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Source: http://www.pm.gov.uk/evidence.htm = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = == This document does not
purport to provide a prosecutable case against Usama Bin Laden in a court of
law. Intelligence often cannot be used evidentially, due both to the strict
rules of admissibility and to the need to protect the safety of sources. But on
the basis of all the information available HMG is confident of its conclusions
as expressed in this document. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = == RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THE TERRORIST ATROCITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 INTRODUCTION 1.
The clear conclusions reached by the government are:
2.
The material in respect of 1998 and the USS Cole comes from indictments
and intelligence sources. The material in respect of 11 September comes from
intelligence and the criminal investigation to date. The details of some
aspects cannot be given, but the facts are clear from the intelligence. 3.
The document does not contain the totality of the material known to HMG, given
the continuing and absolute need to protect intelligence sources. SUMMARY 4.
The relevant facts show: Background
In
relation to the terrorist attacks on 11 September 5.
After 11 September we learned that, not long before, Bin Laden had indicated he
was about to launch a major attack on America. The detailed planning for the
terrorist attacks of 11 September was carried out by one of UBL’s close
associates. Of the 19 hijackers involved in 11 September 2001, it has already
been established that at least three had links with Al Qaida. The attacks on 11
September 2001 were similar in both their ambition and intended impact to
previous attacks undertaken by Usama Bin laden and Al Qaida, and also had
features in common. In particular:
6.
Al Qaida retains the capability and the will to make further attacks on the US
and its allies, including the United Kingdom. 7.
Al Qaida gives no warning of terrorist attack. THE
FACTS Usama
Bin Laden and Al Qaida 8.
In 1989 Usama Bin Laden, and others, founded an international terrorist group
known as "Al Qaida" (the Base). At all times he has been the leader
of Al Qaida. 9.
From 1989 until 1991 Usama Bin Laden was based in Afghanistan and Peshawar,
Pakistan. In 1991 he moved to Sudan, where he stayed until 1996. In that year
he returned to Afghanistan, where he remains. The
Taleban Regime 10.
The Taleban emerged from the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan in the early
1990s. By 1996 they had captured Kabul. They are still engaged in a bloody civil
war to control the whole of Afghanistan. They are led by Mullah Omar. 11.
In 1996 Usama Bin Laden moved back to Afghanistan. He established a close
relationship with Mullah Omar, and threw his support behind the Taleban. Usama
Bin Laden and the Taleban régime have a close alliance on which both depend for
their continued existence. They also share the same religious values and
vision. 12.
Usama Bin Laden has provided the Taleban régime with troops, arms, and money to
fight the Northern Alliance. He is closely involved with Taleban military
training, planning and operations. He has representatives in the Taleban
military command structure. He has also given infrastruture assistance and
humanitarian aid. Forces under the control of Usama Bin Laden have fought
alongside the Taleban in the civil war in Afghanistan. 13.
Omar has provided Bin Laden with a safe haven in which to operate, and has
allowed him to establish terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. They jointly
exploit the Afghan drugs trade. In return for active Al Qaida support, the
Taleban allow Al Qaida to operate freely, including planning, training and
preparing for terrorist activity. In addition the Taleban provide security for
the stockpiles of drugs. 14.
Since 1996, when the Taleban captured Kabul, the United States government has
consistently raised with them a whole range of issues, including humanitarian
aid and terrorism. Well before 11 September 2001 they had provided evidence to
the Taleban of the responsibility of Al Qaida for the terrorist attacks in East
Africa. This evidence had been provided to senior leaders of the Taleban at
their request. 15.
The United States government had made it clear to the Taleban regime that Al
Qaida had murdered US citizens, and planned to murder more. The US offered to
work with the Taleban to expel the terrorists from Afghanistan. These talks,
which have been continuing since 1996, have failed to produce any results. 16.
In June 2001, in the face of mounting evidence of the Al Qaida threat, the
United States warned the Taleban that it had the right to defend itself and
that it would hold the régime responsible for attacks against US citizens by
terrorists sheltered in Afghanistan. 17.
