Osama Bin Laden Wanted To Attack India: The most wanted terrorist in the world, Osama bin Laden, wanted to attack several cities in India and other countries, a newly declassified CIA intelligence brief has revealed. Laden-led al-Qaeda listed India and Pakistan as possible targets for terrorist attacks before the September 11 (9/11), 2001, attack in the United States, which killed around 2,996 people, according to the top-secret document prepared for US President Bill Clinton in 1998.
CIA Released 71 9/11-Related Intelligence Reports
CIA released 71 intelligence reports on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, on September 11, the largest release of the 9/11-related records. These records made the revelation that the Laden-led terror outfit wanted to attack India and Pakistan before the 9/11 attack. As per a brief titled “Bin Ladin Terrorist Network Still a Threat” dated August 28, 1998, Laden wanted to attack several countries, including India and Pakistan.
The documents said that Laden planned attacks in countries like “Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula—especially Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen—India, Pakistan, Uganda, and possibly Nigeria.” US officials had helped agencies to arrest Laden operatives who were preparing attacks in Tirana, Albania, and possibly Baku, Azerbaijan.
The 1998 CIA Assessment
It is to be noted that the CIA document does not detail any specific attack plan for the country. However, it stated that US intelligence accessed that bin Laden’s network planned attacks in India and Pakistan more than three years before 9/11.
The warning came several days after the August 7 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998. At least 224 people lost their lives in the attacks. The dreadful attacks brought bin Laden and al-Qaeda firmly into the focus of US counterterrorism officials.
Three years later, India faced a major terror attack. On December 13, 2001, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists attacked the Parliament complex in New Delhi.
Nine people were killed in the attack, and security forces also nutralised all five attackers.
The Killing Of Osama Bin Laden
Later, Pakistan became a hub of US hunt for bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network. As per CIA records, US intelligence agency continued to track the terrorist leader’s activities and his friendship with the Taliban.
As per records, Bin Laden spent his last years hiding in Pakistan. In 2010, an intelligence agency traced one of his couriers to a compound in Abbottabad, which is located near Islamabad.
US forces carried out one of their most crucial operations and killed bin Laden in a raid on May 2, 2011.
9/11 Warnings Emerged Later
The CIA records include a July 1998 brief on possible US attacks, such as a December 1998 warning regarding aircraft hijackings, an August 6, 2001 brief warning in which the agency said that bin Laden was determined to attack the US.
On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four US passenger flights. Terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into World Trade Center’s North Tower, followed by United Airlines Flight 175 hitting the South Tower. Both towers later collapsed.
A group of terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into Pentagon. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 stood up and fought back against the terrorists before they crashed the plane in Pennsylvania.
A total of 2,977 people were killed in the dreadful attacks.
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