Complete 911 Timeline

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Complete 911 Timeline: Al-Qaeda in the Balkans

Complete 911 Timeline

Al-Qaeda in the Balkans

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1988-Spring 1995: KSM’s Brother Works for Charity Allegedly Connected to CIA

Zahid Shaikh Mohammed, brother of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), works as the head of the Pakistani branch of the charity Mercy International. A book published in 1999 will allege that this charity, based in the US and Switzerland, was used by the CIA to funnel money to Muslim militants fighting against US enemies in places such as Bosnia and Afghanistan (see 1989 and After). It is not known when Zahid got involved with the charity, but he was heading the Pakistani branch by 1988, when his nephew Ramzi Yousef first goes to Afghanistan (see Late 1980s). [Reeve, 1999, pp. 120] In the spring of 1993, US investigators raided Zahid’s house while searching for Yousef (see Spring 1993). Documents and pictures were found suggesting close links and even a friendship between Zahid and bin Laden. Photos and other evidence also showed close links between Zahid, KSM, and government officials close to Nawaf Sharif, who is Prime Minister of Pakistan twice in the 1990s. They also discover that Zahid was seen talking to Pakistani President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari during a Mercy International ceremony in February 1993. [Reeve, 1999, pp. 48-49, 120] But despite the raid, Zahid apparently keeps his job until about February 1995, when Yousef is arrested in Pakistan (see February 7, 1995). Investigators learn Yousef had made a phone call to the Mercy office, and there is an entry in Yousef’s seized telephone directory for a Zahid Shaikh Mohammed. Pakistani investigators raid the Mercy office, but Zahid has already fled. [United Press International, 4/11/1995; Guardian, 9/26/2001; McDermott, 2005, pp. 154, 162] It is unclear what has happened to Zahid since. In 1999 it will be reported he is believed to be in Kuwait, but in 2002 the Kuwaiti government will announce he is a member of al-Qaeda, so presumably he is no longer welcome there. [Reeve, 1999, pp. 48; Los Angeles Times, 9/1/2002] Mercy International’s Kenya branch will later be implicated in the 1998 US embassy bombing in that country, and so will KSM, Zahid’s brother (see Late August 1998).
Entity Tags: Zahid Shaikh Mohammed, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Mercy International, Ramzi Yousef
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ramzi Yousef, Terrorism Financing


1989: Al-Qaeda Golden Chain Lists Financiers

The Golden Chain list. [Source: Public domain]In March 2002, authorities in Bosnia, Sarajevo, will raid the offices of the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) due to suspected funding of al-Qaeda. The raid will uncover a handwritten list containing the name of twenty wealthy donors sympathetic to al-Qaeda. The list, referred to as “The Golden Chain,” contains both the names of the donors and the names of the recipients. Seven of the payments are made to bin Laden, and at least one donation to him is made by the “bin Laden brothers.” Their first names apparently are not known. UPI will point out that “the discovery of this document in Sarajevo calls into question whether al-Qaeda has received support from one of Osama’s scores of wealthy brothers.” Adel Batterjee, a wealthy Saudi businessman who is also the founder of both BIF and its predecessor, Lajnatt Al-Birr Al-Islamiah, appears to be mentioned as a recipient three times. Batterjee will be named as a defendant in a 2002 lawsuit that attempts to blame some wealthy Saudis for responsibility in the 9/11 plot (see August 15, 2002). Batterjee will go missing in Saudi Arabia for over a year by the time the Golden Chain list will be discovered. [United Press International, 2/11/2003] Most accounts will be vague on what year the Golden Chain document was written, but counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke will say it dates from 1989. Al-Qaeda had been formed the year before and as of 1989 it has yet to be tied to any violent acts (see August 11-20, 1988). [US Congress, 10/22/2003]
Entity Tags: Benevolence International Foundation, Bosnia, Adel Batterjee, al-Qaeda
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism Financing, Bin Laden Family



1991: US Convinces Bosnian President to Renege on Agreement

Lawrence Eagleburger sends Warren Zimmerman to Sarajevo to encourage Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic to renege on an agreement brokered by Lord Carrington that would have prevented the breakup of Yugoslavia. Because of this and other similar incidents, Sir Alfred Sherman, a close colleague of Margaret Thatcher and a staunch US Cold War ally, later describes American intervention in the Balkans as a policy of “lying and cheating, fomenting war in which civilians are the main casualty, and in which ancient hatreds feed on themselves.” [Sherman, 3/2/1997]
Entity Tags: Lawrence Eagleburger, Margaret Thatcher, Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, Alfred Sherman, Alija Izetbegovic, William Goodhart, Warren Zimmerman
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


