Bibliography of ERRI/ |
Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) USAMA BIN LADEN PAGE |
|
| 1999 April 20, 1999- December 21, 1998--Bin Laden November 5, 1998--United States Puts $5
Million Bounty August 31, 1998- International Terrorism; Where Do We Go From Here? August 16, 1998--Latest On Embassy Bomb Investigations Update/Series of Reports; Bombings of Two U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Africa -10 Aug 98 August 8, 1998-- Search For Embassy Bombers Begins June 16, 1998 - Special Report -- Saudi Arabia: Bin-Ladin, Others Sign Fatwa To 'Kill Americans' Everywhere (Los Angeles Times Award Winner) 1997 July 25, 1997 - Vol. 3, No. 206 --
Osama Bin Laden Bides His Time; To Strike The U.S. Again? ERRI analysts are occasionally |
June 1999
Source and reference URL: http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/laden.htm
This page has been accessed Supplemental EmergencyNet News Stories: 1999-2001 24 August 2001
INDIA: 21 August 2001 FBI Investigation Into Cole Bombing Faltering SANA -- The New York Times reported yesterday that an FBI investigation has virtually ground to a halt because Yemen has refused repeated American requests to widen the inquiry to include Islamic militant groups in Yemen. The effect of the Yemeni decision has been to frustrate efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to link the bombing conclusively to Osama bin Laden, the fugitive Saudi dissident, who has declared a worldwide "holy war" on the United States... 05 July 2001 Court Records: Ressam and al-'Owhali Both Trained in Afghan Camps Denied By Taliban The Cable News Network (CNN) is today reporting that both Ahmed Ressam and Mohamed al-'Owhali, alleged to have been engaged in a millennium bomb plot, were trained at the Khaldan camp in Afghanistan, one of several Islamic militant camps believed to be financed by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden. On Tuesday, Ressam testified that that he spent six months in the Afghanistan training camp starting in March 1998. Al-'Owhali has testified that he spent time there a year later. Yesterday, as is frequently the case, the Taliban issued a statement denying that they have anything to do with terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. 29 June 2001 AFGHANISTAN: U.S. Reportedly Tells Taliban To Maintain Control Over Bin Laden A Taliban official said that the United States warned Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement on Friday they would bear responsibility for any attack on U.S. interests by alleged master terrorist Usama bin Laden. U.S. Ambassador William Milam reportedly delivered the warning about bin Laden -- who has been given refuge by the Taliban -- during an hour-long meeting at the Taliban embassy in Islamabad. Islamabad is one of the few places where U.S. diplomats have contact with Taliban officials because Pakistan is one of only three countries to recognize them as the government of Afghanistan. 28 June 2001 MIDDLE EAST: Bin Laden Reportedly Sets Up New Terror Group It was being reported on Tuesday, that according to Arab sources, alleged master terrorist Usama bin Laden has set up a new militant group comprised of his own minions and those from the Egyptian Jamaat-ul-Jihad group. The new group is known as "Quaidatul Jihad." An Egyptian doctor turned terrorist, 48-year-old Aiman Al-Zawahiri led Jamaat-ul-Jihad, said to be a long-time associate of bin Laden, is said to be in charge of the new group. Al-Zawahiri is also one of the prime suspects in the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. 20:30CDT - 23 June 2001 Terrorist Indicators and Warnings (I&W) Continue To Come In Chicago, IL (EmergencyNet News) -- Indicators and warnings continue to come in with regard to a possible terrorist threats directed against the U.S. and her allies. The latest report comes from Pakistan, where the Arabic satellite television channel MBC says that they interviewed Usama Bin Laden and members of his staff. During that interview an MBC correspondent was quoted by the Reuters news service as saying, "All of them affirm that the next two weeks will witness a big surprise. A severe blow is expected against U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide." "There is a major state of mobilization among the Osama bin Laden forces. It seems that there is a race of who will strike