Tarnak Farms was an Afghan training camp near Kandahar , which served as a base to Osama bin Laden and his followers from 1998 to 2001. It was also the site of the Tarnak Farm incident .
74-602: In 1998, Osama bin Laden moved his followers from Nazim Jihad to Tarnak Farms following Northern Alliance threats to attack Jalalabad. Video of Tarnak Farms in 2000 made by the Central Intelligence Agency appeared to show bin Laden at the location. The administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton considered seizing bin Laden at Tarnak Farm, but the mission was never carried out due to concerns about killing innocent women and children, as well as legal disagreements within
148-464: A Kindite Hadhrami tribesman; "Laden" therefore refers to Bin Laden's great-great-grandfather, Laden Ali al-Qahtani. He was named Usama , meaning "lion", after Usama ibn Zayd , one of the companions of Muhammad . Osama bin Laden had assumed the kunya (teknonym) Abū ʿAbdallāh , meaning "father of Abdallah " The Arabic linguistic convention would be to refer to him as "Osama" or "Osama bin Laden", not "Bin Laden" alone, as "Bin Laden"
222-617: A coalition government instead of trying to conquer Kabul for himself. It is believed that the first bombing attack involving Bin Laden was the 29 December 1992, bombing of the Gold Mihor Hotel in Aden in which two people were killed. In the 1990s, Bin Laden's al-Qaeda assisted jihadis financially, and sometimes militarily, in Algeria, Egypt, and Afghanistan. In 1992 or 1993, Bin Laden sent an emissary, Qari el-Said, with $ 40,000 to Algeria to aid
296-582: A deal brokered by Ali Mohamed. Bin Laden's personal security detail consisted of bodyguards personally selected by him. Their arsenal included SA-7 , Stinger missiles , AK-47s, RPGs , and PK machine guns . Meanwhile, in March–April 1992, Bin Laden tried to play a pacifying role in the escalating civil war in Afghanistan , by urging warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to join the other mujahideen leaders negotiating
370-478: A degree in civil engineering in 1979, or a degree in public administration in 1981. One source described him as "hard working"; another said he left university during his third year without completing a college degree. At university, Bin Laden's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad " and charitable work. Other interests included writing poetry; reading, with
444-508: A frugal man and strict father, who enjoyed taking his large family on shooting trips and picnics in the desert. Bin Laden's father Mohammed died in 1967 in an airplane crash in Saudi Arabia when his American pilot Jim Harrington misjudged a landing. Bin Laden's eldest half-brother, Salem bin Laden , the subsequent head of the Bin Laden family, was killed in 1988 near San Antonio , Texas, in
518-521: A sixth wife, name unknown, whose marriage to Bin Laden was annulled soon after the ceremony. Bin Laden fathered between 20 and 26 children with his wives. Many of Bin Laden's children fled to Iran following the September 11 attacks and as of 2010 , Iranian authorities reportedly continue to control their movements. Nasser al-Bahri , who was Bin Laden's personal bodyguard from 1997 to 2001, details Bin Laden's personal life in his memoir. He describes him as
592-510: A substantial relationship with Saudi intelligence." Bin Laden's first trainer was U.S. Special Forces commando Ali Mohamed . By 1984, Bin Laden and Azzam established Maktab al-Khidamat , which funneled money, arms, and fighters from around the Arab world into Afghanistan. Through al-Khadamat, Bin Laden's inherited family fortune paid for air tickets and accommodation, paid for paperwork with Pakistani authorities and provided other such services for
666-737: A symbol of terrorism and mass murder. Osama bin Laden's name is most frequently rendered as "Osama bin Laden". The FBI and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as other U.S. governmental agencies, have used either "Usama bin Laden" or the accepted transliteration "Usama bin Ladin". Osama bin Laden's full name, Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, means "Osama, son of Mohammed, son of Awad, son of Laden". "Mohammed" refers to Bin Laden's father Mohammed bin Laden; "Awad" refers to his grandfather, Awad bin Aboud bin Laden,
740-701: A terrorist by scholars, journalists from The New York Times , the BBC , and Qatari news station Al Jazeera , analysts such as Peter Bergen , Michael Scheuer , Marc Sageman , and Bruce Hoffman . He was indicted on terrorism charges by law enforcement agencies in Madrid , New York City, and Tripoli . Bin Laden supported the targeting of American civilians, in retaliation against U.S. troops indiscriminately attacking Muslims. He asserted that this policy could deter U.S. troops from targeting Muslim women and children. Furthermore, he argued that all Americans were complicit in