June 1991: Croatia and Slovenia Declare Independence

The provinces of Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia. While Slovenia breaks off without violence, considerable violence will result in Croatia. This is the start of nearly a decade of conlict in the region as Yugoslavia slowly breaks apart. [US Department of State, 12/6/1995]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1992: Iran Opens Arms Smuggling Route to Bosnia

Iran opens a weapons smuggling route to Bosnia with the assistance of Turkey. [Wiebes, 2003, pp. 178, 196-197]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1992-1995: Pentagon Helps Bring Islamic Militants to Fight with Bosnians Against Serbs

The Pentagon helps bring thousands of mujaheddin and other Islamic militants from Central Asia into Europe to fight alongside the Bosnian Muslims against the Serbs. [Wiebes, 2003; Spectator, 9/6/2003] Bin Laden plays a key organizing role. [Los Angeles Times, 10/7/2001] As a result, the Balkans become a “safe haven” and “staging area” for Islamist terrorism. [Washington Post, 11/30/1995; Los Angeles Times, 10/7/2001]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy, Complete 911 Timeline
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1992-1995: KSM Fights and Fundraises in Bosnia

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM) fights and fundraises in Bosnia. The 9/11 Commission will later state, “In 1992, KSM spent some time fighting alongside the mujaheddin in Bosnia and supporting that effort with financial donations.” [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 147] He works for Egypitska Pomoc, an Egyptian aid group in Zenica, Bosnia, and in 1995 becomes one of its directors. [Playboy, 6/1/2005] KSM mostly lives in Qatar for the next three years (see 1992-1996), but in 1995 he is back fighting in Bosnia as the violence escalates that year. Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, Qatar’s Minister of Religious Affairs, underwrites the costs of the trip. [Los Angeles Times, 12/22/2002; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 147, 488] This second trip to Bosnia means that KSM fights there at the same time as 9/11 hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, though it is not known if they meet (see 1993-1999).
Entity Tags: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, Nawaf Alhazmi, Egypitska Pomoc, Khalid Almihdhar
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed


March 1992: Bosnia Declares Independence

Bosnia declares independence from Yugoslavia. The United States recognizes the states of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia one month later. The European Union, which has already recognized Croatia and Slovenia, recognizes Bosnia as well. [US Department of State, 12/6/1995]
Entity Tags: Bosnia
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1993: Bosnian President Said to Grant Bin Laden Passport as Gesture of Appreciation

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic grants Osama bin Laden a Bosnian passport “in recognition of his followers’ contributions to Mr. Izetbegovic’s quest to create a ‘fundamentalist Islamic republic’ in the Balkans,” according to an account in a Bosnian newspaper in 1999. [Ottawa Citizen, 12/15/2001]
Entity Tags: Alija Izetbegovic, Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1993: Albanian Drug Smuggling Profits Fund Muslim Arms Buildup in Balkans

Albanian drug smugglers are found to be playing a prominent role in funding the Muslim arms buildup in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. In addition to small arms and machine guns, the criminal arms deals include surface-to-surface missiles and helicopters. [Independent, 12/10/1993; San Francisco Chronicle, 6/10/1994]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Drugs, Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1993: US Begins Construction on Airfield Used for Bosnia Arms Pipeline

The US government, in collaboration with Hasan Cengic, a radical Shiite imam, starts work on an airfield in Visoko, Bosnia (northwest of Sarajevo). This will become a major destination of a secret US arms pipeline into Bosnia. [Wiebes, 2003, pp. 179]
Entity Tags: Hasan Cengic
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1993: Bin Laden Visits Bosnia, Supports Bosnian President

Alija Izetbegovic. [Source: US Defense Department / Helene C. Stikkel]Bin Laden visits Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo. He sponsors some fighters from Arabic countries to fight on the Muslims’ side in Bosnia. [New York Times, 10/20/2003] Izetbegovic gives bin Laden a Bosnian passport the same year as a gesture of appreciation for his support (see 1993).
Entity Tags: Alija Izetbegovic, Osama bin Laden
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans



January 1993: Pakistani Vessel Shipping Arms to Bosnia Intercepted

A Pakistani vessel carrying ten containers of arms, destined for the Bosnian army, is intercepted in the Adriatic Sea. [Wiebes, 2003, pp. 195] During this same time frame (between March 1992 and May 1993), Pakistan also airlifts sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles to the Bosnian Muslims, according to the later testimony of Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir, who is head of Pakistan’s ISI during this period. [South Asia Tribune (Great Falls, VA), 12/23/2002]
Entity Tags: Javed Nasir, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Pakistani ISI