first. Will it be the United States or Osama bin Laden?'' the correspondent said. The correspondent is apparently refering to a belief on the part of some of those close to Bin Laden that an airstrike on his camp in Afghanistan is imminent. This theory has reportedly caused Bin Laden and his entourage to flee Kandahar for the countryside in recent days. U.S. officials tell EmergencyNet News that they have no information concerning any military strike on Bin Laden. In apparent contradiction to all of the threat reports of the past several days, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Osman Sheryar on Sunday called the MBC TV coverage "fake" and said that "Osama's [Bin Laden's] activities are 'under control' and that Bin Laden would never be allowed to use Afghan soil against any country." 22 June 2001 INDIA: Fourth Man Arrested In Plot To Bomb U.S. Missions According to Indian police on Friday, a fourth man has been arrested on suspicion of involvement with a group linked to master terrorist Usama bin Laden and suspected of plotting to bomb U.S. embassies in India and Bangladesh. Three men were arrested last week following information received two months ago about a possible attack on the U.S. embassy in New Delhi. The fourth man was arrested on Thursday in the eastern city of Patna and was being brought to New Delhi for questioning. Officials alleged the fourth suspect was to have been the driver of "an explosive-laden car to the American embassy in Delhi." The three men arrested last week included a Sudanese citizen and an Indian associate. Police did not disclose the nationality of the other two suspects. Police said the group was plotting to place a bomb in a car and leave it near the crowded visa section of the U.S. embassy outside the tightly guarded mission compound in Chanakyapuri, the diplomatic enclave in the Indian capital. Security has been tightened around the U.S. embassy. Police said the group was also suspected of plotting an attack on the U.S. mission in Dhaka. Despite these continuing reports from Indian government sources, it should be noted that several U.S. government officials, and private consulting agencies closely associated with the U.S. government, have publicly denied that they are aware of any "credible" threat (see below - 09:00CDT - 19 June 2001) to the U.S. embassy in New Delhi...particularly any threats associated with Usama Bin Laden. 09:00CDT - 20 June 2001 Videotape Allegedly Shows Links Between Bin Laden Group and Attack on U.S.S. Cole Kuwait (EmergencyNet News) -- A videotape, allegedly used for recrutiment of extremists, has surfaced in Kuwait and was released to the media on Tuesday. Reportedly, the video tape draws several very graphic references to the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole and may be the closest thing yet to an admission of responsibility by Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda organization. The release of the tape comes amidst the release of several other stories by international news organizations concerning Bin Laden and connections to past, previous, and potential terrorist incidents. ERRI's Clark Staten, who has been studying Bin Laden for several years, today said that he believes that the tape was produced to bolster Bin Laden's popularity in the Mid-East and Asia and to motivate loosely organized radical groups to undertake new terror acts against the United States. "With several intended terrorist acts recently thwarted by intelligence and law enforcement authorities and a number of his followers now convicted in U.S. courts, we believe Bin Laden is feeling 'frustrated' and under some pressure to make his presence felt," Staten said. Click here to review the ERRI Bin Laden page. 06/19/2001 13:01CDT From EmergencyNet News Mid-Day Intelligence Summary RUSSIA: Russian Security Chief Concerned About Threat Against G-8 Summit The Russian president's chief bodyguard said on Tuesday that master terrorist Usama Bin Laden might want to use a July G-8 summit in Italy to attack POTUS and other world leaders. Yevgeny Murov, whose official title is head of the Russian Federal Bodyguard Service, was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying: "Bin Laden is threatening the American president, but we know what international terrorism is today and therefore all the bodyguard units concerned are preparing for this..."