814-536: Is a long piece, and complains of American activities in numerous countries. It was faxed to Arabic-language newspapers internationally but particularly in England. It first appeared in the London-based Arabic paper Al-Quds Al-Arabi . The 1998 fatwā reached Al Quds Al Arabi by fax, and was signed by five people, four of whom represented specific Islamist groups. The signatories as a group were identified as
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#1732858629158888-504: Is a patronymic, not a surname in the Western manner. According to one of his sons Omar , the family's hereditary surname is āl-Qaḥṭānī , but Bin Laden's father, Mohammed bin Laden , never officially registered the name. Osama bin Laden was born on 10 March 1957 in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia . His father was Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden , a billionaire construction magnate with close ties to
962-579: Is alleged by B. Raman , a founder of India's Research and Analysis Wing , to have been in response to a revolt by the Shias of Gilgit during the rule of military dictator Zia-ul Haq . He alleged that the Pakistan Army induced Osama bin Laden to lead an armed group of Sunni tribals, from Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province , into Gilgit and its surrounding areas to suppress
1036-506: Is possible to do it." Terrorism experts consider the "World Islamic Front" synonymous with al-Qaeda . The 9/11 Commission uses the text of the 23 February 1998 fatwa as evidence that linked Osama bin Laden , Ayman al-Zawahiri , and al-Qaeda to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City , Washington, D.C. , and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania . The 23 February 1998 fatwa is
1110-551: The Athari (literalist) school of Islamic theology . These beliefs, in conjunction with violent jihad , have sometimes been called Qutbism after being promoted by Sayyid Qutb . Bin Laden believed that Afghanistan, under the rule of Mullah Omar 's Taliban , was "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world. Bin Laden consistently dwelt on the need for violent jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims perpetrated by
1184-928: The Bin Laden Issue Station , code-named "Alec Station", to track and to carry out operations against his activities. Bin Laden Issue Station was headed by Michael Scheuer , a veteran of the Islamic Extremism Branch of the CTC. U.S. intelligence monitored Bin Laden in Sudan using operatives to run by daily and to photograph activities at his compound, and using an intelligence safe house and signals intelligence to surveil him and to record his moves. The 9/11 Commission Report states: Fataw%C4%81 of Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden authored two fatāwā in
1258-568: The Blue Nile . During his time in Sudan, he heavily invested in the infrastructure, in agriculture and businesses. He was the Sudan agent for the British firm Hunting Surveys , and built roads using the same bulldozers he had employed to construct mountain tracks in Afghanistan. Many of his labourers were the same fighters who had been his comrades in the war against the Soviet Union. He was generous to
1332-553: The Gulf War (1990–1991), Bin Laden's offer for support against Iraq was rebuked by the Saudi royal family , which instead sought American aid . Bin Laden's views on pan-Islamism and anti-Americanism resulted in his expulsion from Saudi Arabia in 1991. He subsequently shifted his headquarters to Sudan until 1996 when he left the country to establish a new base in Afghanistan , where he
1406-506: The Islamic region harboring grievances against perceived Western imperialism , often having approval ratings in some countries higher than those of national leaders. Nonetheless, his justification and orchestration of attacks against American civilian targets, such as the September 11 attacks, made him a highly reviled figure in the United States, where public opinion largely views Bin Laden as
1480-771: The Parliament of Pakistan to carry out an unsuccessful motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto . The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait under Saddam Hussein on 2 August 1990, put the Saudi kingdom and the royal family at risk. With Iraqi forces on the Saudi border , Saddam's appeal to pan-Arabism was potentially inciting internal dissent. One week after King Fahd agreed to U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney 's offer of American military assistance, Bin Laden met with King Fahd and Saudi Defense Minister Sultan bin Abdulaziz , telling them not to depend on non-Muslim assistance from
1554-712: The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were killed at Tarnak Farms while conducting a live-fire training exercise. While flying an F-16 , American pilot Harry Schmidt dropped a 227-kilogram laser-guided bomb on the Canadian position. The bomb killed Canadian Forces Sgt Marc Leger , Cpl Ainsworth Dyer , Pte Richard Green and Pte Nathan Lloyd Smith and wounded eight CF soldiers. 31°27′18″N 65°49′26″E / 31.455°N 65.824°E / 31.455; 65.824 Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011)