April 1993: Saeed Sheikh Travels to Bosnia and Joins Militant Islamic Group

Saeed Sheikh during his London School of Economics days. [Source: CNN]Saeed Sheikh, a British citizen and student at the London School of Economics, goes to Bosnia on a trip sponsored by the “Convoy of Mercy” [New York Times, 2/25/2002] , a front for the newly formed militant Islamic fundamentalist group, Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. [Jane\'s International Security News, 9/20/2001] There he joins Harkat ul-Mujaheddin. [New York Times, 2/25/2002] According to Aukai Collins, who will meet Saeed Sheikh in a camp in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan some months later (see June 1993-October 1994), Saeed is a member of Harkat ul-Ansar. [Collins, 2003, pp. 33] Harkat ul-Ansar will change its name to Harkat ul-Mujaheddin in 1997 after Harkat ul-Ansar is named a terrorist organization by the US State Department. [South Asia Analysis Group, 2/18/2002] Collins says Harkat ul-Ansar was funded by bin Laden. [South Asia Analysis Group, 2/18/2002]
Entity Tags: Saeed Sheikh, Harkat ul-Mujahedeen, Aukai Collins, Convoy of Mercy
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Pakistani ISI, Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Saeed Sheikh



March 13, 1994: Federation of Croatia and Bosnia Formed

At the urging of the US, the Muslim federation of Croatia and Bosnia is formed. This is intended to end the fighting between Croatian Muslims and Bosnian Muslims, which has disrupted the Iranian arms pipeline to the Bosnian Muslims. [Wiebes, 2003, pp. 165-166]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


April 1994: CIA Suspects US Ambassador May Be Involved in Arms Smuggling

US ambassador Peter Galbraith speaks with Iman Sefko Omerbasic, the religious leader of the small Muslim community in Zagreb, Croatia. Sefko later informs the Iranian ambassador that American diplomats want him to purchase arms for the Bosnian army. The CIA keeps tabs on Galbraith, concerned that he might be engaged in a secret operation. [Wiebes, 2003, pp. 166] The CIA fears that another Iran-Contra scandal is brewing. [APF Reporter, 1997]
Entity Tags: Iman Sefko Omerbasic, Peter Galbraith
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


Shortly After April 9, 1994: Bin Laden Travels to Albania, Meets with Government Officials

Bin Laden visits Albania as a member of a Saudi government delegation. He is introduced as a friend of the Saudi government who could finance humanitarian projects. Yet, earlier the same month, the Saudi government supposedly cut all ties with bin Laden (see April 9, 1994). One former US intelligence officer will complain in 1999, “Why was he a member of that delegation? The Saudis are supposed to be our allies. They told us he was persona non grata, and yet here he was working the crowds on an official visit.” Bin Laden strengthens ties with the Albanian secret service, with an eye to assisting the fight against Serbia in the neighboring country of Bosnia. [Reeve, 1999, pp. 180-181; Washington Times, 9/18/2001; Ottawa Citizen, 12/15/2001]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Albania
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Osama Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia


April 27, 1994: US Gives Bosnians Green Light To Smuggle Arms

US President Bill Clinton and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake decide that they will give the Bosnians a “green light” for the arms supply pipeline from Iran to Croatia. The CIA is not consulted. Lake passes the word on to US ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith by “cleverly” telling him that they have “no instructions” for him with regard to the Iranian arms shipments. [Wiebes, 2003, pp. 167- 168] Two days later, Galbraith passes the “no instructions” message on to Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, making it clear that the US government is giving him a green light for Croatia to conduct arms deals with Iran. [APF Reporter, 1997]
Entity Tags: Peter Galbraith, Military Professional Resources Inc., Franjo Tudjman, William Jefferson ("Bill") Clinton, Anthony Lake
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


After 1994-1999: CIA and Bin Laden Train KLA in Albania

In 1994 Albanian Premier Sali Berisha reportedly helps bin Laden set up a network in Albania through Saudi charity fronts after bin Laden visits Albania (see Shortly After April 9, 1994). Berisha later uses his property to train the KLA militant group. [London Times, 11/29/1998]
Entity Tags: Sali Berisha, Kosovo Liberation Army, Osama bin Laden
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1995-1998: Alleged Ties Between Al-Qadi Charity and Terrorist Groups Are Uncovered; No Action Taken

