Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections

Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections
By Scott Taylor
Bin Laden's Balkan connections: Al-Qaeda fighters have been quietly infiltrating the ranks of ethnic Albanian guerrilla forces in Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo for years. (Scott Taylor)

As the U.S. manhunt for Osama bin Laden and his followers intensifies in the wake of the Taliban's fall, the Americans will turn their attention to other countries suspected of harbouring terrorists -- Sudan, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and areas under Palestinian control.

Foremost among these trouble spots will be the Balkans, where al-Qaeda fighters have been quietly infiltrating the ranks of ethnic Albanian forces in Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo for years.

Macedonian intelligence officials say mujahedeen, or Islamic freedom fighters, especially Mr. bin Laden's followers, form the veteran core of the ethnic Albanian guerrilla army known as the National Liberation Army, or UCK, which has mounted a successful military offensive against Macedonian security forces from their base in Kosovo since last March: By the time a shaky peace was brokered in September, the UCK controlled nearly 30 per cent of Macedonian territory. Macedonian security forces attribute the success of the UCK, which was initially inexperienced and ill-equipped, to the support of as many as 120 mujahedeen among them.

On Nov. 20, when extremists from around the world were volunteering to join the ranks of the Taliban, Pakistani police apprehended five Muslim "fighters" carrying Macedonian passports at the Afghan border -- further proof, Macedonian authorities say, of Mr. bin Laden's Balkan connection.

Nikola, a senior director with Macedonian intelligence services, confirmed that, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his agency "supplied a substantive dossier to the CIA," outlining the activities of Mr. bin Laden's followers in the Balkans. The information included accounts by Macedonian civilians who had been held hostage by mujahedeen, along with photos and videos captured from Albanian guerrillas.

Ljubo Boskovski (left), the Macedonian minister of interior, is anxious for his police forces to return to areas controlled by the Albanian guerrillas to uncover more evidence of mujahedeen involvement. Since Nov. 13, Macedonian security forces have been exhuming a mass grave outside the ethnic Albanian village of Trebos. To date, the police have unearthed the bodies of six Macedonians (in all, 21 civilians in the area disappeared following UCK attacks). Intelligence officer Nikola believes mujahedeen perpetrated the Trebos massacre "because of the manner in which the bodies were cut up and scattered."

He also suspects Islamic extremists were behind a brutal ambush of security forces last April, in which eight policemen were shot outside the village of Vejce, and their bodies dismembered to provide the victors with grisly trophies.

The Macedonian authorities are not the only ones who suspect the mujahedeen in the Vejce atrocities. During the summer offensive around Tetovo, Albanian guerrillas admitted they had gained combat experience in previous conflicts.

Twenty-three-year-old Commander "Jimmy" (below) claimed he was a veteran of Chechnya and Kosovo, while "Snake" Arifaq bragged of service in Bosnia and displayed a scar he had received during the fighting in Croatia. The two Albanians acknowledged "volunteers" from Afghanistan and other Arab countries had helped train members of the UCK. As for the Vejce incident, Commander Jimmy said such an atrocity could "only have been committed by the foreigners because Albanians do not cut up bodies."

When the Albanian insurrection began, the Macedonian government hastily acquired a fleet of six Ukrainian helicopter gunships. "Shortly after that, our pilots reported being tracked by sophisticated (U.S.-made) Stinger missiles" said Nikola, adding that, according to Macedonian Intelligence, "the UCK received these Stingers from their mujahedeen connections in Afghanistan."

Since Sept. 11 the Macedonians have noted a shift in U.S. foreign policy. "The CIA have been much more receptive to our reports about the al-Qaeda," said Nikola. "Particularly after they discovered that one of the suicide hijackers had been active in both Kosovo and Macedonia."

Macedonian police have been working closely with their Yugoslavian counterparts to neutralize the Albanian terrorists. More importantly, as part of the U.S.-led global initiative to combat terror, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has been reinstated in Interpol -- after a 10-year banishment. Intelligence officers from the Yugoslavian Army have supplied a wealth of information outlining mujahedeen activity in both Bosnia and Kosovo. Yugoslav intelligence officers believe at least 50 of the 150 mujahedeen who fought in Kosovo remain active members of the UCK.

