Bomber

A man who had hoped to become a suicide bomber for radical Islamic groups was sentenced in Chicago to nearly 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to terrorism-related charges. Shaker Masri, 29, pleaded guilty in July to charges of trying to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization. He declined to make a statement in court Tuesday and showed little emotion as U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman announced the expected sentence. Masri, an Alabama native, plotted to attend a training camp in 2010 in Somalia, where he hoped to learn how to be a suicide bomber for Al Qaeda and its Somali ally, the Shabab.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Taliban insurgents, including several suicide bombers, attacked a U.S.-Afghan military airfield in the eastern city of Jalalabad early Sunday morning, triggering an hours-long battle that left most of the attackers dead in a failed attempt to breach the base's fortifications. The attackers detonated two suicide vehicles at the gate of the base, followed by three more suicide bombers on foot who detonated explosive vests, according to an account of the attack provided by the Nangahar provincial governor's office late Sunday afternoon.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle loaded with explosives near a joint coalition-Afghan security center in a province west of Kabul on Friday, killing two Afghan civilian workers and a woman and wounding at least 90 others.   Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the governor of Wardak province, said the bomber struck about 8:20 a.m., when a Mazda truck exploded in the provincial capital, Maidan Shaher. He said at least 11 women and four children were among those injured in the explosion, which also killed the bomber.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- In an attack on a coalition military base in downtown Kabul, two suicide bombers set off explosions Wednesday morning that killed two Afghan security guards but caused no Western military casualties. The two bombers approached the entrance of Camp Eggers, a fortified military base, at around 8 a.m. and were fired on by Afghan security guards, said police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai. Camp Eggers is occupied primarily by U.S. military personnel, along with soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force and some civilian workers.

JERUSALEM - As Israeli victims of the Bulgarian bus bombing arrived back home Thursday, security officials said they now believe the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber with a fake American passport. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who has blamed Lebanon-based Hezbollah and its Iranian backers for the bombing - called upon the international community to further isolate the Islamic Republic, which he called "the world's No. 1 state exporter of terrorism.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The dusty truck stop in southern Afghanistan, with its surrounding crush of humble, tumbledown shops outside an American-run military base, was every bit as chaotic and oh-just-give-me-your-business in attitude as always. Logically enough, it was during the busy late morning Wednesday when the attackers chose to strike, with a coolly thought-out plan. A violent initial hit, and then a short wait until rescuers arrived. Pause just until the crush of panicked bystanders had rushed in to help the bloodiest and most helpless of the victims of the first thundering explosion.

SANA, Yemen - A suicide bomber targeted soldiers rehearsing Monday for a military parade here, killing as many as 112 people and signaling that Islamic extremists may be shifting their focus to Yemen's capital after weeks of intense battles in outlying provinces with U.S.-backed government forces. Al Qaeda affiliate Ansar al Sharia claimed responsibility for the bombing in retaliation for American-assisted government offensives against its strongholds in southern Yemen. Unnerved by increasedU.S.

TRIPOLI, Libya — The Libyan intelligence officer convicted in the 1988 bombing of an American airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, died at home here Sunday nearly three years after passions around the case were reawakened when he was freed on compassionate grounds because of what was reported as advanced prostate cancer. Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi, 60, became a symbol of state-sponsored terrorism under the late Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi. Megrahi repeatedly denied a role in the downing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans, and led to Libya's further isolation as a rogue state.

BEIRUT - Two weeks after a supposed cease-fire was meant to bring an end to violence in Syria, an explosion Friday ripped through the capital, Damascus, killing at least nine people and injuring almost 30. A suicide bomber in the pro-opposition Midan neighborhood detonated an explosives belt near a school and the Zein Abidin mosque as worshipers were leaving Friday prayers, the Interior Ministry said. Those killed included civilians and law enforcement officers, state media said.