Saudi multimillionaire Yassin al-Qadi is said to be the chief investor in the Muwafaq (or Blessed Relief) Foundation charity, which he founded in 1992. He has donated about $15 to $20 million for the charity from his fortune and wealthy colleagues who he persuaded to help. Some of these colleagues are members of very rich and powerful Saudi families. Many of the locations where the foundation is supposed to do charitable work are in battle zones like Bosnia and Chechnya, where al-Qaeda and other radical militant groups operate. In 1995, media reports claim that Muwafaq is being used to fund mujaheddin fighters in Bosnia. Also in 1995, Pakistani police raid the foundation’s Pakistan branch in the wake of the arrest of WTC bomber Ramzi Yousef (see February 7, 1995). The head of the branch is held for several months, and then the branch is closed down. [Chicago Tribune, 10/29/2001] In 1996, bin Laden says in an interview that he supports the Muwafaq branch in Zagreb, Croatia (which is close to the fighting in neighboring Bosnia). [Guardian, 10/16/2001] A senior US official will later claim that in 1998, the National Commercial Bank, one of the largest banks in Saudi Arabia, runs an audit and determines that the Muwafaq Foundation gave $3 million to al-Qaeda. Both al-Qadi and the bank later claim that the audit never existed. Al-Qadi asserts he has no ties to any terrorist group. [Chicago Tribune, 10/29/2001] Al-Qadi will also claim that he shut down Muwafaq in 1996, but it is referred to in UN and German charity documents as doing work in Sudan and Bosnia through 1998. [Guardian, 10/16/2001; BBC, 10/20/2001] Shortly after 9/11, the Treasury Department will claim that Muwafaq funded Makhtab al-Khidamat (MAK) (the predecessor of al-Qaeda), al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Abu Sayyaf (a Philippines militant group with ties to al-Qaeda), and other militant Islamic groups. [FrontPage Magazine, 6/17/2005] In 2004, the Swiss government will investigate an unnamed Saudi businessman who is the former president of Muwafaq. Swiss investigators will say he is suspected of transferring tens of millions of dollars to “close al-Qaeda associates” from Swiss bank accounts. The Swiss will freeze $20 million of his bank accounts. This businessman denies any connection with terrorism (see September 19, 2005). [New York Times, 6/25/2004] However, despite all of these alleged connections, and the fact that the US will officially label al-Qadi a terrorism financier shortly after 9/11 (see October 12, 2001), the Muwafaq Foundation has never been officially declared a terrorist supporting entity. An October 2001 New York Times article will say that the reason, “administration officials said, was the inability of United States officials to locate the charity or determine whether it is still in operation.” But the same article will also quote a news editor, who calls Muwafaq’s board of directors “the creme de la creme of Saudi society.” [New York Times, 10/13/2001]
Entity Tags: Yassin al-Qadi, al-Qaeda, US Department of the Treasury, Switzerland, Osama bin Laden, National Commercial Bank, Abu Sayyaf, Muwafaq Foundation, United Nations, Hamas
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech


February 1995: Albanian Narco-Terrorism Destabilizes the Balkans

According to a report in Jane’s Intelligence Review, Albanian narco-terrorism, gun-running, and smuggling organizations are becoming a dominant economic, political, and military force in the Balkans. Jane’s expresses the concern that if left unchecked, the Albanian mafia will become powerful enough to control one or more states in the region. Albanian President Sali Berisha “is now widely suspected of tolerating and even directly profiting from drug-trafficking for wider political-economic reasons, namely the financing of secessionist political parties and other groupings in Kosovo and Macedonia.” [Jane\'s Intelligence Review, 2/1/1995]
Entity Tags: Albania, Sali Berisha
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Drugs


August 7, 1995: Clinton Sides with Interventionists During Cabinet Meeting

The differences on Bosnia policy between Madeleine Albright, Anthony Lake, and Richard Holbrooke on the one hand and the Pentagon on the other, are aired at a cabinet meeting. Albright et. al. argue for a firm commitment to military intervention. “They maintained that the stakes went far beyond the particulars in Bosnia. The issue was not one state or two, three, or none. Rather, the issue was US credibility as a world leader, its credibility in NATO, the United Nations, and at home.” Meanwhile, “the Pentagon was most concerned about avoiding a sustained military involvement, and saw in arm, train, and strike the shades of Vietnam.” Clinton comes down firmly on the side of intervention. After the meeting, Anthony Lake is dispatched to Europe to brief US allies on the new policy on Bosnia. [Daalder, 2000, pp. 106 - 110]
Entity Tags: William Jefferson ("Bill") Clinton, Anthony Lake, Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke, Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke, Madeleine Albright
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


August 30, 1995: NATO Launches Bombing Campaign Against Bosnian Serbs

“Operation Deliberate Force,” a massive NATO bombing campaign against the Bosnian Serbs, begins. [CNN, 8/31/1995]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


September 13, 1995: Muslim Militant Rendered by CIA in Croatia, Then Killed in Egypt