Even before they got the information from Yugoslavia, Interpol had been tracking al-Qaeda's activities in the Balkans. On Oct. 23 this year, the agency released a report outlining Mr. bin Laden's personal links to the Albanian Mafia. Interpol alleges that a senior al-Qaeda lieutenant had been the commander of an elite UCK unit in Kosovo during the fighting in 1999, when NATO intervened to support the ethnic Albanians, largely at the urging of the U.S.

The CIA was aware of Mr. bin Laden's Albanian connections well before NATO's commitment in Kosovo, numerous media reports clearly show.

On Jan. 17, 1999, an alleged massacre of 45 Albanian Kosovars in the village of Racak made headlines around the world. Pointing to this incident (later proved by UN pathologists to have been an Albanian hoax), former U.S. president Bill Clinton proclaimed the West could no longer overlook "Serbian atrocities," setting the wheels in motion for NATO's confrontation with Yugoslavia.

That same day, Greek media outlets revealed that Taliban members were pouring into Albania, at the invitation of ex-president Sali Berisa and former head of intelligence Bashkim Gazidede. According to The Tribune, an Athens daily paper, Albanian security official Fatos Klozi confirmed that "bin Laden was one of those who had organized and sent groups to fight in Kosovo. There were Egyptians, Saudis, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis from different organizations among the (UCK) mercenaries."

Ten days later, on Jan. 27, 1999, the Arab-language news service Al Hayat reported that an Albanian commander in Kosovo, code-named Monia, was directly connected to Osama bin Laden. The piece also reported that "at least 100 Muslim mujahedeen" were serving with Monia's force in Kosovo.

In August 1998, the Washington Post reported that the CIA was not only aware of Mr. bin Laden's association with the Albanian regime, but that U.S. operatives had been "prominent" in the arrest of four al-Qaeda agents in Tirana. At the time, U.S. State Department officials even speculated that the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania might have been Mr. bin Laden's revenge for the Tirana arrests.

The al-Qaeda suspects detained by the CIA in Albania had been operating the Islamic Revival Foundation, "a charitable organization that official sources say provided a useful cover for the (suspects') efforts on behalf of bin Laden," the Washington Post reported.

In February 1998, the U.S. State Department had removed the UCK from their list of terrorist organizations. However later that same year, the CIA and their Albanian SHIK intelligence counterparts successfully shut down an Islamic terrorist cell operating with the help of Albanians in Kosovo.

Some of the most revealing links between Albanian fighters and Mr. bin Laden surfaced in December 1998, when al-Qaeda agent Claude Sheik Abdel-Kader was arrested in Tirana for the murder of his Albanian translator. During his trial, Mr. Abdel-Kader confessed to being a senior commander in Mr. bin Laden's network, and claimed he had recruited a force of some 300 mujahedeen to fight in Kosovo.

European media covering the trial reported his revelation that Osama bin Laden -- although a wanted terrorist -- had travelled freely to Tirana in 1994 and 1998 to meet with senior Albanian officials. Mr. Abdel-Kader also confessed that when the Albanian regime of Sali Berisa collapsed into anarchy in 1997, state armouries and government offices were looted. According to Mr. Abdel-Kader, many of the 10,000 heavy weapons and 100,000 passports that went missing fell into the hands of al-Qaeda members.

Osama bin Laden -- stripped of his Saudi citizenship in 1994 -- is alleged to have retained the Bosnian passport he was issued in Vienna in 1993. According to a Sept. 1999 report in Dani, a Bosnian Muslim weekly paper, Alija Izetbegovic, then president of Bosnia, granted Mr. bin Laden a passport in recognition of his followers' contributions to Mr. Izetbegovic's quest to create a "fundamentalist Islamic republic" in the Balkans.

