Posted on 11/20/2001 6:42:42 AM PST by Wallaby
Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion.
CIA Role In Successful Break-Up Of Albanian Terrorism Cell Examined The Bulletin's Frontrunner SECTION: Leading The News November 20, 2001
The Wall Street Journal (11/20, Higgins, Cooper) reports, "Ahmed Osman Saleh stepped off a minibus here in (Tirana) the Albanian capital in July 1998 and caught what would be his last glimpse of daylight for three days. As he paid the driver, Albanian security agents slipped a white cloth bag over Mr. Saleh's head, bound his limbs with plastic shackles and tossed him into the rear of a hatchback vehicle. Supervising the operation from a nearby car were agents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency."
The Journal continues, "Mr. Saleh's Albanian captors sped over rutted roads to an abandoned air base 35 miles north of Tirana. There, recalled an Albanian security agent who participated, guards dumped the bearded self-confessed terrorist on the floor of a windowless bathroom. . After two days of interrogation by CIA agents and sporadic beatings by Albanian guards, Mr. Saleh was put aboard a CIA-chartered plane and flown to Cairo, according to the Albanian agent and a confession Egyptian police elicited from Mr. Saleh in September 1998.
Privately, U.S. officials have described it as one of the most successful counterterrorism efforts in the annals of the intelligence agency.
'I remained blindfolded until I got off the plane,' Mr. Saleh said in the confession, a document written in Arabic longhand that he signed at the bottom."
The Journal adds, "There were more beatings and torture at the hands of Egyptian authorities. And 18 months after he was grabbed outside the Garden of Games, a Tirana children's park, Mr. Saleh was hanged in an Egyptian prison yard. .
His capture was one of five scripted and overseen by American agents as part of a covert 1998 operation to deport members of the Egyptian Jihad organization to Cairo from the Balkans. At the time, Egyptian Jihad was merging with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. U.S. authorities considered the Tirana cell among the most dangerous terror outfits in Europe. .
The CIA has refused to acknowledge the 1998 operation. But privately, U.S. officials have described it as one of the most successful counterterrorism efforts in the annals of the intelligence agency."
What's the beef?
We'll need a lot more of these 'killings' to win the war being waged against civilization.
Dnevnik: Al Qaeda Mujahedeens Fortified On Skopska Crna Gora
Skopje, October 19 (MIA) - The Egyptian Zaiman Zavahiri, the younger brother of the chief for the Balkan HQ of AL Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri, with around of 50 mujahedeens has entered Macedonia from Bosnia through Kosovo and has fortified on Skopska Crna Gora region, Dnevnik daily reads.
The mujahedeens built fortifications on different locations on the mountain, newspaper finds out from home and Israeli intelligence sources. These security services claim that uniformed persons are setting fortifications and dig trenches for longer period in the area of the village of Rasce. The aim of the terrorist groups is the attack of the water supply Rasce.
Mujahedeen platoon of the 113 brigade of NLA "Ismet Jashari" consisted of 25 to 30 people, commanded by Sabedin Selmani on Tuesday entered in Matejce. At the same time, fast reactions special unit of the brigade, called "Baruti" also entered the village. Confidential sources claim that the unit has arrived together with its commander Xhemail Ljamaljari. According to the information the unit has 40 people.
Newspaper reads that the terrorists have been stationed at the training camp on the village of Ropotovo from Kosovska Kamenica, and was given command to Matejce to stop the convoy with displaced Macedonians to enter the village. OSCE representatives that should have entered Matejce with the convoy have visited previously the village to determine whether it is safe displaced persons to visit their homes. OSCE team on the return from the village has announced to Macedonian and Serbian civilians of Matejce that there are 50 armed persons who said that they will shot at the convoy if it come close to Matejce. Because of this OSCE team has postponed the entrance of the convoy in the village.
The Russian Agency Itar Tass referring to the sources of the Russian contingent of troops in Kosovo, reported Wednesday that Albanian terrorists have training centre in the U.S. zone in Kosovo, where Afghanistan, Algerian and Albanian terrorists were training, but this information has been denied Thursday by KFOR. Israeli intelligent agents have given the same information few days ago, Dnevnik reports. The Russian Information Telegraph Agency informed that the camp is situated near the village of Ropotovo close to the town Kosovska Kamenica. This town is near the administrative border between Kosovo and Serbia near Bujanovac and Medvedja. The Russian troops are patrolling in part of the border. The terrorists are trained there, and are lead by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the first counsellor of Osama bin Laden and the leader of the Islamic Jihad.
Macedonian intelligence agents have confirmed this information, adding that after the signing of the Agreement in Ohrid, part of the al-Zawahiri 's terrorists withdrew in Kosovo and in the camps in Kuks and Tropoja, in Albania. Al-Zawahiri is responsible for recruiting of Islamic fundamentalists who are trained for terrorist and suicidal attacks. His older brother Ayman al-Zawahiri who is in charge of the Balkan HQ of Al Qaeda should open new front with NATO in this region, Israeli intelligence agents say. Ayman al-Zawahiri is the founder of Islamic Jihad movement, which also operates in Kosovo, today's Dnevnik reads. gv/sk/13:36
Al Qaeda And Islamic Jihad Have 5,000 Fighters In Macedonia
By Dejan Nikolovski Translated by Ognen Spirovski
Around 5,000 members of terrorist organizations Al Qaeda and Islamic Jihad currently reside in Macedonia. Islamic terrorists in Macedonia were a part of the so-called, Balkan headquarters of Al Qaeda, run by the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri , leader of the organization Islamic Jihad. Bulgarian weekly "Tema" published this information few days ago, claiming that it came from Israeli intelligence agency sources. The exact location of the headquarters is unknown, but it is assumed that it is located somewhere in Albania or Kosovo. The Balkan headquarters was in charge of organizing terrorist actions throughout Europe. The Bulgarian weekly writes that Egyptian commander Ayman al-Zawahiri trained around 6,000 members of Al Qaeda and the Islamic Jihad in Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia. These Islamic fighters had orders to prepare opening of a second Islamic front with NATO and the USA on the Balkans. Allegedly, the core of 6,000 men is capable of mobilizing additional 40 thousand trained men, which would be immediately sent to carry out suicide attacks.
