Bin Laden planned attacks in India, Pakistan before 9/11

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had planned attacks in several countries, including India and Pakistan, years before the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. A top-secret document prepared for US President Bill Clinton in 1998 named India and Pakistan as possible targets of Al-Qaeda attacks.

The information has emerged from a large number of documents released by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The CIA released around 71 intelligence reports on September 11. This is one of the largest releases of documents related to the 9/11 attacks.

A document dated August 28, 1998, titled 'Bin Laden Terrorist Network Still a Threat', stated that bin Laden intended to carry out attacks in multiple countries, including India and Pakistan.

The document stated that bin Laden had planned attacks in "Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula—especially Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, India, Pakistan, Uganda and possibly Nigeria". The same document stated that US officials had assisted in the arrest of bin Laden's associates who were preparing attacks in Albania's capital Tirana and Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

However, the document did not mention details of any specific attack plan in the case of India. The document only indicates that more than three years before the 9/11 attacks, US intelligence agencies considered India and Pakistan as countries where bin Laden's network had planned attacks.

The warning was issued a few weeks after the August 7, 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. A total of 224 people were killed in those attacks. Afterwards, bin Laden and Al-Qaeda came under special scrutiny by US counterterrorism officials.

Three years later, India suffered a major terrorist attack. On December 13, 2001, terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed attacked India's Parliament House in New Delhi. Nine people, including security personnel and a gardener, were killed. Five attackers were also killed. The attack occurred three months after the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

Subsequently, Pakistan became deeply involved in the US campaign against bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. The CIA's 9/11-related documents show that US intelligence agencies were closely monitoring bin Laden's activities and his relationship with the Taliban. A June 2000 assessment was titled 'Pakistan Pressing Bin Laden Network'.

Bin Laden spent the last few years of his life in hiding in Pakistan. In 2010, intelligence information identified one of his associates as being linked to a house in Abbottabad near Islamabad. On May 2, 2011, US forces raided that house and killed bin Laden.

Among the documents released by the CIA are a brief report from July 1998 on possible attacks in the United States, a December 1998 warning about aircraft hijacking and an intelligence brief dated August 6, 2001, titled 'Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US'.

On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda members hijacked four passenger aircraft in the United States. American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of New York's World Trade Center, and United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. Both towers later collapsed.

American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. Meanwhile, before the aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania, passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 put up resistance against the hijackers. A total of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers, were killed in the attacks.

Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama bin Laden directed the organisation from behind the scenes in these attacks. He was not among the hijackers. The attack plan was developed over several years. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whom the 9/11 Commission referred to as the "principal architect" of the attacks, worked with bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders to implement the plan.

Source: Hindustan Times