Talaat Fouad Qassem, 38, a known leader of the Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group), an Egyptian extremist organization, is arrested and detained in Croatia as he travels to Bosnia from Denmark, where he has been been living after being granted political asylum. He is suspected of clandestine support of terrorist operations, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (see February 26, 1993). In a joint operation, he is arrested by Croatian intelligence agents and handed over to the CIA. Qassem is then interrogated by US officials aboard a US ship off the Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea and sent to Egypt, which has a rendition agreement with the US (see 1995). An Egyptian military tribunal has already sentenced him to death in absentia, and he is executed soon after he arrives. [Associated Press, 10/31/1995; Washington Post, 3/11/2002, pp. A01; Mahle, 2005, pp. 204-205; New Yorker, 2/8/2005] According to the 1999 book Dollars for Terror, two weeks before his abduction, Qassem was in Switzerland negotiating against Muslim Brotherhood leaders. Some Muslim Brotherhood exiles were negotiating with the Egyptian government to be allowed to return to Egypt if they agreed not to use Muslim Brotherhood Swiss bank accounts to fund Egyptian militant groups like Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, but Qassem and other radicals oppose this deal. So the removal of Qassem helps the Muslim Brotherhood in their conflict with more militant groups. [Labeviere, 1999, pp. 70-71]
Entity Tags: Muslim Brotherhood, Talaat Fouad Qassem, Croatia, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Gama\'a al-Islamiyya, Egypt
Timeline Tags: Torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Terrorism Financing, Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Terrorism Financing


November 1995: US Current and Former Officials Play Prominent Roles in Dayton Peace Talks

Richard Perle and Douglas Feith act as advisors to the government of Bosnia during the Dayton peace talks. They do not register with the Department of Justice, as required by US law. Richard Holbrooke is the chief NATO civilian negotiator and Wesley Clark the chief NATO military negotiator. [Washington Watch, 5/13/2001] After the Dayton peace talks, Richard Perle then serves as a military adviser to the Bosnian government. [AFP Reporter, 1997]
Entity Tags: Douglas Feith, Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke, Wesley Clark, Richard Perle
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1996: Germans Begin Investigating Hamburg Cell Member after Tip from Turkey

Mounir El Motassadeq. [Source: Associated Press]Turkish intelligence informs German’s domestic intelligence service that Mohammed Haydar Zammar is a radical militant who has been traveling to trouble spots around the world. He has already made more than 40 journeys to places like Bosnia and Chechnya. Turkey explains that Zammar is running a dubious travel agency in Hamburg, organizing flights for radical militants to Afghanistan. As a result, by early 1997 German intelligence will launch Operation Zartheit, an investigation of Islamic militants in the Hamburg area. The Germans will use a full range of intelligence techniques, including wiretaps and informants. [Stern, 8/13/2003; Vanity Fair, 11/2004] Apparently, while Zammar was a teenager in Syria, he became friends with Mamoun Darkazanli and the two of them joined the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Muslim group banned in Egypt. In 1991, Zammar trained and fought in Afghanistan with the forces of the warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. In 1995, he fought in Bosnia against the Serbs, while based in Zenica with other mujaheddin. German intelligence apparently is familiar with at least some of Zammar’s background, because the New York Times will later report that Zammar “had been identified [in the late 1980s] by German authorities as a militant who frequented mosques in Hamburg and elsewhere.” [Washington Post, 9/11/2002; New York Times, 1/18/2003] Operation Zartheit will run at least three years and connect Zammar to many of the 9/11 plotters.
Entity Tags: Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Mohammed Haydar Zammar, Germany
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Al-Qaeda in Germany



1996-1999: Albanian Mafia and KLA Take Control of Balkan Heroin Trafficking Route

Albanian Mafia and KLA take control of Balkan route heroin trafficking from Turkish criminal groups. In 1998, Italian police are able to arrest several major traffickers. Many of the criminals involved are also activists for the Kosovo independence movement, and some are KLA leaders. Much of the money is funneled through the KLA (see 1997), which is also receiving support and protection from the US. The Islamic influence is obvious in the drug operations, which for example shut down during the month of Ramadan. Intercepted telephone messages speak of the desire “to submerge Christian infidels in drugs.” [Agence France-Presse, 6/9/1998; Corriere della Sera (Milan), 10/15/1998; Corriere della Sera (Milan), 1/19/1999] Testifying to Congress in December 2000, Interpol Assistant Director Ralph Mutschke states that “Albanian organized crime groups are hybrid organizations, often involved both in criminal activity of an organized nature and in political activities, mainly relating to Kosovo. There is evidence that the political and criminal activities are deeply intertwined.” Mutschke also says that there is also strong evidence that bin Laden is involved in funding and organizing criminal activity through links to the Albanian mafia and the KLA.(see Early 1999) [US Congress, 12/13/2000 ]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army, Ralph Mutschke, Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Drugs


