The CIA release spans more than 100 pages of intelligence from the years before 9/11, including assessments of al-Qaeda’s reach across several continents.
India was among several countries that Osama bin Laden was considering as a potential target years before the September 11 attacks, newly released US intelligence documents have revealed.
A presidential intelligence brief from August 28, 1998, listed India alongside Pakistan, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Uganda among countries where the then al-Qaeda chief wanted to carry out attacks. Nigeria was identified as another possible target.
The document, however, does not point to any specific target in India or provide details of when or how such an attack could have been carried out.
The brief is among more than 70 presidential intelligence documents released by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Friday, marking 25 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Together, the documents run into more than 100 pages and offer a glimpse into US intelligence assessments of the threat posed by bin Laden in the years leading up to 9/11.
What The 1998 CIA Brief Said About India
Titled ‘Bin Ladin Terrorist Network Still a Threat’, the August 1998 brief assessed the state of bin Laden’s network following US missile strikes on al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
While the source behind the intelligence is redacted, the document indicated that bin Laden’s ambitions extended well beyond attacks against the United States.
According to the brief, India was among a string of countries being considered for attacks. The document also pointed to the geographical reach that bin Laden’s network had already established.
“Bin Ladin’s well-established infrastructure in North America, Europe, and East Asia lends credibility to reports that he also will target US interests in these regions,” it said.