In this, the United States had the support of the United Nations. The Security
Council, in Resolution 1267, condemned Usama Bin Laden for sponsoring
international terrorism and operating a network of terrorist camps, and
demanded that the Taleban surrender Usama Bin Laden without further delay so
that he could be brought to justice. 18.
Despite the evidence provided by the US of the responsibility of Usama Bin
Laden and Al Qaida for the 1998 East Africa bombings, despite the accurately
perceived threats of further atrocities, and despite the demands of the United
Nations, the Taleban régime responded by saying no evidence existed against
Usama Bin Laden, and that neither he nor his network would be expelled. 19.
A former Government official in Afghanistan has described the Taleban and Usama
Bin Laden as "two sides of the same coin: Usama cannot exist in
Afghanistan without the Taleban and the Taleban cannot exist without
Usama." Al
Qaida 20.
Al Qaida is dedicated to opposing ‘un-Islamic’ governments in Muslim countries
with force and violence. 21.
Al Qaida virulently opposes the United States. Usama Bin Laden has urged and
incited his followers to kill American citizens, in the most unequivocal terms. 22.
On 12 October 1996 he issued a declaration of jihad as follows: "The people of Islam have suffered from
aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed by the Zionist-Crusader alliance and
their collaborators . . . It is the duty now on every tribe in the
Arabian peninsula to fight jihad and cleanse the land from these Crusader
occupiers. Their wealth is booty to those who kill them. My Muslim brothers: your brothers in Palestine
and in the land of the two Holy Places [i.e. Saudi Arabia] are
calling upon your help and asking you to take part in fighting against the
enemy – the Americans and the Israelis. They are asking you to do whatever you
can to expel the enemies out of the sanctities of Islam." Later
in the same year he said that "terrorising the American occupiers [of Islamic
Holy Places] is a religious and logical obligation." In
February 1998 he issued and signed a ‘fatwa’ which included a decree to all
Muslims: ". . . the killing of Americans and their
civilian and military allies is a religious duty for each and every Muslim to
be carried out in whichever country they are until Al Aqsa mosque has been
liberated from their grasp and until their armies have left Muslim lands." In
the same ‘fatwa’ he called on Muslim scholars and their leaders and their
youths to "launch
an attack on the American soldiers of Satan." and
concluded: "We – with God’s help – call on every
Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God’s order
to kill Americans and plunder their money whenever and wherever they find it. We
also call on Muslims . . . to launch the raid on Satan’s US troops and the
devil’s supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind
them." When
asked, in 1998, about obtaining chemical or nuclear weapons he said "acquiring such weapons for the defence of
Muslims [was] a religious duty." In
an interview aired on Al Jazira (Doha, Qatar) television he stated: "Our enemy is every American male, whether he
is directly fighting us or paying taxes." In
two interviews broadcast on US television in 1997 and 1998 he referred to the
terrorists who carried out the earlier attack on the World Trade Center in 1993
as "role models". He went on to exhort his followers "to
take the fighting to America." 23.
From the early 1990s Usama Bin Laden has sought to obtain nuclear and chemical
materials for use as weapons of terror. 24.
Although US targets are Al Qaida’s priority, it also explicitly threatens the
United States’ allies. References to "Zionist-Crusader alliance and
their collaborators," and to "Satan’s US troops and the
devil’s supporters allying with them" are references which
unquestionably include the United Kingdom. 25.
There is a continuing threat. Based on our experience of the way the network
has operated in the past, other cells, like those that carried out the
terrorist attacks on 11 September, must be assumed to exist. 26.
Al Qaida functions both on its own and through a network of other terrorist
organisations. These include Egyptian Islamic Jihad and other north African
Islamic extremist terrorist groups, and a number of other jihadi groups in
other countries including the Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and India. Al
Qaida also maintains cells and personnel in a number of other countries to
facilitate its activities. 27.
