I' · TO NAME AND ADDRESS DATE INITIALS Security Classafication 1 2 3 4 ··· - I _y JJON IR-0000055 v V j iil '11 oil ' Op-SliCDET ROUTING CONTROL NO I - FIEMARKS COPY FFlOM NAMle' ADORSSS ANO PHON NO - DATE OF b 1 b 3 EO 12958 1 4 b 25Yrs EO 129581 4 c 25Yrs EO 12958 1 4 d 25Yrs EO 12958 3 5 c EO 12958 6 2 c - Access to this document will be restricted to those approved for the following specific activities OPSRATION HCSO -- PRODUCT HCSP A NA u 1 o o LEASEn 50003 -- 1 Intelligence Report 02 November 2000 DCI Counterterrorist Center Bi _Ladin 's Terrorist Operatio s Meticulous and Adaptabl '--- J Credible intelligence reporting on the activities of Usama Bin Ladin 's al-Qa'ida organization depict a highly skilled resilient network with a wide range ofmethods of attack at its disposal• 41-Qa 'ida operatives are trained to conduct bombings assass nations standoffattacks kidnappings and attacks with crude chemical or biological agents and the group's extreme interpretation ofIslam sanctions the use ofthese methods against a large pool of US _and° other targets including civilians • The organization also observes sou_nd operational practices making use of · meticulous contingency planning completed far in advance of an operation• _I •• I · · · Intelligence on terrorist plotting discovered over the millennial period also indicates that al-Qa'ida has refined its tacti cs· to cope with security crackdowns and heightened political pressure on Bin Ladin and his Taliban hosts The orr anization is imvrovinf its operational securitvJ CTC#00-400l 7csh •• ¥ • ·• • • 'foJ Sec1et ' 2 ---------------------------------·· __053_7 327 4 • 1 Ope ational Doctrine R oted in Interpretation oflslamic Law L _ _ ______ Bin Ladin's terrorist operations are grounded in his extreme interpretation ofislamic law which sanctions attacks a r ainst a wide variety of targets worldwide jAl ------------------------------ J Qa'ida' most recentjatwa-issued in February 1998 by Bin Ladin and leaders of other extrerµist groups under the·banner of his World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders -is broadly worded stating that all Muslims have a religious duty to kill Americans and_their allies both civilian and military'' worldwide 1 During an interview in December 1998 Bin Ladirt explained that all US citizens are legitimate -targets because they pay taxes to the US Government • • This interpretation broadened and superseded Bin Ladin 's previous fatwa which only authorized attacks against Western military targets on the Arabian Peninsula Bin Ladin nublicized this decree as a Declaration of Jihad in· Auirust 1996 US interests are Bin Ladin's primary-but not sole-target The United States fi gures most prominently in Bin Ladin's public threats andj I This Intelligence Report wai prepared by an analyst in the DCI Countertcrrorist Center lt has been coordinated I within CrA Queries and comments are welcome and may be directed I L------- 1 Bin-Ladiri's fatwas carry no formal authority outside of his own organization and many Islamic · religious scholars view his justifications for terrorism as simplistic and flawed failing to address the numerous Islamic injunctions prohibiting violence against innocents-including Christians and Jews who are traditionally tolerated as Pe ples of the Book Instead Bin Ladin attempts to appeal to Muslims who are not familiar with the finer points of Islamic jurisprudence but are convinced that their civilization must fend off an assault of Western litary power and cultural values U · • I Bin Ladin has characterized the United States as th e h-ead o-f th e-snak e _ B in L s-----' fatwa authorizes attacks against Americans and their allie suggesting that he sees the countries of the Jewish-Crusader alliance see box as a sinirle enemv Top Sec1et L__I_ _I· 3 0537 274 -w1 7io 'Plo ll s eMctll' e Pf-- • • Al-Qa'ida members planning tei rorist operations in Jo'rdan in December 1999 intended to attack both US and Israeli tourists and Bin Ladin frequently denounces Israel and the United Kin2 dom alon2side the United States in his oublic statements • Bin Ladin'-s doctrine tolerates the death of citizens of oth r countries in his attack as collateral damage or as targets in their own right rn· an interview in December 1998 Bin Ladin claimed that the obligation to attack US targets outweighs the risk to innocent civilians whom he compared to human shields I • • • I AI-Qa'ida-directed extremists ple nning attacks in Jordan in late 1999 chose to target Christian reliaious sites and other areas fre uented b US and Israeli 'fop Sect ct 4 · C05373274 I I - Top Beczet • • -- I Thorough· Pre-Operational PI n ingJ By the time of the 1998 East Africa bombings al Qa'idahad established a modus operandi emphasizing careful planning and exhaustive field preparations which Bin Ladin saw as· a prerequisite for spectacular terrorist operations When asked in a November 1996 interview why his organization had not yet conducted attacks in response to its August fatwa Bin Ladin replied Ifwe wanted to carry out small operations it wouid have been easy to do so after the statements but the nature of the battle requires qualtative opjrations that affect the adversary which obviously requires good preparation Much of the advance involves the r •• studies on secret 1 5 C 0 5 3 7 3'2 7 4 I I - ·1m •· t--- I The study of the US Embass in Nairobi- re ared in December 1993-included detailed information ------- asing was con ucte 1 ·a camera an included rec·ommendations for possible methods of attack According to press local operatives also surveilled the Embassy days before the August bombing · probably to update the 1993 c ing report · ' - -- --___J • Such detailed field preparation may sunnort the