1997: KLA Surfaces to Resist Serbian Persecution of Albanians

The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) emerges to resist Serbia’s campaign against Yugoslavia’s Albanian population. The force is financed by Albanian expatriates and Kosovar smugglers (see 1996-1999) (see Early 1999). According to news reports, the KLA receives some $1.5 billion in drug and arms smuggling profits from Kosovar Albanian traffickers each year. [Mother Jones, 1/2000] The US Drug Enforcement Agency office in Rome tells the Philadelphia Inquirer in March 1999 that the KLA is “financing [its] war through drug trafficking activities, weapons trafficking, and the trafficking of other illegal goods, as well as contributions of their countrymen working abroad.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/15/1999] Less than a year later, Mother Jones magazine will report that it obtained a congressional briefing paper which states: “We would be remiss to dismiss allegations that between 30 and 50 percent of the KLA’s money comes from drugs.” [Mother Jones, 1/2000]
Entity Tags: Drug Enforcement Agency, Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Drugs, Al-Qaeda in Balkans


February 1998: State Department Removes KLA from Terrorism List

Having already entered into its controversial relationship with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), the US gives in to the organization’s demands that it be removed from the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. [Wall Street Journal (Europe), 11/1/2001] Near the end of that same month, Robert Gelbard, America’s special envoy to Bosnia, says the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is an Islamic terrorist organization. [BBC, 6/28/1998] “We condemn very strongly terrorist actions in Kosovo. The UCK [KLA] is, without any question, a terrorist group.” [Agence France-Presse, 4/1999] “I know a terrorist when I see one and these men are terrorists,” he says. [BBC, 6/28/1998]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army, Robert Gelbard
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


Shortly Before February 1998 and After: KLA Receives Arms and Training from US and NATO

The US and NATO provide the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) with arms and training. [Wall Street Journal (Europe), 11/1/2001]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


May 7, 1998: Al-Qaeda Leader Visits Bosnia; US Charity Is Funding Al-Qaeda There

Mamdouh Mahmud Salim (a.k.a. Abu Hajer), a top al-Qaeda leader, visits Bosnia for unknown reasons and connects with a charity suspected of financing bin Laden’s organization. Salim was one of the founders of al-Qaeda and will be arrested in Germany later in the year (see September 20, 1998) and charged in connection with the 1998 embassy bombings (see August 7, 1998). Records show that the Bosnia branch of the US-based Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) sponsored Salim’s visa, reserved him an apartment, and identified him as one of its directors. BIF had long been suspected of funding al-Qaeda. For instance, in 1994 another founding member of al-Qaeda heading the Chicago branch of BIF was arrested in the US for suspected terrorist support, and then mysteriously let go (see December 16, 1994). Intelligence officials will question BIF officers about Salim’s trip in early 2000, but the reason for the trip remains a mystery. [New York Times, 6/14/2002]
Entity Tags: Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, Benevolence International Foundation
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Terrorism Financing


Summer 1998: CIA Breaks Up Islamic Jihad Cell in Albania

A joint surveillance operation conducted by the CIA and Albanian intelligence identifies a six-man Islamic Jihad cell that is planning to bomb the US Embassy in Tirana, Albania’s capital. The cell was created in the early 1990s by Mohammed al-Zawahiri. The operation intercepts lengthy discussions between the cell and al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is also Mohammed al-Zawahiri’s brother. [New Yorker, 2/8/2005; Wright, 2006, pp. 269] At the behest of the US government, Egypt, which has a rendition agreement with Washington (see 1995), issues an arrest warrant for Shawki Salama Attiya, one of the militants in the cell. Albanian forces then arrest Attiya and four of the other suspected militants. The sixth suspect is killed. The men are taken to an abandoned airbase, then flown by a CIA-chartered plane to Cairo, Egypt, for interrogation. Attiya later alleges that he suffered electrical shocks to his genitals and was hung from his limbs. Two of the suspects, who had been sentenced to death in absentia, are hanged. On August 5, 1998, a letter by Ayman al-Zawahiri is published that threatens retaliation for the Albanian abductions (see August 5, 1998). Two US embassies in Africa are bombed two days later (see August 7, 1998). [Washington Post, 3/11/2002, pp. A01; New Yorker, 2/8/2005] The US State Department will later speculate that the timing of the embassy bombings was in fact in retaliation for these arrests. [Ottawa Citizen, 12/15/2001]
Entity Tags: Albania, Shawki Salama Attiya, Mohammed al-Zawahiri, Central Intelligence Agency, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Islamic Jihad
Timeline Tags: Torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