Usama Bin Laden heads the Al Qaida network. Below him is a body known as the
Shura, which includes representatives of other terrorist groups, such as
Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Ayman Zawahiri and prominent lieutenants of Bin
Laden such as Abu Hafs Al-Masri. Egyptian Islamic Jihad has, in effect, merged
with Al Qaida. 28.
In addition to the Shura, Al Qaida has several groups dealing with military,
media, financial and Islamic issues. 29.
Mohamed Atef is a member of the group that deals with military and terrorist
operations. His duties include principal responsibility for training Al Qaida
members.
31.
A great deal of evidence about Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaida has been made
available in the US indictment for earlier crimes. 32.
Since 1989, Usama Bin Laden has conducted substantial financial and business
transactions on behalf of Al Qaida and in pursuit of its goals. These include
purchasing land for training camps, purchasing warehouses for the storage of
items, including explosives, purchasing communications and electronics
equipment, and transporting currency and weapons to members of Al Qaida and
associated terrorist groups in countries throughout the world. 33.
Since 1989 Usama Bin Laden has provided training camps and guest houses in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Sudan, Somalia and Kenya for the use of Al Qaida and
associated terrorist groups. We know from intelligence that there are currently
at least a dozen camps across Afghanistan, of which at least four are used for
training terrorists. 34.
Since 1989, Usama Bin Laden has established a series of businesses to provide
income for Al Qaida, and to provide cover for the procurement of explosives,
weapons and chemicals, and for the travel of Al Qaida operatives. The
businesses have included a holding company known as ‘Wadi Al Aqiq’, a
construction business known as ‘Al Hijra’, an agricultural business known as
‘Al Themar Al Mubaraka’, and investment companies known as ‘Ladin
International’ and ‘Taba Investments’. Usama
Bin Laden and previous attacks 35.
In 1992 and 1993 Mohamed Atef travelled to Somalia on several occasions for the
purpose of organising violence against United States and United Nations troops
then stationed in Somalia. On each occasion he reported back to Usama Bin Laden,
at his base in the Riyadh district of Khartoum. 36.
In the spring of 1993 Atef, Saif al Adel, another senior member of Al Qaida,
and other members began to provide military training to Somali tribes for the
purpose of fighting the United Nations forces. 37.
On 3 and 4 October 1993 operatives of Al Qaida participated in the attack on US
military personnel serving in Somalia as part of the operation ‘Restore Hope.’ Eighteen
US military personnel were killed in the attack. 38.
From 1993 members of Al Qaida began to live in Nairobi and set up businesses
there, including Asma Ltd, and Tanzanite King. They were regularly visited
there by senior members of Al Qaida, in particular by Atef and Abu Ubadiah al
Banshiri. 39.
Beginning in the latter part of 1993, members of Al Qaida in Kenya began to
discuss the possibility of attacking the US Embassy in Nairobi in retaliation
for US participation in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. Ali Mohamed, a US
citizen and admitted member of Al Qaida, surveyed the US Embassy as a possible
target for a terrorist attack. He took photographs and made sketches, which he
presented to Usama Bin Laden while Bin Laden was in Sudan. He also admitted
that he had trained terrorists for Al Qaida in Afghanistan in the early 1990s,
and that those whom he trained included many involved in the East African
bombings in August 1998. 40.
In June or July 1998, two Al Qaida operatives, Fahid Mohammed Ali Msalam and
Sheik Ahmed Salim Swedan, purchased a Toyota truck and made various alterations
to the back of the truck. 41.
In early August 1998, operatives of Al Qaida gathered in 43, New Runda Estates,
Nairobi to execute the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi. 42.
On 7 August 1998, Assam, a Saudi national and Al Qaida operative, drove the Toyota
truck to the US embassy. There was a large bomb in the back of the truck. 43.
Also in the truck was Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al ‘Owali, another Saudi. He, by his
own confession, was an Al Qaida operative, who from about 1996 had been trained
in Al Qaida camps in Afghanistan in explosives, hijacking, kidnapping,
assassination and intelligence techniques. With Usama Bin Laden’s express
permission, he fought alongside the Taleban in Afghanistan. He had met Usama
Bin Laden personally in 1996 and asked for another ‘mission.’ Usama Bin Laden
sent him to East Africa after extensive specialised training at camps in
Afghanistan. 44.