INSTANT
Yemen and U.S. Government Deny Bin Laden Groups' Involvement in Yemen and India Threats YEMEN: Confusion Surrounds Reported Arrest Of Alleged Bin Laden Suspects According to the Washington Post, a group of suspects has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of plotting an attack on the US Embassy in Sanaa. The suspects are alleged to have been targeting FBI and US Navy personnel who have been investigating the attack on the warship USS Cole in Yemen last October. The US withdrew the investigators over the weekend following what it called a "specific and credible" threat against them. The nine suspects - reportedly captured by police in possession of grenades, small arms, and a map of the US Embassy - are believed to belong to a group associated with master terrorist Usama bin Laden.However, later on Tuesday, Yemeni officials denied the U.S. newspaper report that authorities had arrested nine men. Yemeni security officials said the report was inaccurate. An Interior Ministry official said: "The only people we have arrested recently have been members of a gang that was terrorizing villages. We have not detained anyone on the reported charges." INDIA: US DoS Says Not Aware Of Any Terrorist Threat To U.S. Embassy in New Delhi The United States Department of State said on Monday it was not aware of any current threat to the US embassy in New Delhi after several arrests by Indian authorities of people suspected of plotting to bomb the mission. The statement was issued by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. Indian police arrested three people by late Saturday in connection with the alleged plan, which they said were linked to terrorist mastermind Usama bin Laden. 17 June 2001 INDIA: India Officials Identify Bin Laden Associates in Bomb Plot NEW DELHI -- Indian authorities have identified Abdel Raouf Hawas, and an Indian associate, Shamim Sarwar, as those charged with allegedly plotting to attack U.S. embassies in New Delhi, India and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hawas, a Sudanese national, has been linked to Usama Bin Laden through his previous association with him in Sudan. It is also believed that Hawas was a "sleeper agent," who was participating in recruiting and surveillence missions for Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. When arrested, the two men were allegedly in possession of a small quantity of high explosives. A third man, identified only as Abbas, was also arrested on Sunday. Indian intelligence and police sources are said to be examining the possibility of additional accomplices. 16 June 2001 INDIA: Police Arrest Sudanese National With Bin Laden Links According to police in New Delhi on Saturday, a Sudanese national was arrested for planning to attack the U.S. embassy. The suspect has told authorities that he has links with master terrorist Usama bin Laden. Arrested was one Abdel Raouf Hawas. Hawas was picked up along with an Indian associate in New Delhi on Friday. The two men, who were now in police custody, were carrying high explosives at the time of arrest which came after a tip about a possible attack on the U.S.embassy two months ago. Hawas told the police he had visited the heavily-guarded U.S embassy several times to prepare for an attack. He said he disguised himself as a student many times to survey the area. Security has since been tightened around the U.S. embassy. The Hindu newspaper quoted unnamed police officers as saying that the Sudanese national had planned a car-bomb explosion at the U.S. embassy in the Indian capital. 25 Apr 2001 Bin Laden Organization Allegedly Trying To Establish Presence in Palestinian Territories Israeli authorities said on Tuesday that they captured a man suspected of having been in a training camp run by master terrorist Usama bin Laden as he was trying to enter the Gaza Strip at the Rafiah border crossing point with Egypt. An arrested HAMAS activist had previously confessed that he was sent to the Gaza Strip to set up a bin Laden base. There is serious concern that the establishment of a bin Laden financed organization in the territories will erode Yasser Arafat's control over the Palestinian political scene. The presence of a bin Laden organization could increase the possibility of continued violence while complicating attempts to arrive at a long-lasting solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ERRI analysts said that they suspect that "non-state actors," possibly with links to Afghanistan, are using Kosovo, Kashmir and Israel/Gaza as "terrorist training grounds," where terror-bombers can learn to ply their trade. Analysts say it is a "win-win" situation for Bin Laden minions, as they can both undermine Arafat and tout their participation and contribution to the PLO intifada. 