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#17328586291581628-503: The Saudi royal family , and his mother was Mohammed bin Laden's tenth wife, Syrian Hamida al-Attas (then called Alia Ghanem). Despite it being generally accepted that Bin Laden was born in Riyadh, his birthplace was listed as Jeddah in the initial FBI and Interpol documents. Mohammed bin Laden divorced Hamida soon after Osama bin Laden was born. Mohammed recommended Hamida to Mohammed al-Attas, an associate. Al-Attas married Hamida in
1702-530: The September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001. Bin Laden was born in Riyadh to the aristocratic bin Laden family . He studied at local universities until 1979, when he joined the Afghan mujahidin against the Soviet Union in the wake of the Soviet–Afghan War . In 1984, he co-founded Maktab al-Khidamat which recruited foreign mujahidin into the war. He founded al-Qaeda in 1988 for worldwide jihad . In
1776-619: The United Nations designated al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization. Bin Laden was the organizer of the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people . This resulted in the United States invading Afghanistan , which launched the war on terror . Bin Laden became the subject of nearly a decade-long multi-national manhunt led by the United States. During this period, he hid in several mountainous regions of Afghanistan and later escaped to neighboring Pakistan . On 2 May 2011, Bin Laden
1850-694: The "World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders". This fatwā complains of American military presence in Saudi Arabia, the sanctions against Iraq , and American support for Israel . Claiming that the United States has been using its military bases in the Arabian Peninsula as "a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples", the fatwa purports to provide religious authorization for indiscriminate killing of Americans and their allies – combatant or civilian – everywhere. It appeared in February 1998 and
1924-595: The Afghan resistance leaders themselves. According to some CIA officers, beginning in early 1980, Bin Laden acted as a liaison between the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency (GIP) and Afghan warlords; no evidence of contact between the CIA and Bin Laden exists in the CIA archives. Steve Coll states that although Bin Laden may not have been a formal, salaried GIP agent, "it seems clear that Bin Laden did have
1998-592: The Afghans. However, he continued working with the Saudi GID and the Pakistani ISI . In March 1989 Bin Laden led 800 Arab foreign fighters during the unsuccessful Battle of Jalalabad . Bin Laden led his men in person to immobilize the 7th Sarandoy Regiment but failed doing so leading to massive casualties. He funded the 1990 Afghan coup d'état attempt led by hardcore communist General Shahnawaz Tanai . He also lobbied
2072-491: The CIA's hunt for Bin Laden, Bin Laden was motivated by a belief that U.S. foreign policy has oppressed, killed, or otherwise harmed Muslims in the Middle East. As such, the threat to U.S. national security arises not from al-Qaeda being offended by what the U.S. is but rather by what the U.S. does, or in the words of Scheuer, "They (al-Qaeda) hate us (Americans) for what we do, not who we are." Nonetheless, Bin Laden criticized
2146-480: The EIJ. After this bombing, al-Qaeda was reported to have developed its justification for the killing of innocent people. According to a fatwa issued by Mamdouh Mahmud Salim , the killing of someone standing near the enemy is justified because any innocent bystander will find a proper reward in death, going to Jannah (paradise) if they were good Muslims and to Jahannam (hell) if they were bad or non-believers. The fatwa
2220-522: The Islamists and urge war rather than negotiation with the government. Their advice was heeded. The war that followed caused the deaths of 150,000 to 200,000 Algerians and ended with the Islamists surrendering to the government. In Sudan, Bin Laden established a new base for Mujahideen operations in Khartoum . He bought a house on Al-Mashtal Street in the affluent Al-Riyadh quarter and a retreat at Soba on
2294-461: The Israeli state's goals. He often delivered warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next." Shia Muslims have been listed along with heretics , the United States, and Israel as the four principal enemies of Islam at ideology classes of Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. Bin Laden
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2368-411: The Middle East into its territory and enslave its peoples, as part of what he called a " Greater Israel ". He stated that Jews and Muslims could never get along and that war was "inevitable" between them, and further accused the U.S. of stirring up anti-Islamic sentiment . He claimed that the U.S. State Department and U.S. Department of Defense were controlled by Jews, for the sole purpose of serving
