Taliban spokesman took responsibility for the attack but claimed to have killed 27 Afghan soldiers. Afghan officials said that no soldiers were aboard and that all the victims were civilians.

Insurgents stopped the bus in a Taliban-controlled area about 40 miles west of Kandahar, said provincial police chief Matiullah Khan.

Officials offered varying death tolls from the attack, which occurred Thursday in an area where government forces cannot travel safely without military protection.

Iraqi puppy adopted by soldier en route to U.S.

BAGHDAD — Ratchet the Iraqi puppy finally had his day.

An animal rescue group flew into Baghdad on Sunday and picked up the dog, which was adopted by Army Spc. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis in a case that highlighted military rules barring troops from caring for pets while in Iraq.

Ratchet was loaded onto a charter flight, which took off Sunday night for Kuwait. He’s due in Minnesota later this week.

It was the third try by Operation Baghdad Pups to get Ratchet out of the country on behalf of Beberg, who says she couldn’t have made it through her 13-month deployment without the affectionate mutt.

She and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of trash in May.

Federal legislation aims to prevent train wrecks

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sweeping new federal legislation will help prevent train wrecks such as the 2005 deadly Graniteville, S.C., crash that killed nine and injured several hundred after a chlorine spill, experts and government officials said.

Under the law signed by President Bush, major railroads including Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation will have to install technology that, in emergencies, can automatically stop trains carrying passengers or hazardous materials.

The affected railroads have until the end of 2015 to implement “Positive Train Control” systems and 18 months to submit their plans to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

Farrakhan: ‘new beginning’

CHICAGO — Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan stressed unity among religions, while still preaching a message of black empowerment, at a rare public event Sunday deemed “a new beginning” for the Chicago-based movement.

In the nearly two-hour speech, Farrakhan covered topics including immigration, public schools, violence and morality. He vaguely referred to the presidential election but did not specifically mention any candidates.

Combined dispatches