BIN LADIN, OSAMA(Osama bin Laden) (1957–2011), Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (nicknames “Mujahid”, “Abu Abdullah”, “Hajj”, “Director”), one of the largest organizers of terrorist activities, who managed to unite previously disparate groups of Islamic terrorists into a single organization. Born in Jeddah (according to other sources - in Riyadh) in Saudi Arabia on June 28, 1957 (according to other sources - in 1956 or 1958) in the family of a construction magnate who became rich during the years of the oil boom. The fortune of Mohammed Awad bin Laden Sr. was estimated at $5 billion; he and his entire family enjoyed significant influence at the court of the King of Saudi Arabia. Osama was the 17th child of Muhammad (out of numerous children) from his tenth wife, and inherited a number of companies and a personal fortune of $300 million. Osama spent his childhood in the Hijaz. Bin Laden graduated from college in Riyadh (according to other sources, in Jeddah or London). Participated in the restoration of Muslim shrines in Mecca and Medina. Served in the Sharia police. He graduated from the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah and received a degree in economics (according to other sources, as an engineer).

Since 1980 he took part in the war in Afghanistan on the side of the Mujahideen. He was the representative of Saudi Arabia in Afghanistan. Together with the head of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Abdullah Azzam (d. 1989), he founded the organization Maktab al-Khidamat (Service Bureau) to recruit and further train fighters, mainly from Arab countries, to continue the “jihad” (holy war). Established training camps and military bases to train Islamic terrorists. In 1988 he founded the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda (the Base) (after 1991 called the Islamic Army), which aimed to spread jihad to other countries (“jihad without borders”). Returned to Saudi Arabia in 1989. During the Gulf War in 1991, he campaigned against the American “occupation” of the “holy land” of Saudi Arabia and Israel. He accused the Saudi rulers of collaborating with the United States. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia (1994), settled in Sudan, from where he was also expelled (1996), after which he found refuge in Afghanistan (in the mountains near Kandahar). In 1998 he called for the formation of the association “World Islamic Front for the Struggle against the Jews and Crusaders,” and a fatwa (religious decree) issued in connection with this stated that “the killing of any American - civilian or military - is the duty of every devout Muslim.” The association included the leader of the Egyptian organization Al-Jihad Ayman al-Zawariha, one of the leaders of the Egyptian Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya Abu Yasser Ahmad Taha, the secretary of the Pakistani Islamic organization Jamiat-i Ulama-i Pakistan (Ulema Association Pakistan") Sheikh Mir Hamza, the leader of the Pakistani Harakat al-Ansar movement Fazlul al-Rahman Khalil and the leader of the Jihad movement from Bangladesh Abd al-Salam Mohammed.

Bin Laden maintains close ties with the leader of the National Islamic Front movement in Sudan, Hassan Turabi, who is widely considered the world leader of Islamic fundamentalism. A large network of military training camps in Sudan, according to some reports, is training militants with the aim of destabilizing the situation in the Balkans. There is information that the main transit point on the way for terrorists to penetrate into Europe is Italy, and Kosovo is planned as the main springboard for a future war with Europe.

Bin Laden is considered involved in a number of acts of sabotage: an assassination attempt on American citizens in Aden (Yemen) (1992), an attack on American military personnel in Somalia (1993), an explosion at the World Trade Center in New York (1993), the murder of American military personnel in Riyadh and Dhahran (Saudi Arabia, 1995–1996), the shooting of tourists in Luxor (Egypt, 1997), explosions at the American embassies in Nairobi (Kenya), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) (1998), assassination attempt on the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov (1999), the bombing of a US Navy ship in Yemen (2000), bombings of residential buildings in Moscow, Buynaksk and Volgodonsk, support for Albanian separatists in Bosnia and Kosovo and Chechen militants, in particular the Wahhabi Arabs Khattab, Abdullah Malek, Muhammad Sharif and Salah ed-Din. Bin Laden is the organizer of the monstrous terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, which claimed the lives of more than 5 thousand people after the destruction of two towers of the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon building with the help of planes hijacked by terrorists.

Bin Laden owned many businesses in various countries around the world, including Sudan, Kenya, Yemen, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, as well as large investments in various companies around the world. In total, bin Laden's capital amounted to several billion dollars. The family company "Saudi bin Laden Group" has branches and affiliated companies in 60 countries of the world and, in addition to investments in oil, chemical, and telecommunications projects, continues the grandiose reconstruction of the Holy Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, which began in 1984. Bin Laden owned the Sudanese construction company Al-Hijra, a controlling stake in the Islamic bank Al-Shamal, the investment company Taba, etc.

Bin Laden's views were typical of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism: preparation for a worldwide Islamic revolution and new order without Americans, Jews, “crusaders” (i.e. Christians) and “infidels” in general. The main force hindering this “revolution” is the United States, which, according to bin Laden, is the enemy not only of Muslims, but of all humanity. Among the enemies is Russia, which is not giving up attempts to maintain its influence in Central Asia. According to the program for the formation of the “Islamic United State” (a caliphate with its capital in Saudi Arabia), in the foreseeable future it will have to include 50 countries of Asia, Africa and Europe, incl. Albania, Bosnia, Chechnya, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kashmir, Somalia, the Philippines, the territories of the Caucasus, Israel, and then other states and territories. The plan for establishing Islamic domination must be completed by 2100. It is for this purpose that training bases for “warriors of Allah” have been organized around the world (in particular, large bases, the so-called “military labor communes,” are in Sudan). In Afghanistan, where bin Laden had close ties with the Taliban, to whom he provided significant support in 1996, the basis of bin Laden's organization was the so-called. "Afghan veterans" Thanks to his high reputation in the Islamic world, bin Laden was able to attract large funds to maintain and develop a network of terrorist organizations and bases, including in the United States (in Brooklyn, New Jersey, Detroit). There is information that by the fall of 2001, bin Laden managed to take control of the entire Afghan drug business. After the anti-terrorist operation in the fall of 2001 by the US-led coalition, the influence of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan was reduced to nothing, which also undermined bin Laden’s sources of income. In the fall of 1998, information about bin Laden’s acquisition of components for the production of atomic bomb. However, the main danger, according to experts, is the possibility of terrorists using biological and chemical weapons.