2442-540: The Saudi government the possibility of expelling Bin Laden. CIA paramilitary officer Billy Waugh tracked down Bin Ladin in Sudan and prepared an operation to apprehend him, but was denied authorization. US Ambassador Timothy Carney encouraged the Sudanese to pursue this course. The Saudis, however, did not want Bin Laden, giving as their reason their revocation of his citizenship. Sudan's minister of defense , Fatih Erwa, has claimed that Sudan offered to hand Bin Laden over to
2516-415: The Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, Osama bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia as a hero of jihad. Along with his Arab legion, he was thought to have brought down the mighty superpower of the Soviet Union. After his return to Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden engaged in opposition movements to the Saudi monarchy while working for his family business . He offered to send al-Qaeda to overthrow
2590-632: The Soviet-aligned Yemeni Socialist Party government in South Yemen but was rebuffed by Prince Turki bin Faisal . He then tried to disrupt the Yemeni unification process by assassinating YSP leaders but was halted by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz after President Ali Abdullah Saleh complained to King Fahd . He was also angered by the internecine tribal fighting among
2664-531: The Soviets, such as the Battle of Jaji in 1987. Despite its little strategic significance, the battle was lionized in the mainstream Arab press. It was during this time that he became idolized by many Arabs. In May 1988, responding to rumours of a massacre of Sunnis by Shias, large numbers of Shias from in and around Gilgit, Pakistan were killed in a massacre. Shia civilians were also subjected to rape. The massacre
2738-417: The U.S. and others and offering to help defend Saudi Arabia with his Arab legion. When Sultan asked how Bin Laden would defend the fighters if Saddam used Iraqi chemical and biological weapons against them he replied "We will fight him with faith." Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and the Saudi monarchy invited the deployment of U.S. forces in Saudi territory. Bin Laden publicly denounced Saudi dependence on
2812-548: The U.S. and sometimes by other non-Muslim states. In his Letter to the American People published in 2002, Bin Laden described the formation of the Israeli state as "a crime which must be erased" and demanded that the United States withdraw all of its civilians and military personnel from the Arabian Peninsula , as well as from all Muslim lands . His viewpoints and methods of achieving them had led to him being designated as
2886-556: The U.S. during the 1980s. Nor did his followers. The Afghan mujahideen, via Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency, received large amounts of both. Some bled to the Arabs fighting the Soviets but nothing significant." Bin Laden met and built relations with Hamid Gul , who was a three-star general in the Pakistani army and head of the ISI agency. Although the United States provided the money and weapons,
2960-588: The U.S. for its secular form of governance, calling upon Americans to convert to Islam and reject the immoral acts of fornication , homosexuality , intoxicants , gambling , and usury , in a letter published in late 2002. Bin Laden believed that the Islamic world was in crisis and that the complete restoration of Sharia law would be the only way to set things right in the Muslim world. He opposed such alternatives as secular government, as well as pan-Arabism , socialism , communism , and democracy . He subscribed to
3034-465: The U.S. forces, arguing that that it was indignity that the kingdom was being defended by an army of American unbelievers. Bin Laden tried to convince the Saudi ulama to issue a fatwa condemning the American military deployment but senior clerics refused out of fear of repression. Bin Laden's continued criticism of the Saudi monarchy led them to put him under house arrest, under which he remained until he
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3108-467: The U.S., but American officials refused to meet with them even after they had expelled Bin Laden. It was not until 2000 that the State Department authorized U.S. intelligence officials to visit Sudan. The 9/11 Commission Report states: In late 1995, when Bin Laden was still in Sudan, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) learned that Sudanese officials were discussing with
3182-506: The U.S., when he accidentally flew a plane into power lines. The FBI described Bin Laden as an adult as tall and thin, between 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) and 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) in height and weighing about 73 kilograms (160 lb), although the author Lawrence Wright , in his Pulitzer Prize -winning book on al-Qaeda , The Looming Tower , writes that a number of Bin Laden's close friends confirmed that reports of his height were greatly exaggerated, and that Bin Laden