Early August 1998: CIA Arrests Four Al-Qaeda Operatives in Albania

The CIA arrests four al-Qaeda operatives in Tirana, Albania. The US State Department will later speculate that the embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (see August 7, 1998) may have been in retaliation for these arrests by the CIA. [Ottawa Citizen, 12/15/2001]
Entity Tags: al-Qaeda, Central Intelligence Agency
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


October 1998: Islamic Conference Calls KLA Struggle ‘Jihad’

An annual international Islamic conference in Pakistan formally characterizes the Kosovo Liberation Army’s struggle as a “jihad.” [Wall Street Journal (Europe), 11/1/2001]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


1999: US and British Special Forces Train KLA Operatives in Albania

British SAS teams, US Special Forces, and representatives from Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI) are actively training KLA fighters at bases in Northern Albania (see Late June-Early July 2001). [Daily Telegraph, 4/18/1999; Herald (Glasgow), 3/27/2001]
Entity Tags: Military Professional Resources Inc., Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


January 1999: Agim Ceku Takes Over Command of the KLA

General Agim Ceku (see 1993-1995) retires his commission in the Croatian armed forces to take command of the KLA. Despite the fact that Ceku is an indicted war criminal, this move has the blessing of the US State Department. As head of the KLA, Ceku is viewed by NATO and presented in the mainstream media as a loyal and valuable NATO ally. He is a frequent participant in NATO briefings along with top generals such as Wesley Clark and Michael Jackson. [Taylor, 2002, pp. 164]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army, US Department of State, Agim Ceku
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


January 17, 1999: Large Number of Mujaheddin Entering Albania

The Greek press reports that Afghan mujaheddin are entering Albania in large numbers. Osama bin Laden is named as one of those who have organized groups to fight in Kosovo to fight alongside the Albanians. According to the Arab-language news service Al-Hayat, an Albanian commander in Kosovo code named Monia is directly linked to bin Laden, and commands a force that includes at least 100 mujaheddin. An Interpol report released on October 23, 2001 also reveals that a senior bin Laden associate led an elite KLA fighting unit in Kosovo. According to the report, bin Laden also maintained extensive ties with the Albanian mafia. [Ottawa Citizen, 12/15/2001]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


January 29, 1999: Western Nations Issue Ultimatum to Serbs and Albanians

The six-nation “Contact Group,” comprised of delegations from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, meets in London to discuss a resolution to the Kosovo conflict. At the conclusion of the conference, they issue an ultimatum to the Yugoslavian government and Kosovar Albanians, requiring them to attend peace talks in Rambouillet, France beginning on February 6 (see February 6-23, 1999). [Press Association (London), 1/29/1999; BBC, 1/30/1999] However, It appears only the KLA is invited to speak on behalf of the Kosovar Albanians, not Ibrahim Rugova—the only democratically elected leader of Kosovo—or any other member of the Kosovo Democratic League. “Western diplomats have described Rugova as increasingly irrelevant, while the key players in Kosovo are now the rebels of the KLA,” the BBC reports. [BBC, 1/31/1999]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army, Ibrahim Rugova
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


March 19, 1999: Kosovo Peace Talks Fail

The Kosovo peace talks end in failure with the Yugoslav government refusing to agree to Appendix B of the Rambouillet Accords (see February 6-23, 1999), which would require the Serbs to provide 28,000 NATO troops “unimpeded” access to the country. [Guardian, 3/16/1999]
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy, Complete 911 Timeline, Complete 911 Timeline
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


Late March-June 1999: NATO Begins Bombing Campaign Against Serbs

Gen. Wesley Clark leads the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia. [BBC, 12/25/2003]
Entity Tags: Wesley Clark
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


