Mes Aynak
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Mes Aynak was an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. It was located in an abandoned Soviet copper mine near Kabul.[1]
Mes Aynak was opened in 1999 after US Cruise Missiles destroyed the camp at Khowst in August 1998; Mes Aynak itself was relatively abandoned after the Taliban granted al Qaeda permission to open the al Farouq camp in Kandahar.
Thus, for a brief time in 1999, Mes Aynak was the only al Qaeda camp operating in Afghanistan. It offered a full range of instruction, including an advanced commando course taught by senior al-Qaeda member Sayf al Adl. Osama bin Laden paid particular attention to the 1999 training session. When Salah al Din, the trainer for the session, complained about the number of trainees and said that no more than twenty could be handled at one time , Bin Laden insisted that everyone he had selected receive the training immediately in preparation for the September 11, 2001 Attacks.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the camp provided training in physical fitness, firearms, shooting from a motorcycle, night operations and many other tactics. (page 158)
[edit] Individuals alleged to have attended Mes Aynak training camp
| Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul[2] | charged by the Guantanamo military commission | spent 2 months training in 1999 |
| Nawaf al-Hazmi | 911 hijacker | |
| Khalid al-Mihdhar | 911 hijacker |
[edit] References
- ^ Andy Hoffman. "Afghan copper lode a key to renewal?", Globe and Mail. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
- ^ USA v. Al Bahlul. Department of Defense. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
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