07 Apr 2001 Embassies Said Closed Because Of Bin Laden Threats According to U.S. intelligence officials on Friday, the threat of attack by militants linked to terrorist mastermind Usama bin Laden caused the United States to close three of its embassies in South America. The embassies closed were in the capitals of Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador. One U.S. government official reportedly told the United Press International (UPI): "There was a certain level of huffing and puffing" being intercepted between cells of known and suspected bin Laden operatives, and U.S. security specialists had the "feeling we should take certain precautions." According to another source, the information on bin Laden came from Argentine intelligence. He added that bin Laden operatives had been arriving "over a period of time," apparently for the purpose of carrying out "special missions." Local Shiite Muslims in the tri-border area between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, have allegedly put up these operatives in their homes, helped them move around, furnished them with maps and diagrams of various target areas... 05 Apr 2001 ITALY: Five People Connected To Bin Laden Arrested News reports said on Thursday that police arrested five people suspected of belonging to an Islamic terrorist group with ties to terrorist mastermind Usama bin Laden. Citing police sources, news reports said that the men were also believed to be part of the same group that had planned an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Rome in January. The five were arrested on charges of belonging to a criminal organization, arms trafficking and falsifying documents. The arrests occurred in Milan and in a nearby town, Busto Arsizio. Police were also looking for five other people believed to belong to the same group. Nationalities of the five suspects were not clear, but news reports said they were all North Africans. Milan prosecutor Stefano Dambruoso told the ANSA news agency that the group was connected to bin Laden and were preparing a big attack in Europe, but not in Italy. He said that a downtown square in Strasbourg, France, appeared to be the target of the attack. 25 Mar 2001 UNITED STATES: Report Says Bin Laden Associate Held In Secret The New York Times was reporting that a Sudanese man US authorities believe to be part of a global conspiracy to kill Americans has been held in secret in New York for more than four months. Mohamed Suleiman al-Nalfi, who was arrested in Kenya last fall, has been indicted as an associate of master terrorist Usama bin Laden's militant network. The suspect has denied the charge. Al-Nalfi is charged with forming a Sudanese branch of bin Laden's organization at the request of bin Laden's military commander. The US alleges that al-Nalfi was ordered in 1992 or 1993 to have his group ready to travel to Somalia to assist with the expulsion of US and United Nations forces. Appearing in court last Friday, al-Nalfi pleaded not guilty to the charges. Al-Nalfi was reportedly arrested by the FBI while he was traveling from Sudan to Amsterdam, where he was offered a job, in a U.S. "sting operation" to facilitate his arrest. 20 Mar 2001 YEMEN/U.S.A.: Bin Laden Advisor Reportedly Connected To USS Cole Bombing According to a report in this week's Newsweek magazine, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has found a possible link between the main suspect in last year's bombing of the USS Cole and master terrorist Usama bin Laden. FBI documents are said to show a link between Jamal al-Badawi, the key Yemeni suspect in custody, and a top security adviser to bin Laden, Tawfiq al-Atash. Al-Badawi allegedly helped buy the boat used by two suicide bombers. He has reportedly told investigators that he was led to believe - but never directly told - that bin Laden was giving the orders. WORLD-WIDE: An International Terrorist Alliance; Exploring the "Republic of Jihadistan" While putting together his organization of crazed extremist fighters, master terrorist Usama bin Laden in the 1990s decided that Al Qaeda (The base) needed something more -- like foreign allies. Federal prosecutors allege that throughout the decade, Al Qaeda leaders worked on a three-way alliance with the Islamic Front of Sudan and elements of the Iranian government. US officials say this terrorist version of NATO may have never really solidified. But the mere fact that bin Laden planned it shows the breadth of his ambition. In his quest to wage jihad, or holy war, against the United States, bin Laden may have constructed something that is bigger than a guerrilla group and more complex than a multi-national corporation. Call it a "virtual country" - the Republic of Jihadistan. Richard Rosecrance, an expert on terrorism at the University of California at Berkeley, describes it: "It has state-like aspects, but without state borders." Gideon Rose, deputy director of national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, notes that a century ago, a dedicated transnational terrorist group - anarchists - wreaked havoc around the globe. Between 1894 and 1901, anarchists assassinated the president of France, the prime minister of Spain, the empress of Austria, the king of Italy, and William McKinley, president of the United States. Rose said: "We've all forgotten just how successful they were. Imagine how worked up we'd be if some group knocked off so many heads of state today." But bin Laden's network appears to represent the coming thing in the age of modern terrorism. The sponsorship of terror groups by geographical states such as Syria and Libya appears to be on the decline. Their place is being taken by virtual states such as Al Qaeda, which have little physical infrastructure to attack and less in the way of safe harbors against which economic sanctions can be effective. Recently, the director of the US National Security Agency publicly complained that Al Qaeda's sophisticated use of the Internet and encryption techniques have defied Western eavesdropping attempts. Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet told Congress this month that bin Laden and his network are the nation's most immediate and serious transnational threat. Officials remain worried that bin Laden's network will link with other networks to become a terrorist Warsaw Pact. A recent CIA study of the world of 2015 concluded that while it is not the most likely future, it is possible that "the trend towards more diverse, free-wheeling transnational terrorist networks will lead to the formation of an international terrorist coalition with diverse anti-Western objectives and access to Weapons of Mass Destruction." Bin Laden's Jihadistan has been under particular scrutiny in recent days due to the ongoing trial in New York City of four of his alleged followers on charges that they conspired to bomb the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998. The government's first witness in the trial, a man named Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadl, who describes himself as a former Al Qaeda paymaster, has painted a vivid and detailed picture of bin Laden's organization. He has described the organization's former headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan, where bin Laden had an office in which work went on like anyplace in the world - except it dealt with such things as the purchase of clandestine passports and the purchase of uranium and elements of chemical weapons. The alleged bin Laden insider also described the organization's "foreign policy." Al Qaeda had relations with a number of different terrorist organizations, he said, including some in Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Syria, the Philippines, and Chechnya. Other counter-terrorist analysts say that Bin Laden and al-Qaeda may have contacts in as many as 22 nations... Click here for a Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning the Trial of Four Suspected Terrorists, Charged With Complicity in the Bombing of Two U.S. Embassies in Africa: 02 to 23 Feb 2001 (Updated 23 Feb 2001) 08 Feb 2001 WORLD-WIDE/CIA ASSESSEMENT: DCI Tenet Says Usama Bin Laden Biggest Threat To US Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet said on Wednesday that the biggest threat to U.S. national security is the Muslim extremist network of Usama bin Laden. In his annual detailed assessment of global threats facing the United States, Tenet told the Senate Intelligence Committee that international terrorists are becoming more technologically sophisticated and difficult to combat. Tenet told the senators: "Usama bin Laden and his global network of lieutenants and associates remain the most immediate and serious threat." The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) makes annual public presentations to Congress on the most acute threats to U.S. security. The Director said the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which harbors bin Laden on its territory, "encourages and profits from the drug trade." He said opium production in Afghanistan has been "exploding," accounting for 72 percent of the world's illicit opium production last year. A major theme of Tenet's presentation to Congress was the risk of sudden surprise and the growing importance of transnational threats -- those that cross national borders. He cited a "growing risk of surprise" as a result of gaps in intelligence analysis into the efforts of certain countries and groups to obtain or produce weapons of mass destruction. According to the CIA, terrorist groups are becoming more decentralized, which makes them harder to identify. Tenet explained: "Terrorists are also becoming more operationally adept and more technically sophisticated in order to defeat counter-terrorism measures." As the United States has strengthened security around government buildings and fixed military facilities, terrorists appear to be seeking out "softer" targets. Tenet said that the most dramatic example of this is the 12 October attack on the USS Cole, which killed 17 sailors. Two men in a small boat sidled up to the $1 billion destroyer in Aden harbor in Yemen and, without warning, detonated explosives that ripped a huge hole in the ship and nearly sank it. The FBI has yet to determine who was behind the bombing, but a cell of bin Laden's network remains a "prime suspect." On the subject of the bearded bin Laden, Tenet said: "His organization is continuing to place emphasis on developing surrogates to carry out attacks in an effort to avoid detection, blame and retaliation." The entire report can be accessed at: http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/ INSTANT AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Reportedly Offers US Deal To Deport Bin Laden London's Times newspaper reported on Monday that the Taliban say they will consider exiling master terrorist Usama bin Laden to a third