Washington, The Taliban regime in Afghanistan had warned Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden to step up his security after the Kandahar hijack of an Indian Airlines flight in late 1999, intelligence documents released by the CIA have revealed.
The warning from the Taliban was mentioned in the Presidential Daily Briefs presented to then US President Bill Clinton in January 2000, which was among the 71 such documents released on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks of 2001. The earliest document was dated February 13, 1998.
“Taliban.. last week warned Bin Ladin to step up his security in case the hostage crisis in Qandahar was used by … or “other governments” to send in… against Bin Ladin, … suggesting … remains a key supporter of Bin Ladin,” the PDB dated January 3, 2000, said. It said that bin Laden and other Islamic extremists “met … and agreed to procure unspecified chemical, biological, and nuclear substances from open markets.”
A few PDBs released by the CIA were prepared for the then President George W Bush on the preliminary results of a US-Yemen investigation into the bombing of USS Cole in the port of Aden on October 12, 2000.
The report said that bin Laden “has legitimate companies, business relationships, and a financial empire that could assist his pursuit of” the weapons. The report noted that bin Laden “said his preferred option is to strike the US on its own soil in Washington. “Mounting evidence indicates Sunni extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf recently were aware Usama Bin Ladin-directed attacks were imminent,” the report said. ” the existence of a probable operation was widely known among extremists in Afghanistan and speculated Bin Ladin may have relocated to Kabul to avoid conflict over his activities with the Taliban leadership in Kandahar,” said the PDB dated September 12, 2001.