Dani also reported that al-Qaeda terrorist Mehrez Aodouni had been arrested in Istanbul while carrying a Bosnian passport. Like Mr. bin Laden, his citizenship had been granted "because he was a member of the Bosnia-Herzegovina army."

Canadian soldiers serving with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) were among the first to report the presence of mujahedeen among the Bosnian Muslims as early as 1992.

The Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal reported that, in 1993, Mr. bin Laden had appointed Sheik Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaeda's second-in-command, to direct his operations in the Balkans.

While no exact numbers exist, it is estimated that between 1,500 and 3,500 Arab volunteers participated in the Bosnian civil war. Their main area of operation was the region of Zenica, with most serving in a brigade under Gen. Sakib Mahmuljin, nicknamed "the Guerrillas." Identified by red and green "Rambo" bandannas emblazoned with a crest that read, "our road is Jihad," this unit quickly gained a reputation for brutality.

On June 27, 1993, the Sunday Times reported that even Bosnian Muslim officers had reservations about the mujahedeen volunteers. Col. Stjepan Siber, then deputy commander of the Bosnia-Herzegovina army, admitted to the Times that "It was a mistake to let (the mujahedeen) in here. They commit most of the atrocities and work against the interests of the Muslim people. They have been killing, looting and stealing."

No attempt was made to hide such atrocities. In fact, Gen. Oric would often address the media at the site of the massacres. On one such occasion, while standing in front of mujahedeen displaying decapitated human heads as trophies, Gen. Oric pointed to a smouldering building in ruins and proudly announced to reporters, "We blew those Serbs to the moon."

Alija Izetbegovic was also proud to display the fighting prowess of his mujahedeen volunteers. Following a successful attack against Serbian positions around Vozuce on Sept. 10, 1995, the Bosnian president held a televised medal presentation. Mujahedeen warriors had served as the vanguard of the assault force, and were awarded 11 decorations for valour, including the Golden Crescent, Bosnia's highest honour.

Yugoslav intelligence estimates that citizenship was granted to more than 1,500 mujahedeen, including al-Qaeda members, following the Dayton Peace Accord in 1995. Most of those soldiers are believed to have settled in the Zenica region.

According to Miroslav Lazanski, author of the new book, Osama bin Laden Against America, al-Qaeda members still maintain two bases in Bosnia, one of them reserved for top fighters.

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, FBI and CIA agents uncovered evidence that two of the suicide hijackers had originated from this Bosnian camp. The commander of the camp, an Algerian named Abu Mali, was subsequently arrested while travelling in Istanbul on a Bosnian passport.

The U.S. military has taken a keen interest in mujahedeen activities in the Balkans since Sept. 11. Late last month, U.S. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers visited NATO troops in Bosnia to warn them against a possible al-Qaeda retaliation attack. And on Dec. 4, the White House added two Albanian terrorist groups operating in Macedonia and Kosovo to its list of outlawed organizations.

And so, Mr. Clinton's dubious decisions in the Balkan conflagration two years ago have come back to haunt the U.S.

Of course the Racak parenthetical - an obvious error on Scott's part.

Trebos - I was unaware that the mass grave had been fully excavated. The ICTY is on site, monitoring this excavation, so I'll wait to hear something from them.

Somebody posted pictures of the bodies from the ambush last April, they didn't appear to have been desecrated in any manner - from the Macedonian White Book:

"According to the autopsy, it was confirmed that the bodies of the killed police officers and the army soldiers have been massacred. One of the killed officers had a broken scull; two others have had stabbing wounds to their hands and legs, and several killed officers had an entry hole in their heads caused by an automatic weapon projectile. Again, the autopsy confirmed the fact that the described wounds were caused after the officers were already dead.

Yet Scott says the bodies were dismembered. Who to believe?

Stinger missiles are passive, so nobody can tell they're being tracked. Duh. As a matter of fact, no western supplied weapons, save Barratt rifles supplied by the Albanian diaspora, have ever been found in the posession of any Albanian rebels in Kosovo or Macedonia that I'm aware of. If you know otherwise and can provide some sort of proof, it would be appreciated.

