Taliban Warned Bin Laden To Tighten Security After Kandahar Hijack: CIA Documents

Washington, Sept 14: The Taliban had warned Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden to strengthen his security following the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight that was forced to land in Kandahar in December 1999, according to declassified CIA intelligence documents.

The warning was mentioned in a Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) presented to then US President Bill Clinton on January 3, 2000. The document was among 71 intelligence records released by the CIA on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

According to the PDB, the Taliban had warned bin Laden to increase his security amid concerns that the hostage crisis in Kandahar could be exploited by unidentified parties or governments to launch an operation against him. The document also suggested that an unidentified entity remained a key supporter of bin Laden.

Indian Airlines Flight IC-814, operating from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was hijacked on December 24, 1999, by Harkat-ul Mujahideen terrorists and diverted to Kandahar. The crisis ended on December 31 after India released three jailed terrorists and handed them over to the Taliban.

Another PDB, dated August 28, 1998, indicated that bin Laden intended to carry out attacks in Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, as well as India, Pakistan, Uganda and possibly Nigeria.

The document also said his established infrastructure in North America, Europe and East Asia lent credibility to concerns that US interests in those regions could also be targeted.

Earlier CIA records released as part of the disclosure contained warnings about bin Laden’s pursuit of weapons and his extremist network. A February 13, 1998 brief said bin Laden and other Islamic extremists had discussed procuring chemical, biological and nuclear substances from open markets.

A September 10, 1998 PDB warned that extremists might attempt to use an explosive-packed aircraft against a US city, while noting that available intelligence provided no conclusive evidence of bin Laden’s plans for future attacks.

The CIA release also included a September 12, 2001 situation report, prepared a day after the September 11 attacks, which said mounting evidence indicated that Sunni extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf had prior awareness that bin Laden-directed attacks were imminent.

The document also suggested that bin Laden may have moved to Kabul to avoid a dispute with Taliban leaders in Kandahar over his activities. (Agencies)