January 2000: Millennium Bomb Plotters Tied to Bosnian War

NATO troops patrol the village of Bocinja Donja in 2001. [Source: NATO / Paul Hanson]In the wake of the failed al-Qaeda millennium bomb plots, US investigators will discover that a number of suspects in the plots have connections to an obscure village in Bosnia named Bocinja Donja. At the end of the Bosnian war in late 1995, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic kicked out the Serbians living in this small village 60 miles north of the capital of Sarajevo and gave their houses to about 100 former mujaheddin who fought in Bosnia. Most of them married local women, allowing them to stay despite a treaty requiring all foreign fighters to leave Bosnia. In contrast to the rest of Bosnia, the village is governed by strict Islamic law. Suspects who lived in or visited the village include:
Karim Said Atmani. A former roommate of Ahmed Ressam, he is believed to be the document forger for Ressam’s group that attempted to bomb the Los Angeles airport (see December 14, 1999). He was a frequent visitor to Bosnia until late 1999. [Washington Post, 3/11/2000]
Khalil Deek. Suspected of masterminding the Los Angeles airport plot (see December 15-31, 1999) and a Jordanian millennium plot (see December 11, 1999), Deek was investigated by US intelligence since the late 1980s (see Late 1980s) but inexplicably never even watchlisted until 2004 (see Spring 2004). Deek’s brother says Khalil lived in Bosnia for a while, working for a “Muslim relief organization.” [Washington Post, 3/11/2000; Orange County Weekly, 6/15/2006]
Hisham Diab. While he has not been explicitly connected to this village, he fought in Bosnia and was Deek’s next door neighbor and close al-Qaeda associate all through the 1990s (see March 1993-1996 and December 14-31, 1999), so presumably they spent time in Bosnia together. [New Yorker, 1/22/2007]
Hamid Aich. He lived in Canada and is connected to Ressam’s group (see December 21, 1999). He also will openly live in Ireland and apparently fund a wide variety of militant groups and plots there before escaping to Afghanistan just before 9/11 (see June 3, 2001-July 24, 2001).
Other mujaheddin connected to this village are wanted by authorities in other countries for other alleged crimes. A senior US official will say, “We have been concerned about this community for years. We flushed out a lot of them [after the end of the war].… [But] we find the whole group of them a threat, and we want them out of there.” [Washington Post, 3/11/2000] Others tied to the millennium plots have ties to Bosnian war generally because Ressam belonged to a group of armed robbers called the “Roubaix gang” that trained in Islamic camps in Bosnia. [Los Angeles Times, 1/13/2000] Izetbegovic will step down as leader of Muslim Bosnia in October 2000. [New York Times, 10/20/2003] In late 2000 and early 2001, the mujaheddin will gradually be moved out of the village and replaced by the original Serbian inhabitants.
Entity Tags: Hamid Aich, Alija Izetbegovic, Karim Said Atmani, Hisham Diab, Khalil Deek, Roubaix gang
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Millennium Bomb Plots



June 2001: The KLA Begins an Offensive in Macedonia

The KLA launches an offensive in Macedonia. Many of the KLA commanders involved in the offensive also held appointments in the UN’s Kosovo Protection Corps. The regular Macedonian security forces are forced to withdraw, and the Macedonian military and elite police forces engage the KLA. [Taylor, 2002, pp. 119-120]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


Late June-Early July 2001: KLA Forces Are Rescued by US in Macedonia

At the end of June, the KLA had captured the Macedonian town of Aracinovo on the outskirts of Kopje. However, within a few days 500 KLA fighters are surrounded by the Macedonian military and elite police units, cut off from re-supply and hopelessly outnumbered. The Macedonian forces are closing in and could easily capture or kill the entire KLA force there, except NATO intervenes. NATO brokers a deal with the Macedonians, under the threat of extreme economic sanctions, under which NATO would oversee the demilitarization of Aracinovo and transport the captured KLA members to internment camps in Kosovo. US troops then enter Aracinovo with 15 buses to evacuate the trapped KLA fighters. They are escorted safely away from the surrounding Macedonian forces, and then, contrary to the agreement, the KLA members are released to rejoin other KLA forces and fight again. The American forces involved in the rescue include 16 members of MPRI (see August 1994) (see 1999), who had been assisting and training the KLA forces. [Taylor, 2002, pp. 120-121]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army, United States
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


July 15, 2001: The KLA Begins Ethnic Cleansing of Tetovo-Kosovo Corridor in Macedonia

By mid-July the Macedonian police and military are no longer able to contain the KLA in the Tetovo-Kosovo corridor. The fighting intensifies and the KLA establishes secure bases in this region. On the evening of July 15, local KLA commanders notify Macedonian residents that they must flee or face execution. It is estimated that over 30,000 Macedonians are forced to flee their homes and become refugees. [Taylor, 2002, pp. 121-122]
Entity Tags: Kosovo Liberation Army
Timeline Tags: Western Support for Islamic Militancy
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans


September 20, 2002: Saudi Charity in Bosnia Linked to Al-Qaeda

A Bosnian government probe connects the Saudi charity Talibah International Aid Association to the funding of Islamic militant groups and an al-Qaeda front group. Talibah has been under investigation since shortly after 9/11 due to a foiled attack in Bosnia that has been connected to Talibah and al-Qaeda. Abdullah Awad bin Laden, one of bin Laden’s nephews, is a Talibah officer in its Virginia office. An investigation into him was cancelled in September 1996 (see February-September 11, 1996). The US has been criticized for failing to list Talibah as a sponsor of terrorism and for not freezing its assets. [Wall Street Journal, 9/20/2002]
Entity Tags: Talibah International Aid Association, al-Qaeda, Abdullah Awad bin Laden
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden Family, Terrorism Financing