country if they receive assurances that the West will recognize them as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. Senior Taliban leaders said their main fear was that the US and other Western countries would continue to ostracize their administration even if bin Laden left Afghanistan. Taliban Foreign Minister Abdul Wakil Muttawakil reportedly told the Times: "We hope the new American Administration will be more flexible and engage with us." The rigid Islamic rulers of Afghanistan are said to be squeezed hard by United Nations sanctions that were recently imposed. It is not clear which country might actually provide sanctuary to the bearded terrorist, or how the alleged master-terrorist and his followers and body-guards might make a move to a new country. U.S. officials told EmergencyNet News this morning that they had no immediate response to the purported offer to deport Bin Laden or the Times article. Apparently, at least some of the Taliban leadership also does not agree with a deal to hand over Bin Laden. Today, the Reuters news service is quoting Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, as saying, "We have not given shelter to Osama bin Laden so that we can make a deal to hand him over," Zaeef told a news conference. "Our policy is clear from the beginning and this policy still prevails." 05 Feb 2001 AFGHANISTAN: Russians Charge That Taliban Support 30 Guerrilla Camps Russian security council secretary Sergei Ivanov told a conference of defense officials in Munich, Germany, on Sunday that the Taliban movement in Afghanistan was supporting about 30 terrorist camps aimed at training fighters as well as smuggling drugs and arms. Ivanov said: "According to our information, the Taliban fighters, supported by Pakistan, have set up in Afghanistan approximately 30 training camps for terrorist commandos from Central Asian, Arab and European countries." Last month the United Nations imposed new sanctions because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over terrorism suspect Usama bin Laden. The sanctions are sponsored by the United States and Russia, which accuse him of training and supporting radical Islamic groups in Afghanistan where he lives under Taliban protection. Russia and Central Asian states have also expressed concern that Afghanistan has increasingly become a source of drug trafficking and a training base for radical Islamic fighters. 20 Jan 2001 LOS ANGELES/CANADA/ALGERIA: LAX Was Possible Target Of Terrorist Bomb U.S. federal prosecutors say that an alleged Algerian terrorist accused of assembling a powerful bomb in Vancouver, British Columbia, and trying to smuggle it into the United States may have been plotting to blow up the Los Angeles International Airport. According to the Canadian newspaper National Post, court documents filed in U.S. district court in Seattle claim RCMP officers searching the Montreal apartment of Ahmed Ressam following his arrest found a map of southern California with three airports circled in pen. The documents also reveal that when he was arrested on 14 December 1999, trying to cross into Washington State from Victoria, British Columbia, Ressam was carrying a French-language guidebook of California. The court documents said: "It is quite possible a reasonable person would conclude that one or more of these airports may have been an ultimate target of this conspiracy." The other circled airports on the map were at Long Beach and Ontario County. Ressam's arrest just over a year ago set off an international terrorism investigation that uncovered what prosecutors allege was a plot by a Montreal-based Islamic militant cell to "punish America" on the eve of the new millennium. The terrorist cell was said to be associated with the "Afghan Alumni," veterans of the war in Afghanistan who turned their attention to fostering an international Islamic movement, headed by Usama bin Laden and using violence to fight Americans and Jews. The intended target of the alleged millennial bombing conspiracy has so far remained a mystery. Initially, authorities feared it might have been meant for the Seattle Space Needle. The document is the first suggestion that the plot may have targeted one of the largest airports in the United States. Ressam, an alleged member of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), is scheduled to go on trial in Los Angeles on 12 March. Using a fake French passport, the 33-year-old Ressam came to Canada in 1993 claiming to be a refugee. He later obtained a fraudulent Canadian passport using a false name. According to police, he and another Algerian extremist, Abdelmajid Dahoumane, checked into a motel in Vancouver, British Columbia. There they assembled a bomb which Ressam tried to bring into the United States in the trunk of a rented car. Dahoumane disappeared and is the subject of a US$5 million reward. He has reportedly been arrested in Algeria and is being held for questioning. 