As the truck approached the Embassy, Al ’Owali got out and threw a stun grenade
at a security guard. Assam drove the truck up to the rear of the embassy. He
got out and then detonated the bomb, which demolished a multi-storey
secretarial college and severely damaged the US embassy, and the Co-operative
bank building. The bomb killed 213 people and injured 4500. Assam was killed in
the explosion. 45.
Al ‘Owali expected the mission to end in his death. He had been willing to die
for Al Qaida. But at the last minute he ran away from the bomb truck and
survived. He had no money, passport or plan to escape after the mission,
because he had expected to die. 46.
After a few days, he called a telephone number in Yemen to have money
transferred to him in Kenya. The number he rang in Yemen was contacted by Usama
Bin Laden’s phone on the same day as Al ‘Owali was arranging to get the money. 47.
Another person arrested in connection with the Nairobi bombing was Mohamed
Sadeek Odeh. He admitted to his involvement. He identified the principal
participants in the bombing. He named three other persons, all of whom were Al
Qaida or Egyptian Islamic Jihad members. 48.
In Dar es Salaam the same day, at about the same time, operatives of Al Qaida
detonated a bomb at the US embassy, killing 11 people. The Al Qaida operatives
involved included Mustafa Mohamed Fadhil and Khaflan Khamis Mohamed. The bomb was
carried in a Nissan Atlas truck, which Ahmed Khfaklan Ghailani and Sheikh Ahmed
Salim Swedan, two Al Qaida operatives, had purchased in July 1998, in Dar es
Salaam. 49.
Khaflan Khamis Mohamed was arrested for the bombing. He admitted membership of
Al Qaida, and implicated other members of Al Qaida in the bombing. 50.
On 7 and 8 August 1998, two other members of Al Qaida disseminated claims of
responsibility for the two bombings by sending faxes to media organisations in
Paris, Doha in Qatar, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 51.
Additional evidence of the involvement of Al Qaida in the East African bombings
came from a search conducted in London of several residences and businesses
belonging to Al Qaida and Egyptian Islamic Jihad members. In those searches a
number of documents were found including claims of responsibility for the East
African bombings in the name of a fictitious group, ‘the Islamic Army for the
liberation of the Holy Places.’ 52.
Al ‘Owali, the would-be suicide bomber, admitted he was told to make a
videotape of himself using the name of the same fictitious group. 53.
The faxed claims of responsibility were traced to a telephone number, which had
been in contact with Usama Bin Laden’s cell phone. The claims disseminated to
the press were clearly written by someone familiar with the conspiracy. They
stated that the bombings had been carried out by two Saudis in Kenya, and one
Egyptian in Dar es Salaam. They were probably sent before the bombings had even
taken place. They referred to two Saudis dying in the Nairobi attack. In fact,
because Al ‘Owali fled at the last minute, only one Saudi died. 54.
On 22 December 1998 Usama Bin Laden was asked by Time magazine whether
he was responsible for the August 1998 attacks. He replied: "The International Islamic Jihad Front for the
jihad against the US and Israel has, by the grace of God, issued a crystal
clear fatwa calling on the Islamic nation to carry on Jihad aimed at liberating
the holy sites. The nation of Mohammed has responded to this appeal. If
instigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans . . . is considered to
be a crime, then let history be a witness that I am a criminal. Our job is to
instigate and, by the grace of God, we did that, and certain people responded
to this instigation." He
was asked if he knew the attackers: ". . . those who risked their lives to
earn the pleasure of God are real men. They managed to rid the Islamic nation
of disgrace. We hold them in the highest esteem." And
what the US could expect of him: ". . . any thief or criminal who enters
another country to steal should expect to be exposed to murder at any time . .
. The US knows that I have attacked it, by the grace of God, for more than ten
years now . . . God knows that we have been pleased by the killing of American
soldiers [in Somalia in 1993]. This was achieved by the grace
of God and the efforts of the mujahideen . . . Hostility towards America is a
religious duty and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. I am confident that
Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is
America." 55.