None of the 19 hijackers has been linked to either Kosovo or Bosnia, to my knowledge, other than through insinuation. When the accusation is run to ground, it evaporates. Again, if you have something substantitive, please let us know.

As far as Osama going to Albania, being in a hospital in Dubai, or having been to Bosnia, no proof has ever been offered to back up these claims.

Scott can't even tell the difference between foreign mujahadeen and Oric's army of Eastern Bosnian refugees. (They were in Srebrenica because they had been ethnically cleansed from their homes in the Drina Valley in 1992 - whoops, inconvenient fact that.)

Yugoslav intelligence estimates Whatever. Not a trustworthy source - authors of "Osama in Bosnia/Albania" claims.

To put it bluntly, Scott is a willing victim of Serbian disinformation.

There were Mujahadeen in Bosnia, though Al Quaeda's role is being overemphasized at the expense of the Iranians, who were the biggest muslim supporters of the Bosnian government.

As to the KLA, they're still a clannish bunch, and Albanian ethnicity trumps common religion, so Al Quaeda isn't as welcome as is presumed or portrayed.

You should ping Pericles, his thinking mirrors Scott's.

This is one of the better articles I have seen concerning Islamic entente influence in the Balkans. For the most part the information presented seems quite accurate -- except perhaps for underestimating the number of Eastern Holy Warriors currently in the Balkans.

It appears that in the weeks preceeding 9/11 and the month immediately following there was a great influx of Islamic fighters making their way to Bosnia and Albania. Many of these Eastern shock troops came from Afghanistan and the Chechen fight -- when the battle for the Tetovo Republic is rejoined I suspect Skopje in for another rude awakening.

Another thread is headlined about secretary Rumsfeld saying London may be hit next. I can't begin to describe how likely I feel this scenario is going to be realized. Since time grows short I will bore you with a couple thoughts...

America is a very poor target for low tech Islamic entente suicide squads for a number of reasons. Many Americans are armed and US governors have authority to activate National Guard units that can deliver devastating firepower versus localized emergencies on short notice. However the primary reason is that such an attack cannot provide a decisive result...

The attack on London will be quite different. From a logistical perspective, intrinsic Islamic entente combat support is much more easily activated in the UK. Thousands of Muslims in the UK are enraged and ready to take up arms if the opportunity presents itself -- infiltration from the Balkans via the EU to London is very easy now.

Major cell leaders have been in place for more than a year for this battle. If they need to go back to Prague or Paris for further instructions it is quite easy to take the Channel ferry for a low key, low exposure trip to do so.

Another mistaken belief is that Islamic entente fighters want to kill Americans because they are Americans. US support for the moderate Chechens commanded by democratically elected president Aslan Maskhadov is well known -- and appreciated. These warriors want the US out of Saudi Arabia so they can topple the corrupt government there -- that is the root cause of 9/11.

The attack on London will open with several large explosions. Either "Allah's Suitcase" or a couple of Oklahoma City style truck bombs with twice the yield in half the space. As emergency responders reach the scene they will be overwhelmed by the carnage...

Meanwhile scores of Islamic entente gunmen will begin to open fire in groups of three and four around the city. This first wave will gun down anything that lives and prepare positions for the next wave to occupy and dig in. With a half dozen fortified positions in the heart of the city, the Eastern Holy Warriors will hold England hostage for a couple of weeks at least before they are rooted out.

Unlike the Russians at Grozny, it is unlikely the Brits will level their own capital in the counter-attack. This attack will stun the entire world and will attempt to inspire the Islamic fifth columnists to launch their uprising.

I sense it will be a critical moment in the history of the world...

And yes, these fighters are ferocious and barbaric by Western standards. One just needs to look at the Serb veterans in Kosovo and Bosnia and how they changed as human beings after fighting these Eastern Holy Warriors -- it is a devastating experience.

