Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe The Afghan-Bosnian Network

Why did so many of the September 11th hijackers spend time in Germany? How did terrorist sleeper cells plant themselves in cities like London, Paris, Rome, and Hamburg? What exactly is Al Qaida?s connection to Europe? This is the first book to uncover the secret history of how Europe was systematically infiltrated by the ranks of the most dangerous terrorist organization on earth, as told by the terrorists themselves and the daring investigators who have tirelessly tracked them over the past decade.

Terrorist analyst Evan F. Kohlmann argues that the key to understanding Al Qaida?s European cells lies in the Bosnian war of the 1990s. Using the Bosnian war as their cover, Afghan-trained Islamic militants loyal to Osama bin Laden convened in the Balkans in 1992 to establish a European domestic terrorist infrastructure in order to plot their violent strikes against the United States. As the West and the United Nations looked on with disapproval, the fanatic foreign 'mujahideen', or holy warriors, wreaked havoc across southern Europe, taking particular aim at UN peacekeepers and even openly fighting with Bosnian Muslims at times. Middle Eastern religious and charitable organizations, largely based in and funded from the Arabian Gulf, were responsible for bankrolling this effort, and providing travel documentation for would-be mujahideen recruits.

The 1995 Dayton Accords ? which brought a final, merciful end to the Bosnian war ? did nothing to deter the unwavering mission of the 'Afghano-Bosniaks'. Within a few months, home-grown terrorist sleeper cells appeared on the streets of Europe?s cities. Many of the cell members ? responsible for some of the most notorious terrorist attacks of the past decade ? spent their formative years waging jihad in the unlikely Muslim land of Bosnia.


Al-Qaida?s Jihad in Europe unveils a new angle to the deadly international terrorist organization and includes recently declassified American and European intelligence reports, secret Al-Qaida records and internal documents, and interviews with notorious figures such as London-based Bin Laden recruiter Abu Hamza Al-Masri.

'Kohlmann's book is pathbreaking. Unlike other specialists, he examines both the Afghan and Balkan theatres. In his passion for high quality research, he places himself at high risk - he comes face-to-face with terrorist ideologues and operatives. He provides us unprecidented insights into the
current threat facing the West. It is a must-read to understand the contemporary wave of terrorism.'
Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside Al Qaeda and Head of Terrorism Research, Institute of Defence and
Strategic Studies, Singapore