orocess of review and annroval of an operation by al-Qa'ida's leadership during the months prior to the East Africa bombinf ' I • ' Top Saorat 6 T Pi F4f • Flexible Methods of Attack I ___----' to conduct devastatin attacks • An explosives manual discusses recipes for numerous explosive '-- ---- --- ----' compounds details on manufacturing detonators handling tips and methods for obtaining the ingredients ------------------ •• • Operatives plotting attacks in Jordan over the millennial period had cached several tons of materials to make exolosives includin£ nitric acid rmlfuric acid • A l Qa'ida and associated groups have employed a variety of methods for bomb delivery·and detonation Suicide operatives carried out the vehicle bomb attacks I aoainst the TIS Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam - ------- In additio to bombings al Qa'ida has demonstrated the capability and intent to employ other forms of attack rauc11 • '--------------------------------' TH Seeret - I- • • CG537 3274 1 op Secret i • arrested a group of al-Qa'ida members ttempting to smuggle lantitank guided missiles into the kingdom for use against US or Saudi facilitie authoritie • Assassinatio s and • Kidnappings arm d assaults I I views hostage taking as a lelritimate tactic under certain conditions I I •• • • Chemical an d biological attacks ---c-- ---- ---- - -----__J that Bin Ladin's organization is interested in acquiring unconventional weapons-particularly chemical or biological agents-and possesses at least a rudimentary capability to employ them in attacks In a December 1998 interview Bin Ladin called the acquisition of these weapons a· religious duty and noted ''How we would use them is un to us -I Xoe Seem 8 GG537 274 Too Secret ·• Adapting to New Political nd Operational Realities I • • f See1 I 9 e I ' C0537 327 4 I 'f'llii SEISIPI • • • 10 I • C 05373274 Too Seel et · I • • • 11 • • • • 12 'I • Appendix A The East Africa Bombings The neru--simultaneous bombings ofthe US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam on 7 August 1998 conclud ed almost a full year of preparations involving operatives · throughout al--Qa'ida and the resources of a potent localnetwor ___JThe attacks i nflicted heavy toll-over 200 dead and thousanq s injured-and demonstrated that Bin Ladin is willing to sacrifice a well-developed local infrastructure to_ strike at the United States LJ · · I or Terror into a si ·ficant infrastructur • also maintained contact with senior al-Qa'ida leaders and performed important asks for the organiz tion • Abu 'Ubaydah al-Panjshiri I I was m frequent ·contact with the cell until his death in a May 1996 ferryboa accident on Lake Victoria according to press _ I_ _ __ _ _ _ The cell used'1ts presence m Kenya to case potential targets and acquire exp osives for terrorist attacks •·· -- l 13 • l J CQ537 3274 ' I · • • i M • · The cell had obtained explosives possibly through local arms trafficking networks _years before the bombings Th US indictment qf several of the bombing suspects charges that a local cell member in 1996 displayed TNT and detonators acquired in Tanzania I 1· · • · Bin Ladin warned in a late May interview that the results of his jihad · would be visible within weeks • · Between May and July al Qa' ida operatives in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam rented-safehouses and purchased the trucks that they later used as bomb vehicles according to press · ·· • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - N a i r o b i cell members completed the last preparations for the attack during the first week of August including a final casing of the Embassyj ___ _ ____ land the departute from Eas t-Afri- c-a-o f-al_l_al_-Q_a id a_o_p_e-ra -ti-v-es_n_o_t directly involved in the attac s • Ta Qp i#f 1 · ----- 14 ' l I C G537 274 ' - - - ' '1 I I • • Operations ''Htoly Ka'a ba 11 and al-Aqsa Mosque The day after the bombings a London-based Arabic newspaper received three faxes claiming responsibility for the Nairobi and Dar es Salaam attacks-codenamed Operation Holy Ka' aba and Operation al-Aqsa Mosque respectively-on behalf of the Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places a previously unknown· group Quoting from Bin Ladin's February fatwa these letters claimed that three suicide bombers conducted the bombings in retaliation for the presence of US troops· on the Arabian Peninsula ·and US support to Israel ·• 11111 S f I 15 ' 11 f I ' 'fop Seet t • Appendix B Bin La in 's Role in the Anti-US Millennial Plots I_ _ -- I In December 1999 intelligence and law enforcement agencies in Jordan and Canada uncovered ·s arate networks preparing to conduct near-term anti-US attacks Jordan Jordanian authorities arrested I embers of jcell was planning to kill US and Israeli citizens with bombs and · automat1c weapons at a vane oftounst-related sites mcludin the SAS Radisson Hotelin Amm • emarked that the --- cc---- --- - -- -- --l cell's motto was ''The season is coming and bodies w1l p1 e up m sacks in Ladin ent casing stu 1es or approva to lieu tenant • a The ceU accumulated large arms cache including several tons of chemicals used to make exnlosive·s I ·• laI-Hijazi accompanied three ooerat1ves to At Zhamstan for six montns o1 terrorist training at al-Qa'ida camps I Top tcxct 16 I t _ i • • Canada • The 14 December arrest of Algerian extremist Ahmad Ressam at the US-Canadian border uncovered preparations for additional anti-US attacks Ressam- a - fc o rm e r'--- Montreal resident who had trained·at B'in Ladin's camps in Afghanistan s o exp 0s1ves as attempting to smu e1e over 100 pounL_d_f_l--c--ana timin2 oevices into the United States I fl 17 _ • • • 'ferp · Seeret I ·18
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