In December 1999 a terrorist cell linked to Al Qaida was discovered trying to
carry out attacks inside the United States. An Algerian, Ahmed Ressam, was
stopped at the US-Canadian border and over 100 lbs of bomb making material was
found in his car. Ressam admitted he was planning to set off a large bomb at
Los Angeles International airport on New Year’s Day. He said that he had
received terrorist training at Al Qaida camps in Afghanistan and then been
instructed to go abroad and kill US civilians and military personnel. 56.
On 3 January 2000, a group of Al Qaida members, and other terrorists who had
trained in Al Qaida camps in Afghanistan, attempted to attack a US destroyer
with a small boat loaded with explosives. Their boat sank, aborting the attack. 57.
On 12 October 2000, however, the USS Cole was struck by an
explosive-laden boat while refuelling in Aden harbour. Seventeen crew were
killed, and 40 injured. 58.
Several of the perpetrators of the Cole attack (mostly Yemenis and
Saudis) were trained at Usama Bin Laden’s camps in Afghanistan. Al ‘Owali has
identified the two commanders of the attack on the USS Cole as having
participated in the planning and preparation for the East African embassy
bombings. 59.
In the months before the September 11 attacks, propaganda videos were
distributed throughout the Middle East and Muslim world by Al Qaida, in which
Usama Bin Laden and others were shown encouraging Muslims to attack American
and Jewish targets. 60.
Similar videos, extolling violence against the United States and other targets,
were distributed before the East African embassy attacks in August 1998. Usama
Bin Laden and the 11 September attacks 61.
Nineteen men have been identified as the hijackers from the passenger lists of
the four planes hijacked on 11 September 2001. At least three of them have
already been positively identified as associates of Al Qaida. One has been
identified as playing key roles in both the East African embassy attacks and
the USS Cole attack. Investigations continue into the backgrounds of all
the hijackers. 62.
From intelligence sources, the following facts have been established subsequent
to 11 September; for intelligence reasons, the names of associates, though
known, are not given.
63.
Usama Bin Laden remains in charge, and the mastermind, of Al Qaida. In Al
Qaida, an operation on the scale of the 11 September attacks would have been
approved by Usama Bin Laden himself. 64.
The modus operandi of 11 September was entirely consistent with previous
attacks. Al Qaida’s record of atrocities is characterised by meticulous long
term planning, a desire to inflict mass casualties, suicide bombers, and
multiple simultaneous attacks. 65.
The attacks of 11 September 2001 are entirely consistent with the scale and
sophistication of the planning which went into the attacks on the East African
Embassies and the USS Cole. No warnings were given for these three
attacks, just as there was none on 11 September. 66.
Al Qaida operatives, in evidence given in the East African Embassy bomb trials,
have described how the group spends years preparing for an attack. They conduct
repeated surveillance, patiently gather materials, and identify and vet
operatives, who have the skills to participate in the attack and the
willingness to die for their cause. 67.
The operatives involved in the 11 September atrocities attended flight schools,
used flight simulators to study the controls of larger aircraft and placed
potential airports and routes under surveillance. 68.
Al Qaida’s attacks are characterised by total disregard for innocent lives,
including Muslims. In an interview after the East African bombings, Usama Bin
Laden insisted that the need to attack the United States excused the killing of
other innocent civilians, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. 69.
No other organisation has both the motivation and the capability to carry out
attacks like those of the 11 September – only the Al Qaida network under Usama
Bin Laden. Conclusion 70.
The attacks of the 11 September 2001 were planned and carried out by Al Qaida,
an organisation whose head is Usama Bin Laden. That organisation has the will,
and the resources, to execute further attacks of similar scale. Both the United
States and its close allies are targets for such attacks. The attack could not
have occurred without the alliance between the Taleban and Usama Bin Laden,
which allowed Bin Laden to operate freely in Afghanistan, promoting, planning
and executing terrorist activity.
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