Attack On Camps in Afghanistan
| “ | Interestingly, even if bin Laden had been there, it would have taken a good deal of luck to kill him. The camp facilities at Khowst are fairly extensive and cover a substantial piece of ground. | ” |
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—Michael Scheuer, CIA Station Chief |
About 75 cruise missiles were fired by the U.S. into the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at four Afghan training camps:
- Al Farouq training camp
- Muawai camp run by the Pakistani Harkat-ul-Mujahideen to train militants to fight Indian troops in Kashmir
- Training camp in the Jarawah area near Khost
- Zhawar Kili al-Badr which was directed by bin Laden, and known to be a meeting place for leaders.
The attack was made partly in an attempt to assassinate bin Laden and other leaders. After the attack, the CIA heard that bin Laden had been at Zhawar Kili al-Badr but had left some hours before the missiles hit.
The earlier arrest of Mohammed Odeh on August 7 while traveling to meet with Osama, is said to have alerted bin Laden, who canceled the meeting which meant that the camps targeted by the cruise missiles were mainly empty the day of the US strike.
According to Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, 20 Afghans, seven Pakistanis, three Yemenis, two Egyptians, one Saudi and one Turk were killed. Abu Jandal later estimated that only six men had been killed in the strikes. The only confirmed death in the strikes was Egyptian-Canadian Amr Hamed. Osama bin Laden jokingly told militants at the al-Jihad merger that only a few camels and chickens had died.
U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the attacks in a TV address, saying the Khost camp was "one of the most active terrorist bases in the world," adding that "I want the world to understand that our actions today were not aimed against Islam" which he called "a great religion."
Read more about this topic: Cruise Missile Strikes On Afghanistan And Sudan (August 1998)
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