AL QAEDA'S BALKAN LINKS
By Marcia Christoff Kurop, Wall Street Journal Europe
“The overnight rise of heroin trafficking through Kosovo helped to fund terrorist activity directly associated with al Qaeda. Afghan-trained mujahideen settled in the Balkans around 1992. Recruits were brought into Bosnia by the ruling Islamic party of Bosnia, the Party of Democratic Action, from Chechnya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan... They were all given journalists’ credentials to avoid explicit detection by the West. Others were married immediately to Bosnian Muslim women and incorporated into regular army ranks.”
[…]
“The Bosnian Embassy in Vienna issued a passport to bin Laden in 1993, according to various reports in the Yugoslav press at the time. The reports add that bin Laden then visited a terrorist camp in Zenica, Bosnia in 1994. The Bosnian government denies all of this, but admits that some passport records have been lost.”
Source: WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE, November 1, 2001;
Search the archive http://www.wsj.com
See also http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/561291/posts

HIJACKERS CONNECTED TO ALBANIAN TERRORIST CELL
By Bill Gertz, The Washington Times
“Islamic radicals, including supporters of bin Laden, have been supporting Albanian rebels fighting in the region, including members of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Intelligence officials have said there are reports that KLA members have been trained at bin Laden training camps in Afghanistan. Bin Laden and his Islamic extremist group, al Qaeda, are the main suspects in last week's terrorist attacks. As of last year, the group operated a residence in Tirana, and the CIA has been pressing Albania's government to expel all associates of the Islamic terrorists.”
Source: THE WASHINGTON TIMES, September 18, 2001; 
Search the archive http://www.washingtontimes.com/
See also http://www.balkanpeace.org/hed/archive/sept01/hed4107.shtml

KLA REBELS TRAIN IN TERRORIST CAMPS
By Jerry Seper, The Washington Times
“Some members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which has financed its war effort through the sale of heroin, were trained in terrorist camps run by international fugitive Osama bin Laden... The intelligence reports document what is described as a ‘link’ between bin Laden, the fugitive Saudi millionaire, and the KLA – including a common staging area in Tropoje, Albania, a center for Islamic terrorists. The reports said bin Laden’s organization, known as al-Qaeda, has both trained and financially supported the KLA.”
Source: THE WASHINGTON TIMES, May 4, 1999; 
Search the archive http://www.washingtontimes.com/
See also http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/7006/KLA-drugs.html

IRANIANS MOVE IN
By Uzi Mahnaimi, The Sunday Times
“Iranian Revolutionary Guards have joined forces with a Saudi millionaire [Osama bin Laden] to support the Albanian underground movement in Kosovo. They hope to turn the region into their main base for Islamic armed activity in Europe.
...Bin Laden, 44, described by the US State Department as ‘one of the most significant sponsors of Islamic extremist activities’, has begun extending his operations to eastern Europe. He has supported Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo, the source said. Iran is keen to strengthen its presence in the region.”
Source: THE SUNDAY TIMES (LONDON), March 22, 1998; 
Search the archive http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/

KOSOVO SEEN AS NEW ISLAMIC BASTION
By Steve Rodan, The Jerusalem Post
Financial help from Islamic countries and arrival of mujahedeens from Albania, including those of Osama Bin Laden. Al Qa’ida supported Moslem fighters in both Bosnia and Kosovo.
Source: THE JERUSALEM POST, September 14, 1998;
Search the archive http://www.jpost.com/
See also http://www.decani.yunet.com/ismilit.html#3

BIN LADEN LINKED TO ALBANIAN DRUG GANGS
By Colin Brown, Independent
“Interpol believes that Osama bin Laden is linked to Albanian gangs who have taken over a growing web of crime across Europe. The investigations into organised crime links with his terrorist network also show that Mr bin Laden supplied one of his top military commanders for an elite KLA unit during the Kosovo conflict.”
Source: INDEPENDENT, October 21, 2001; 
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/europe/story.jsp?story=100643