The mistake is to assume that these twenty year old al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan represent the Islamic entente first echelon fighter. Those killers have long been gone from the Afghan kill zone...

Anyway, it is an excellent piece. The West has a huge problem developing now in the Balkans. Hopefully US forces get out of there in the coming year...

Concerning Mr D, I don't believe he has made a decision on the North Carolina primary yet. I think redistricting and various lawsuits have altered the schedule somewhat and given him another few weeks...

Apparently he and his friends with the "Republican Men's Club" did quite a job on this Eva Clayton Congresswoman to make her decide to retire after this term. Then again, old Albania hands can tell you stories about Mr D and his gang in the Olde Country back in 1996 -- surviving physical copies of Albania Briefings from 95-96 indicate quite clearly they were going to return Fatos Nano to power.

Their wisdom was perhaps manifested by also delivering the KLA to Dr Berisha along with a few hundred thousand weapons during the chaos in 1997. Perhaps that is why both Nano and Berisha still take his calls...

Regardless, the world is at war -- 9/11 signalled the start of the Third World War and it has many years to run barring a quick knockout victory by the Islamic entente. To do that they must splinter the Western alliance, deny the US an attack on Iraq -- and topple one coalition member.

And ultimately that is why they will attack Britain -- it gives them a legitimate chance for victory...

The forces of freedom on the move. Europe trembles.

According to reports, it was the mujahedeen who committed some of the worst atrocities of the war, under Gen. Nasir Oric in the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica. Beheadings of Serbian civilians were commonplace, and in some villages the mujahedeen would dynamite homes with the inhabitants trapped inside.
No attempt was made to hide such atrocities. In fact, Gen. Oric would often address the media at the site of the massacres. On one such occasion, while standing in front of mujahedeen displaying decapitated human heads as trophies, Gen. Oric pointed to a smouldering building in ruins and proudly announced to reporters, "We blew those Serbs to the moon."
Alija Izetbegovic was also proud to display the fighting prowess of his mujahedeen volunteers. Following a successful attack against Serbian positions around Vozuce on Sept. 10, 1995, the Bosnian president held a televised medal presentation. Mujahedeen warriors had served as the vanguard of the assault force, and were awarded 11 decorations for valour, including the Golden Crescent, Bosnia's highest honour.

Two comments:
1) note that Hoplite tries to discredit Taylor by trying to confuse the issue of Oric's execution squads and refugees....but never adresses the central fact....that Oric showed videos of his beheaded victims.

2) note that the highest military honor of the moderate, multi-ethnic allies of Hoplite's Humanitarian Warriors is the Golden Cresent . Simply yet another sign pointing to the fundamentalist nature of Iztbegovic's regime. ( a regime effectively created by Clintonistas)

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Hoplite, unlike you Taylor has been to the area many times and witnessed the events he describes first hand.

Intelligence officers from the Yugoslavian Army have supplied a wealth of information outlining mujahedeen activity in both Bosnia and Kosovo. Yugoslav intelligence officers believe at least 50 of the 150 mujahedeen who fought in Kosovo remain active members of the UCK.

Right! As we all know, the reason that Yugoslav intelligence knows so much about mujehadin activity in the Balkans is that they were fighting islamic expansionism all the time--NOT fighting for "Greater Serbian" conquest of the Balkans!!!

World War III started in the early 1990s, with the NWO-engineered breakup of what was then Yugoslavia. It was designed for the advantage of the NWO elite, but the big winners so far are the muslim extremists!!! (Shades of World War I.)

WWIII (which I think will be a long, protracted affair like the Cold War, but much more violent) is not a war between the NWO and the rest of the world, but between Judeo-Christian civilization (and its democratic allies) and islam. America and Europe cannot even afford the NWO anymore, because of its baggage of islamic "allies", who are really the enemies of the West and have their own goal of world conquest. And we do need the Orthodox Christian countries of the world as our true allies for the long struggle.

We also cannot afford to be dependent on islam for our energy needs, and must develop both short-term supplies (eg., Siberia) and advanced energy technologies for the long term.

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