Quoting the Israeli intelligence agencies, Bulgarian weekly "Tema," claims that many of the members of the Balkan headquarters still carry arms, which they got from NATO and the American army, before and during the war in Kosovo. The weekly writes that under the command of Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network, there are around 7,500 Islamic fighters in Bosnia, while their number and around 15.000 on Kosovo. There are as many fighters in Albania and around 5,000 in Macedonia. "Tema" claims that Ibrahim Rugova, the leader of the moderate political party of the Albanians in Kosovo, confirmed this information in a statement published by Reuters a while ago.
- The KLA is hiding international terrorists on the territory under their control. KLA assailants are ready to organize terrorist attacks in order to show their support to Osama bin Laden. KLA is ready to ravage the territory of Kosovo and Macedonia and if need be, to act on an international level and help terrorist groups - says Rugova in his statement. According to the Bulgarian weekly, Ibrahim Rugova's press-service gave a similar statement in Rome for the agency "Itartas."
Proving the claims about the activities of the Islamic terrorists from the Middle East in Macedonia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs displayed evidence uncovered in the beginning of this month with the arrest of Sedula Murati (27). This ethnic Albanian citizen of Macedonia did data processing for the 113 brigade "Ismet Jashari" of the NLA [numbers of NLA units start from 100]. In the captured lists there were around 150 Moujahideen, marked with the designation "mu" ("moo"). For now, there is no evidence about the number of Moujahideen who fought in other regions of Macedonia. According to the evidence from the captured computer material, in the Kumanovo-Lipkovo area, a Moujahideen unit of 120 fighters was active. This unit was not a part of the brigade "Ismet Jashari".
The Moujahideen in Kumanovo arrived in May this year, after a deal between Jezair Shakiri, known as "commander Hodza", "commander Sokoli" and Daut Haradinaj, which were the only people that had direct contact with them. The members of the Moujahideen unit were from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Turkey. But, there were people from Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia among them, people that once immigrated to the Arabian countries and then trained in their terrorist camps. The commander of the unit was Ferit Selimi from Skopje, and his deputy was Bekjir Halimi. The activities of this unit were documented with videotapes by Adem Ramzi, a Moujahideen from Turkey. Their activities were scouting, finding out the positions of the Macedonian security forces, carrying out diversions and ambushes. A special Moujahideen unit was active in the 113 brigade. The unit consisted of 25-30 members whose commander was Sabedin Selmani from Lipkovo, who studied theology in Saudi Arabia, where he had trained as a terrorist, too. Selmani fought as a Moujahideen soldier in Bosnia. Jakupi Asip collected the funds for the Moujahideen in Kumanovo area.
And Clinton supported these guys in Bosnia and Kosovo. Now, why is the Bush administration covering for them, saying they practice a different, "tolerant" form of Islam?
Glas Javnosti, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
2 October 2001
"Holy warriors" from Afghanistan, Algeria and other Islamic countries camped near Kosovska Kamenica
50 mujahedins in the American zone
Zaiman Zavahiri, the brother of Osama bin Laden's chief of special forces, among the military instructors. 'Hanjar' division also in training
BELGRADE - In the village of Ropotovo near Kosovska Kamenica 50 mujahedins have been camped for some time at terrorist training center located there. In this group, "Glas" learned from sources in Kosovsko Pomoravlje, are "holy warriors" from Afghanistan, Algeria and several other Islamic countries.
Among them are veterans of the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Kosovo and Metohija. A large number of members of the terrorist organizations Kosovo Liberation Army, the Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, the Albanian National Army and the National Liberation Army have passed through this center and are being trained primarily by former (ethnic Albanian) officers of the Yugoslav People's Army, Albanians who fought in the Croatian Zenga division [Croatian Territorial Guard, a paramilitary volunteer organization formed prior to Croatia's secession from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]. The most renowned military instructor is certainly Zaiman Zavahiri, the brother of Osama bin Laden's chief of special forces.
Sources in Kosovo indicate that members of a newly formed "hanjar" division [Muslim volunteer units called "hanjar" (sword) or were part of the Fascist Waffen SS in Bosnia during World War II] are also being trained at the military camp in Ropotovo. They are being prepared to conduct terrorist activities on the territory of the district of Raska, in northern Kosovo and in Montenegro, that is, in the municipalities of Novi Pazar, Tutin, Raska, Leposavic, Berane, Plav, Gusinje and Murino.
Ropotovo is located in the area of responsibility of the American KFOR contingent and is close to the administrative border between Kosovo and southeastern Serbia.
Lj. Staletovic
Translated by S. Lazovic (Oct. 2, 2001)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.