BIN LADEN OPENS EUROPEAN TERROR BASE IN ALBANIA
By Chris Stephen, The Sunday Times
“Albanian authorities working with the Central Intelligence Agency claim to have uncovered a terrorist network operated by Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic fundamentalist accused of masterminding the African embassy bombings last August.”
Source: THE SUNDAY TIMES, November 29, 1998;
Search the archive http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
See also http://www.balkanpeace.org/wtb/wtb08.html

BIN LADEN’S NEW SPECIAL ENVOYS
The Washington Times
“NLA (the KLA subsidiary in Macedonia) was largely, but not exclusively, dependent on the illegal trade in narcotics. In addition to drug money, the NLA also has another prominent venture capitalist: Osama Bin Laden who supplied 6-7 million dollars over six months.”
Source: THE WASHINGTON TIMES, June 22, 2001; 
Search the archive http://www.washtimes.com/

SIGNS POINT TO BIN LADEN-BALKAN LINK
By Scott Taylor, The Halifax Herald Limited
“Senior ranking officials within Macedonia's security department claim they have circumstantial evidence linking Osama bin Laden’s mujahedeen with the Albanian (UCK) guerrillas operating in Macedonia.
‘We have already provided a substantial dossier to the CIA, and obtaining further proof of this terrorist connection is our ministry’s No. 1 priority,’ confirmed a deputy director of the security department, Macedonia’s intelligence service.”
Source: THE HALIFAX HERALD LIMITED, October 29, 2001;
http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2001/10/29/f126.raw.html

OUR “FRIENDS” IN THE BALKANS
By Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily
“While part of the U.S. military is bombing and strafing caves in Afghanistan, determined to root out Osama bin Laden’s terror network, in the Balkans, another part of the U.S. military is allied with the Kosovo Liberation Army – which maintains close connections with the al-Qaida network.”
Source: WORLDNETDAILY, November 6, 2001;
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25214

THE KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY: DOES CLINTON POLICY SUPPORT GROUP WITH TERROR, DRUG TIES?
By the United States Senate Republican Policy Committee
“One week into the bombing campaign, there is widespread discussion of options for further actions. One option includes forging a closer relationship between the United States and a controversial group, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a group which has been cited in unofficial reports for alleged ties to drug cartels and Islamic terrorist organizations. This paper will examine those allegations in the context of the currently unfolding air campaign.”
Source: UNITED STATES SENATE REPUBLICAN POLICY COMMITTEE, March 31, 1999;
http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1999/fr033199.htm

US TACKLES ISLAMIC MILITANCY IN KOSOVO
By Chris Stephen, The Scotsman
“One vital concession to the KLA came earlier this year, when it had the unusual honour of being take off a register of organisations the US defines as ‘terrorists’. This is a valuable asset, not just in terms of public relations. It also makes fund-raising among ethnic Albanians abroad much easier. For the Americans, giving the KLA tacit support is a tightrope. Shunning it might drive them into the arms of fundamentalists such as Osama Bin Laden -blamed for bombing US embassies in Africa this summer -whose men are already operating in Albania. But supporting them could give a shot in the arm for the KLA’s aim of full independence for Kosovo - something the West fears might fuel uprisings in other parts of the world.”
Source: THE SCOTSMAN, November 30, 1998;
See http://www.balkanpeace.org/wtb/wtb06.html

WAR ON TERRORISM SKIPPED THE KLA
By James Bissett, National Post
“U.S. President George W. Bush has made it clear the war against terrorists will be unremitting and relentless. Even those countries affording shelter to terrorists will not be spared. These words come too late for the Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Turks and other non-Albanians who have been driven from their ancestral homes in Kosovo by the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army. It is too late as well for Macedonia, which has been forced by the United States, the European Union and NATO to yield to all the demands of the Albanian terrorists in that country.
[…]
As early as 1998, the U.S. State Department listed the KLA as a terrorist organization financing its operations with money from the international heroin trade and funds supplied from Islamic countries and individuals, including Osama bin Laden. This did not stop the United States from arming and training KLA members in Albania and in the summer of 1998 sending them back into Kosovo to assassinate Serbian mayors, ambush Serbian policemen and intimidate hesitant Kosovo Albanians.”
Source: NATIONAL POST, November 13, 2001;
http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/story.html?f=/stories/20011113/783573.html