3256-417: The United States. The Commission has found no credible evidence that this was so. Ambassador Carney had instructions only to push the Sudanese to expel Bin Laden. Ambassador Carney had no legal basis to ask for more from the Sudanese since, at the time, there was no indictment outstanding against Bin Laden in any country. In January 1996, the CIA launched a new unit of its Counterterrorism Center (CTC) called
3330-448: The administration. The Tarnak Farms facility housed an al-Qaeda poison and explosive training laboratory and an advanced operational training camp. Operatives of al Qaeda received advanced operational training at the facility, including urban assault. The September 11 hijackers Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah recorded their wills at Tarnak Farms. On April 17, 2002, a friendly fire incident occurred when four Canadian soldiers of
3404-494: The crimes of their government due to majority of them electing it to power and paying taxes that fund the U.S. military. According to Noah Feldman , Bin Laden's assertion was that "since the United States is a democracy, all citizens bear responsibility for its government's actions, and civilians are therefore fair targets." Two months after the September 11, 2001 attacks , Bin Laden stated during an interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir : "According to my information, if
3478-565: The earliest discovery of al-Qaeda terrorist plans outside of Muslim countries. Nosair was eventually convicted in connection to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and, years later, admitted guilt for the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City on 5 November 1990. In 1991, Bin Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia by its government after repeatedly criticizing the Saudi alliance with the United States. He and his followers moved first to Afghanistan and then relocated to Sudan by 1992, in
3552-676: The embassy bombings followed in August. The World Islamic Front is the organization that issued the World Islamic Front Statement of 23 February 1998, "Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders", listing the actions of Americans that they claim conflict with "God's order", and stating that the Front's "ruling to kill the Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it
3626-464: The enemy countries, by "bleeding" them dry. Al-Qaeda manuals express this strategy. In a 2004 tape broadcast by Al Jazeera, Bin Laden spoke of "bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy". A number of errors and inconsistencies in Bin Laden's arguments have been alleged by authors such as Max Rodenbeck and Noah Feldman . He invoked democracy both as an example of the deceit and fraudulence of Western political system —American law being "the law of
3700-466: The enemy occupies an Islamic land and uses its people as human shields , a person has the right to attack the enemy. ... The targets of September 11 were not women and children. The main targets were the symbol of the United States: their economic and military power. Our Prophet Muhammad was against the killing of women and children. When he saw the body of a non-Muslim woman during a war, he asked what
3774-513: The first known official order of the World Islamic Front. The fatwa calls upon each individual member of the existing Ummah to, "in accordance with the words of Almighty God, 'fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God.'" The fatwa is widely regarded by terrorism experts as
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#17328586291583848-463: The governments of the U.S. and the United Kingdom, directing them to kill as many Muslims as they could. In a letter released in late 2002, he stated that Jews controlled the civilian media outlets, politics, and economic institutions of the United States. In a May 1998 interview with ABC 's John Miller, Bin Laden stated that the Israeli state's ultimate goal was to annex the Arabian Peninsula and
3922-880: The harmful gases that threaten its destiny". After leaving college in 1979, Bin Laden went to Pakistan, joined Abdullah Azzam and used money and machinery from his own construction company to help the Mujahideen resistance in the Afghan–Soviet War . He later told a journalist: "I felt outraged that an injustice had been committed against the people of Afghanistan." From 1979 to 1992, the U.S. (as part of CIA activities in Afghanistan , specifically Operation Cyclone ), Saudi Arabia , and China provided between $ 6–12 billion worth of financial aid and weapons to tens of thousands of mujahideen through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). British journalist Jason Burke wrote: "He did not receive any direct funding or training from
