Late 1990s:
Bin Laden’s Brother-in-Law Khalifa Still in Contact with Militants -
Now living in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden’s brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal KHALIFA keeps in contact with charity fronts and militant groups he helped to organize.
According to a Philippines police report, he maintains contact with:
Leaders of the Philippine militant groups Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
ABDUL SALAM ZUBAIR, who was a key employee in the IRIC (International Relations and Information Center), a charity front used in the Bojinka plot (see Spring 1995). By this time, ZUBAIR IS WORKING WITH KHALIFA TRADING INDUSTRIES in MANILA with other Khalifa associates.
The staff of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) in the Philippines. Many of its staffers, including its Philippines coordinator, are also believed to be HAMAS operatives. The US will designate the chapter a terrorist financier in 2006 (see August 3, 2006).
IBRAHIM MATA, the head of Islamic Studies, Call and Guidance (ISCAG), in the Philippines.
- - The Philippine chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood. [Gunaratna, 2003, pp. 194]
The Benevolence International Foundation (BIF). In a post-9/11 trial in the US, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will allege that the Illinois office of BIF calls Khalifa in Saudi Arabia as recently as November 19, 1998. [USA v. Benevolence International Foundation and Enaam M. Arnaout, 4/29/2002, pp. 14, 21-22 pdf file]
The US will officially designate BIF a terrorism financier in 2002. Khalifa also still visits the Philippines periodically (see Late 1995-September 11, 2001).
July 8, 1999:
FBI Told KSM Is Living in United Arab Emirates
Edit event -
In 2008, the website Intelwire.com will obtain a declassified FBI document from this date. The content is heavily redacted, including the title, but the full title appears to be, “Summary of information obtained from the United Arab Emirates with regard to Manila Air fugitive Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.” The document appears to detail a briefing by United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials from the General Department of State Security to FBI officials visiting the UAE -
It mentions that KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED (KSM) “who was reported to be in _____ during mid-1998, is still currently living in Sharjah, UAE, with his family.” The report also mentions that “in July 1998, authorities from ______ based on information probably obtained from Qatar, located KSM living and working in ____. After questioning him about his activities with the [MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD], he was deported to Bahrain.” [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 7/8/1999 pdf file]
The 9/11 Commission will later mention this document a single time, and reveal that one of the redacted sections discusses KSM’s links to the ABU SAYYAF MILITANT GROUP IN THE PHILLIPPINES. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 488]
Sharjah is a major hub of al-Qaeda activity at this time (see Mid-1996-October 2001), and one of the 9/11 hijackers, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, is from the emirate of Sharjah (see 1980s and 1990s). 9/11 plot facilitator MUSAFA AHMED AL-HAWSAWI WILL BE BASED IN SHARJAH in the MONTHS BEFORE THE 9/11 ATTACKS, AND some of the 9/11 hijackers will pass through there and visit him (see Early-Late June, 2001). It is not known what action US intelligence takes in response to this briefing.”
If the previous history is anything to go by - they did zip.