WE CREATED A MONSTER
By James Bissett, The Globe and Mail
“After bombing Yugoslavia into submission, NATO then stood by and submissively allowed the KLA to murder, pillage and burn. The KLA was given a free hand to do as it wished. Almost all of the non-Albanian population was ‘ethnically cleansed’ from Kosovo under the watchful eyes of 40,000 NATO troops. Moreover, in defiance of United Nations Resolution 1244, which brought an end to the fighting, NATO adamantly refused to disarm the KLA fighters. Instead, NATO converted this ragtag band of terrorists into the Kosovo Protection Force - allegedly to maintain peace and order in Kosovo.”
Source: THE GLOBE AND MAIL, July 31, 2001;
Search the archive http://www.globeandmail.com
See also http://www.balkanpeace.org/hed/archive/august01/hed3828.shtml

BIN LADEN’S BALKAN CONNECTIONS
The Center for Peace in the Balkans
“Yet, it would be willful blindness to suggest that the roots of terror begin and end in Afghanistan or the Middle East. When examining events that have transpired in the Balkans over the past ten years, Osama Bin Laden’s name appears prominently. Bin Laden directly aided the Bosnian Muslims, both financially (weapons procurement) and with training. In addition, that same ‘aid’ was extended to the separatist Albanians of Kosovo and Macedonia. Ironically, the US found Bin Laden and his supporters ‘convenient’ allies when dealing with Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians, again in another so-called struggle for ‘freedom’.”
Source: THE CENTRE FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS, September 2001;
http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our09.shtml

DEATH TOLL IN THE KOSOVO BOMB ATTACK ON SERBS RISES TO 11
By Carlotta Gall, The New York Times
“The explosion sent bodies and debris flying, British peacekeepers said. As much as 500 pounds of improvised explosives had been placed in a drainage pipe that ran beneath the tarmac road and was detonated by remote control. The Swedish troops escorting the bus passed over the spot just beforehand. "The bomb was directly under the road," said Captain Taylor, who was one of the first to arrive on the scene. "The whole road lifted up, and the front of the bus exploded." The bus was carrying 59 passengers. Troops, police officers and medics poured in to pull the dead and wounded from the wreckage. At least one baby and a young child were among the dead, the peacekeepers said, and men, women and children were wounded. British troops said they grappled to comfort distraught passengers from the other buses, some of whom were relatives of those killed. They shepherded them back to the border, as arguments broke out. The bus drivers refused to go on, and the passengers declined to be taken on another route through a tense area that is controlled by Albanian rebels and is on the boundary between Serbia and Kosovo.”
Source: THE NEW YORK TIMES, February 18, 2001;
Search the archive http://www.nytimes.com/
See also http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decani/message/44996

BIN LADEN’S BALKAN CONNECTION COMES UNDER SCRUTINY
Agence France Press (AFP)
“Osama bin Laden’s followers are active throughout the Balkans, with bases in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania, Serbia’s interior minister said Wednesday as Belgrade offered to share information with the United States on their activities.”
Source: AGENCE FRANCE PRESS, September 19, 2001;
Search the archive http://www.afp.com/
See also http://www.balkanpeace.org/hed/archive/sept01/hed4113.shtml

BALKAN BRANCHES OF THE TERROR NETWORK?
By Nikolaos Stavrou, The Washington Times
“In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America, numerous incidents of alleged ‘ethnic profiling’ and intense scrutiny of ‘Middle East-looking persons’ have been reported published. This should not be a surprise to anyone, given the fact that the 19 terrorists who caused havoc in the lives of thousands fit a particular ethnic mold. However, Osama bin Laden’s terror network has Balkan branches that could render ethnic profiling irrelevant. Evidence in the public domain suggests his organization appeared in the Balkans as early as 1993 in search of blond Muslims.”
Source: THE WASHINGTON TIMES, October 21, 2001
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20011021-12623960.htm
 
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
 

Terrorism in the Balkans

The Center for Peace in the Balkans; http://www.balkanpeace.org

Kosovo.com; http://www.kosovo.com
 

Copyright ©2000 SANE, Inc. For free and fair use only.