Ballistics link 2 more freeway shootings
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Ohio investigators said Tuesday ballistic tests have matched two more of 11 shootings along I-270 near Columbus and they suspect all 11 shootings are related.
One of the shootings claimed the life of Gail Knisley, 62, who was hit by a single bullet Nov. 25 while a passenger in a car south of Columbus.
Franklin County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Steve Martin told CNN there are now four cases positively linked to the same weapon.
Since May, there have been 11 shootings along Interstate 270, which circles Columbus. Investigators told CNN they suspect they might all be the work of the same shooter, or shooters.
A 12th shooting occurred about 1:35 a.m. Nov. 11 at a school, rather than along Interstate 270. That bullet also reportedly was fired from the same weapon.
The four cases linked through ballistics are the shooting of a freight truck Oct. 19, the shooting at the empty school building, a shooting along U.S. Route 23 Nov. 23 and the most recent shooting, which killed Knisley.
CNN reported several Columbus-area police agencies have increased their patrols along busy Interstate 270.
Two Palestinians killed in the West Bank
JERUSALEM, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A Palestinian who reportedly threw a firebomb at an Israeli Defense Forces car Tuesday near Ramallah was shot and killed by soldiers.
The Jerusalem Post said there were no reported injuries among the car's passengers. The army said three Palestinians were present at the scene; one was injured as he tried to run away, but was later captured. The third suspect escaped.
IDF troops Tuesday morning shot and killed a wanted Palestinian in the West Bank city of Jenin. Military sources told the Post the man was wanted for his involvement in several shooting attacks against Israelis.
Early Tuesday, some 25 jeeps and armored personnel carriers entered the West Bank town of Jenin, with soldiers conducting a house-to-house search for militants.
Witnesses said several gun battles erupted and residents said they later found the body of Amjad Saadi, a militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, an armed group with ties to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
Seoul announces enhanced security rules
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The South Korean government announced new anti-terrorism plans Tuesday, including the evacuation about 3,400 South Koreans from the Middle East if necessary.
The Korea Times said under the plans, the government would first create a communications hotline with South Korean construction companies operating in 11 Middle Eastern countries. Employees of the companies, along with their families, would be evacuated if security worsens.
Also, under the new plans, every international flight made by a South Korean flag carrier will have at least one male, armed security attendant on board and South Korean troops operating abroad will not work outside their bases until the security environment improves.
Airport security will also be enhanced, with the ratio of passengers subjected to random baggage checks increased from the current 3.5 percent to 7 percent after the additional troop dispatch to Iraq is finalized.
U.S. officials deny capturing Saddam aide
KIRKUK, Iraq, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. military officials Tuesday denied reports they had captured Saddam Hussein's former second-in-command during a raid in northern Iraq.
A member of Iraq's Governing Council said earlier Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest-ranking former regime official still at large aside from Saddam himself, had been caught during the raid near Kirkuk.
But Major Doug Vincent of the 173rd Airborne Brigade told reporters al-Douri was "definitely not captured in today's mission."
The United States has posted a $10 million reward for the capture or death of al-Douri, believed one of the key guerrilla organizers of recent attacks around Samarra and Tikrit.
Saddam Hussein biographer Simon Henderson told the BBC the capture of al-Douri would be "a considerable victory for the Americans and a considerable defeat for the insurgency."
Al-Douri was one of the key plotters who carried out the coup that brought the Baath Party to power in 1968. In later years, he served as vice chairman of the powerful Revolution Command Council.