3996-579: The jihadi fighters. Bin Laden established camps inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and trained volunteers from across the Muslim world to fight against the Soviet-backed regime, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan . Between 1986 and 1987, Bin Laden set up a base in eastern Afghanistan for several dozen of his own Arab soldiers. From this base, Bin Laden participated in some combat activity against
4070-649: The late 1950s or early 1960s. The couple had four children, and Bin Laden lived in the new household with three half-brothers and one half-sister. The Bin Laden family made $ 5 billion in the construction industry, of which Osama later inherited around $ 25–30 million. Bin Laden was raised as a devout Sunni Muslim. From 1968 to 1976, he attended the elite Al-Thager Model School . Bin Laden attended an English-language course in Oxford , England, during 1971. He studied economics and business administration at King Abdulaziz University . Some reports suggest he earned
4144-407: The late 1990s. The first was published in August 1996 and the second in February 1998. At the time, bin Laden was not a wanted man in any country except his native Saudi Arabia , and was not yet known as the leader of the international jihadist organization al-Qaeda . These fatāwā received relatively little attention until after the August 1998 United States embassy bombings , for which bin Laden
4218-411: The notion that the will of the people must necessarily reflect the will of an all-knowing God." Bin Laden was heavily anti-Semitic , stating that most of the negative events that occurred in the world were the direct result of Jewish actions. In a December 1998 interview with Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai , Bin Laden stated that Operation Desert Fox was proof that Israeli Jews controlled
4292-525: The poor and popular with the people. He continued to criticize King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. In response, in 1994, Fahd stripped Bin Laden of his Saudi citizenship and persuaded his family to cut off his $ 7 million a year stipend. By that time, Bin Laden was being linked with EIJ, which made up the core of al-Qaeda. In 1995, the EIJ attempted to assassinate the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak . The attempt failed, and Sudan expelled
4366-487: The reason for killing her was. If a child is older than thirteen and bears arms against Muslims, killing him is permissible." Bin Laden's overall strategy for achieving his goals against much larger enemies such as the Soviet Union and U.S. was to lure them into a long war of attrition in Muslim countries, attracting large numbers of jihadists who would never surrender. He believed this would lead to economic collapse of
4440-452: The revolt. By 1988, Bin Laden had split from Maktab al-Khidamat. While Azzam acted as support for Afghan fighters, Bin Laden wanted a more military role. One of the main points leading to the split and the creation of al-Qaeda was Azzam's insistence that Arab fighters be integrated among the Afghan fighting groups instead of forming a separate fighting force. Notes of a meeting of Bin Laden and others on 20 August 1988, indicate that al-Qaeda
4514-525: The rich and wealthy" —and as the reason civilians are responsible for their government's actions and so can be lawfully punished by death. He denounced democracy as a "religion of ignorance" that violates Islam by issuing man-made laws, but in a later statement compares the Western democracy of Spain favorably to the Muslim world in which the ruler is accountable. Rodenbeck states, "Evidently, [Bin Laden] has never heard theological justifications for democracy, based on
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#17328586291584588-452: The training of militant groups was entirely done by the Pakistani Armed Forces and the ISI. According to Brigadier Mohammad Yousaf, the person in charge of the ISI's Afghan operations at the time, it was a strict policy of Pakistan to prevent any American involvement in the distribution of funds or weapons or in the training of the mujahideen, and the CIA officials stayed in the embassy in Islamabad , never entering Afghanistan or meeting with
4662-455: The works of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle said to be among his favorites; black stallions ; and association football , in which he enjoyed playing at centre forward and followed the English club Arsenal . During his studies in Jeddah, Bin Laden became a pupil of the influential Islamist scholar Abdullah Yusuf Azzam and avidly read his treatises. He also read the writings of several Muslim Brotherhood leaders and