19 Jan 2001 SOUTHERN ASIA: Al Qaeda Said To Be Messing Around With Chemical Weapons Citing intelligence sources, the New York Times recently reported that Al Qaeda, the umbrella terrorist organization led by Usama bin Laden, is experimenting with chemical weapons in one of its camps in Afghanistan. The sources told the newspaper that Mohdiuh Mahmud Salim, an Iraqi member of the organization, even tried to buy enriched uranium in Europe. The group, according to the newspaper, has become a beacon for Muslim Malaysians, Algerians, Filipinos, Palestinians, Egyptians and even Americans who have come to view the U.S. as their enemy. In a story that traced the growth of jihad against Soviets in Afghanistan, which was encouraged by the U.S. and other Western powers, to include American interests and moderate Islamic governments across the world, the newspaper said Al Qaeda has now expanded its war to include Israel which, until recently, considered it to be Washington's problem. U.S. and West Asian officials were quoted as saying that Al Qaeda had financed and trained an anti-Israeli group, Asbat Al Ansar, that operates in the Palestinian camps. The story quoted a French scholar Olivier Roy, who follows Islamic activities, as saying that Al Qaeda's biggest asset is thousands of jihadis around the world who no longer see their struggle in strictly local or even national terms. The group, investigators say, plans attacks months or even years in advance. They say internal crackdown on Muslim militants in different countries fuel the international jihad... 10 Jan 2001 AFGHANISTAN: Usama Bin Laden Reportedly Wants To Leave Afghanistan A newspaper reported on Tuesday that alleged international terrorist Usama bin Laden wants to leave Afghanistan and has sought permission of Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Omar to allow him and his minions to shift their operational headquarters somewhere else. The request was made a few days ago after which Omar started consultations with his cabinet to reach a consensus on whether to allow bin Laden to migrate or ask him to stay in Afghanistan. Omar had earlier requested bin Laden to continue his Afghan stay. Omar believes bin Laden's departure would demoralize Afghans and holy war forces for whom his presence is a source of inspiration. [Editor's Note: and money to support the Taliban] Bin Laden, on the other hand, believes his presence in Afghanistan would multiply the hardship for Afghans and impede the Taliban against adversaries of Islam. Bin Laden is said to be convinced that it is time he entered the anti-Israel war. He believes his migration would enhance his operational capability and enable him to consolidate his forces active against the US and its allies. Bin Laden has also reportedly recorded a message for Palestinian forces active against Israel. It is not known if the message has been distributed yet. Though bin Laden's next destination is yet to be confirmed, sources indicate Yemen could be his next station. Yemen has gained significance as bin Laden recently married in an influential Yemeni Syed family. Moreover, his family has also reportedly acquired a few islands near Yemen... 06 Jan 2001 PHILIPPINES: Muslim Rebels Linked To Holiday Bombings Police in the Philippines and Indonesia say that Muslim extremists suspected in holiday bombings in both countries may all have learned their deadly skills in Afghanistan. In the Philippines, the national police chief said Afghan-trained Muslim separatists were responsible for five New Year's holiday bombs that killed 22 people and injured more than 120 in metropolitan Manila. In Indonesia, meanwhile, bombing suspect Dedi Mulyadi - being held for a string of deadly church bombings on Christmas Eve - told investigators that he and two accomplices learned bomb-making at an Afghan mujahedeen camp in the early 1990s. Eighteen people were killed and 84 badly injured in the blasts in nine Indonesian cities and towns on Christmas Eve. Authorities said they were still unsure if the two Muslim groups are related, or the bombings were -- in anyway -- linked. On Friday, Philippine police charged the chairman of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Salamat Hashim, and six other rebels with murder for allegedly masterminding the bombings of a commuter train, a bus, the airport, a park and an abandoned gasoline station. The director general of the Philippine police, Panfilo Lacson, said government soldiers who overran a rebel camp in November found plans for December bombings in Manila. Police said on Saturday they found and defused another powerful bomb in a shopping mall in the southern city of Davao. On 29 Dec 2000, EmergencyNet News reported; "Emergency
Response & Research Institute (ERRI) analysts hypothesize that attacks
in Manila may have been scheduled to coincide with other Christmas
[holiday] terrorist attacks in Pakistan, Kashmir, and Indonesia. It is not
currently known if the various attacks were somehow
"coordinated" by any sort of controlling authority, although at
least one ERRI analyst is looking to Afghanistan for additional answers." For Reports Prior to 31 Dec 2000: Special (Hardcopy) ERRI Report on Osama Bin Laden and
al-Qaeda now available ... Go now to our on-line order facility and make your purchase with your credit card and our secure ERRI Super Store...uses a SSL secure server to immediately process your order. Your credit card will be charged by the Emergency Response & Research Institute, Inc. |
09:00CDT - 19 June 2001