German federal prosecutors said Friday they have arrested a man suspected of helping a terrorist cell that allegedly plotted attacks against U.S. troops in Germany. The prosecutor's office identified the man only as "Kadir T.," and said he is a German of Turkish origin. He is suspected of acquiring a video camera and night-vision equipment for the Islamic Jihad Union group, prosecutors said. The items were allegedly shipped to Waziristan in Pakistan, prosecutors added. Four men trained by ...

The Taliban has ravaged Pakistan, but its leadership is in tatters. After weeks of denials, two Pakistani Taliban commanders admitted on Aug. 25 that the group's chief, Baitullah Mehsud, had been killed in an Aug. 5 U.S. missile strike. The commanders also confirmed reports that Hakimullah Mehsud, a regional chieftain close to Baitullah and one of the organization's rising stars, had been tapped to take the top job. The announcement highlighted the degree to which the Taliban has ...

Holders Barcelona will face Inter Milan, pitting Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic against their former clubs, after the draw for the Champions League group stage was made in Monaco on Thursday. Barcelona, who beat Manchester United 2-0 in last May's final in Rome, and Inter will be joined by Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev and Rubin Kazan of Russia in Group F of the competition. Ten former champions and eight Champions League debutants go into action in the 32-team format split ...

The hot wind swirls around the human bones and cracked skulls that litter the forsaken desert lands in Western Iraq. We are standing in the middle of what was an al Qaeda execution site, just outside an intricate bunker complex that the organization used to torture and murder its victims, the bodies left to rot or be eaten by animals. From the back of the police truck the opening to the first bunker is barely discernible in the distance. "Al ...

Taliban official Hakeemullah Mehsud has been selected the new head of the Pakistani Taliban, a local Taliban commander in Pakistan's federally administered tribal areas told CNN Saturday. Mehsud was selected Friday by a 42-member Taliban council, or shura, according to Taliban commander Qari Haris. Another Taliban official -- Maulvi Faqir Mohammad -- had been tapped as Mehsud's deputy, Haris said. Mohammad had named himself acting head of the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday. A third official -- Hazem Tariq -- was ...

Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong brought a Scottish town center to a standstill on Tuesday when hundreds of people joined him for a group bike ride. The seven-times Tour de France winner used social networking site Twitter to invite fans to take part in the event in Paisley, Scotland and -- as a result -- around 200 people gathered in the town's High Street. Fans took photographs and asked for autographs from the American and the ...

An Afghan militant group is willing to "help" U.S. and coalition forces, if they prepare to leave Afghanistan, the group's leader said in a statement given to CNN on Monday. "We are ready to help with the United States and ... other coalition forces if foreign troops announce the time frame for the pulling out their troops from Afghanistan," said Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Afghan prime minister and leader of the pro-Taliban Hizb-e-Islami militant group. "I am sure Afghans will ...

Kenneth Bacon, a former reporter and Pentagon spokesman who later served as a top advocate of displaced people all over the world, died Saturday, according to Refugees International. He was 64. Bacon had served as the president of Washington-based Refugees International since 2001, the group said in a statement Saturday. The former Wall Street Journal reporter died Saturday morning from an aggressive melanoma that spread to his brain, the statement said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Bacon, who was ...

Germany took a decisive step nearer the 2010 World Cup finals with a 2-0 win in Azerbaijan to open up a four-point gap at the top of European qualifying group four. Goals early in each half from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose sealed victory for Joachim Loew's side, who have played a game more than closest rivals Russia. Germany's trip to face Russia in Moscow on October 10 is likely to decide who tops the group, but Wednesday's win gives ...

Terrorist groups often boast about their unity of purpose, the single-minded pursuit of their apocalyptic goals. But when it comes to leadership succession, history shows they are rarely united. The death of a charismatic leader often leads to fragmentation and infighting, followed by a loss of focus and effectiveness. Case in point: al-Qaeda's Iraqi arm never recovered from the killing of Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi. Is that the fate now awaiting Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the death of ...