Tarnak Farms

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Tarnak Farms refers to a former Al Qaeda training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Contents

[edit] Suspects believed to have trained at Tarnak Farms

Abdul Aziz Adbullah Ali Al Suadi
David Hicks
  • One of the ten Guantanamo detainees to face charges
  • Alleged to have studied "urban tactics"
Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman
  • Yemeni
  • Denies participating in any training or hostilities[1]
Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah
  • One of the allegations Al Sawah faced during his CSRT was: "Detainee admits that he attended explosives training at Al Farouq training camp and went on to be a trainer on IED components at Tarnak Farms".[2]

[edit] Osama Bin Laden 2000 visit

It was widely reported that a visit to the Tarnak Farms in 2000 represented a rare opportunity to capture or kill the elusive Osama Bin Laden.[3][4][5][6][7] It was reported that Tarnak Farms was one of bin Laden's homes.

[edit] Intelligence Trove

In December 2001 American forces occupied the site. They claim they found a wealth of intelligence. The camp was taken over by the Americans to be used for their training.

[edit] April 17 2002 "Friendly Fire" incident

Main article: Tarnak Farm incident

On April 17, 2002, four Canadian soldiers of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were killed at this site while conducting a training exercise. Two passing American F-16s had mistaken the live-fire exercise for enemy fire and had dropped a laser guided bomb on the Canadian position.

The names of the soldiers killed are Sgt Marc Leger, Cpl Ainsworth Dyer, Pte Richard Green and Pte Nathan Smith. Eight other soldiers were wounded in the bombing.

[edit] References

  1. ^ documents (.pdf) from Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  2. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 82-92
  3. ^ Mark Sage. "CIA missed chance to capture bin Laden in 2000", The Scotsman,, March 18, 2004. Retrieved on December 30, 2007.
  4. ^ "Missed opportunities: The CIA had pictures. Why wasn’t the al-Qaida leader captured or killed?", MSNBC, March 17, 2004. Retrieved on December 30, 2007.
  5. ^ "Watch the video: Osama Bin Laden's HQ", The Times, October 1, 2006. Retrieved on December 30, 2007.
  6. ^ "Focus: Chilling message of the 9/11 pilots", The Times, October 1, 2006. Retrieved on December 30, 2007.
  7. ^ Steve Coll. "Legal Disputes Over Hunt Paralyzed Clinton's Aides", Washington Post, February 21, 2004. Retrieved on December 30, 2007.