4736-495: Was a Saudi Arabian-born Islamist dissident and militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda . Ideologically a pan-Islamist , he participated in the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union and supported the activities of the Bosnian mujahideen during the Yugoslav Wars . After issuing his declaration of war against the Americans in 1996, Bin Laden began advocating attacks targeting U.S. assets in several countries, and supervised al-Qaeda's execution of
4810-415: Was a formal group by that time: "Basically an organized Islamic faction, its goal is to lift the word of God, to make his religion victorious." A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience, and making a pledge ( bayat ) to follow one's superiors. According to Wright, the group's real name was not used in public pronouncements because its existence
4884-579: Was actually "just over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall". Eventually, after his death, he was measured to be roughly 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in). Bin Laden had an olive complexion and was left-handed, usually walking with a cane. He wore a plain white keffiyeh . Bin Laden had stopped wearing the traditional Saudi male keffiyeh and instead wore the traditional Yemeni male keffiyeh. He was described as soft-spoken and mild-mannered in demeanor. Political Militant [REDACTED] Islam portal According to former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer , who led
4958-461: Was highly influenced by the Islamic revolutionary ideas advocated by Sayyid Qutb . At age 17 in 1974, Bin Laden married Najwa Ghanem at Latakia , Syria; but they were later separated and she left Afghanistan on 9 September 2001, 2 days before the 9/11 attacks. His other known wives were Khadijah Sharif (married 1983, divorced 1990s); Khairiah Sabar (married 1985); Siham Sabar (married 1987); and Amal al-Sadah (married 2000). Some sources also list
5032-426: Was indicted. The indictment mentions the first fatwā, and claims that Khalid al-Fawwaz , of bin Laden's Advice and Reformation Committee in London, participated in its communication to the press. Bin Laden's 1996 fatwā is entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places". This document is sometimes called the Ladenese epistle , a term derived from bin Laden's nasab . It
5106-411: Was issued to al-Qaeda members but not the general public. The U.S. State Department accused Sudan of being a sponsor of international terrorism and Bin Laden of operating terrorist training camps in the Sudanese desert. However, according to Sudan officials, this stance became obsolete as the Islamist political leader Hassan al-Turabi lost influence in their country. The Sudanese wanted to engage with
5180-479: Was killed by U.S. special operations forces at his compound in Abbottabad . His corpse was buried in the Arabian Sea and he was succeeded by his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri on 16 June 2011. Bin Laden grew to become an influential ideologue who inspired several Islamist organizations. He was considered a war hero due to his role in successfully opposing the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and offered an articulate voice and organizational structure to many across
5254-423: Was opposed to music on religious grounds, and his attitude towards technology was mixed. He was interested in earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants on the one hand, but rejected chilled water on the other. Bin Laden also believed climate change to be a serious threat and penned a letter urging Americans to work with President Barack Obama to make a rational decision to "save humanity from
5328-514: Was still a closely held secret. His research suggests that al-Qaeda was formed at an 11 August 1988, meeting between several senior leaders of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), Abdullah Azzam , and Bin Laden, where it was agreed to join Bin Laden's money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organization and take up the jihadist cause elsewhere after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan . Following
5402-619: Was supported by the Taliban . Bin Laden declared two fatawa , the first in August 1996, and the second in February 1998, declaring holy war against the United States. After the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa , Bin Laden was indicted by a district court in the United States in November 1998. He was then listed on the FBI 's Most Wanted Terrorists and Most Wanted Fugitives lists. In October 1999,
5476-559: Was ultimately forced to leave the country in 1991. The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division landed in the north-eastern Saudi city of Dhahran and was deployed in the desert barely 400 miles from Medina. Meanwhile, on 8 November 1990, the FBI raided the New Jersey home of El Sayyid Nosair , an associate of al-Qaeda operative Ali Mohamed . They discovered copious evidence of terrorist plots, including plans to blow up New York City skyscrapers. This marked
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