DAR AL HARB - BALKANS: JIHAD IN BOSNIA & KOSOVO

Islamic Terror in Bosnia and Kosovo
By Boba Borojevic
February 4, 2007

The war in the former Yugoslavia ended eight years ago but illegal arms trade and training of Islamic terrorists continues across the Balkans, particularly in Bosnia and Kosovo currently administered by EU / UN Missions.

Reports of such developments came also from Gregory Copley. In his article “Strong warning indicators for new surge in European Islamic terrorism” he says that, “Intelligence sources in the Balkans and Middle East indicate that the Iranian and Osama bin Laden terrorist networks, assets and alliances built up in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Southern Serbia and elsewhere in the Balkans are preparing for significant new slate of operations.”

Shaul Shay, an officer in the military intelligence of the Israeli Defense Forces and expert on international and fundamentalist Islamic terrorism, has published the new book "Islamic Terror and the Balkans". In that book he analyzes the growth of radical Islam in the Balkans. He shows how the war in Bosnia and the war in Kosovo provided the historical opportunity for radical Islam to penetrate the Balkans.

“It was an ongoing process. During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina Islamic mujahideens from different parts of the world came to support the local Muslims. Later on when the war was over they formed an [Islamic terrorist] infrastructure that exists even today,” said Shaul Shay in his interview to Monday’s Encounter on January 6.

“I have written twelve books on the subject of Islamic terrorism in different places and different parts of the world. One of the more interesting and important places was the Balkans. I decided to study this issue and the result was the book. In it, I show the process and the development of this phenomenon during two wars, first in Bosnia and Herzegovina and later on in Kosovo,” continued Shay.

Intelligence sources reveal that there have been for more than a decade, three main radical Islamist mujahideen operating in Bosnia: The Iranian mujahideein, consisting entirely of Iranian nationals, the Arab mujahideen, consisting mainly of volunteers from Saudi Arabia, from Palestine, Jordan and Yemen and the North African mujahideen, mainly involving Egyptians, Algerians and Moroccans. Some of them have been engaged in some of the more serious terrorist actions (including the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US).

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Pertinent Links:

1) Islamic Terror in Bosnia and Kosovo