In August 1998, US President Bill Clinton declared Osama bin Laden "terrorist number one." The CIA began searching for him. Bin Laden's death was reported in the press several times. However, he continued to publish his video and audio messages. It was assumed that he might be hiding in Afghanistan or in the areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.

On the night of May 1-2, 2011, as a result of a special operation in the city of Abbottabad, which is located 100 km from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, Osama bin Laden was shot dead during an assault on a residential complex. He was not armed at the time of his death. The operation was carried out by US Navy special forces under the personal command of CIA Director L. Panetta. The Pakistani government was not warned about the special operation.

During the operation, almost live observed by US President Barack Obama and his entourage.
According to a statement by the US administration, DNA analysis was carried out, as well as other identification methods, which confirmed that the remains belonged to bin Laden. However, details of how exactly the research was conducted were not provided. Bin Laden was buried at sea so as not to turn his grave into a place of pilgrimage.

Osama bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957 in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. His father was the influential billionaire Mohammed bin Awada bin Laden, and his mother was his concubine Hamida al-Atass. Soon after the birth of the future terrorist No. 1, his parents divorced, and the boy remained with his mother. She subsequently married again and gave birth to her new husband four children.

Bin Laden Jr. was raised as a Sunni. He studied at the best secular school and at the prestigious King Abdel University, Faculty of Economics and Business Management. Some sources report that the young man was extremely diligent in his studies and successfully graduated from the university, receiving an appropriate diploma. Others, on the contrary, claim that Osama bin Laden dropped out of school in his third year.

The total wealth of the bin Laden family was about $5 billion. After bin Laden Sr. died in a plane crash in 1967, his son Osama (one of the billionaire's 52 children) inherited about $25-30 million. While studying at the university, he began to show an increased interest in religion, diligently studying the interpretation of jihad and the Koran.

War in Afghanistan

Intending to increase the inheritance he received, in his youth Osama went into the construction business. He was distracted from his quiet work for the benefit of his company by the military invasion of Afghanistan and the Afghan Jihad movement. The extremist was angered by the outbreak of war and arrived in Afghanistan at the end of 1979, and already at the beginning of 1980 he established his first contacts with opposition Islamic groups in the city of Lahore (Pakistan).

After this, Osama bin Laden systematically supported the leaders of the Afghan resistance movement from his own financial resources. Together with Abdallah Azzam, who led the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood movement, Osama opened the Service Bureau and organized the recruitment of Muslim volunteers from the Arab world. The extremist businessman paid for all the volunteers to come to Afghanistan and prepare them to participate in hostilities. Moreover, he himself participated in battles against USSR troops.

When Soviet troops were withdrawn from the country, the terrorist lost interest in the Union and Russia, switching to the United States. He was endlessly angered by the presence of American armed forces in the countries of the Muslim world, and he began to perceive the United States as his key enemy. In 1989, the extremist again took up contracting and construction, while at the same time intensively helping oppositionists from Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Al-Qaeda

By the end of the 1980s, Osama bin Laden broke up with Abdullah Azzam, as the latter wanted the Arabs in the resistance movement to unite with the mujahideen, while Osama himself wanted to see his compatriots separate military force. This is how al-Qaeda began to form. At first, this association was rather formal: members of the group only had to have good manners, be ready to listen and take an oath to follow their older comrades.

A radical turning point occurred when, at the end of the summer of 1990, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait of illegally extracting Iraqi oil and sent his troops into the small neighboring country. This war itself lasted only two days, but it was it that gave rise to a much larger and longer war in Persian Gulf, in which both the USA and the USSR took part.

The greatest concentration of Iraqi troops was concentrated near the border with Saudi Arabia, and Saddam Hussein himself actively called on neighboring nations for Arab unity. Osama bin Laden met with senior government officials, hoping to dissuade them from accepting help from countries in the non-Muslim world and offering strong support for his own Arab Legion. However, the extremist was refused.

The al-Qaeda leader has repeatedly publicly condemned the US military's invasion of Muslim lands, arguing that only those for whom Islam is their native religion can defend Medina and Mecca. It is assumed that at the same time, Osama’s group gradually began to turn into an armed terrorist formation, and bin Laden’s dissatisfaction with US interference in Muslim affairs took on a fully completed form in the form of plans for future terrorist attacks.

Terrorist #1

Although the Gulf War ended in February 1991, things were just beginning for Osama. He finally decided that the fight against the enemies of the Muslim world (those whom he considered such) was the main goal of his life, and with enviable diligence and determination he began to engage in this fight.

Thus, in August 1998, his terrorist organization blew up the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. The attack took place on August 7 (exactly seven years after American troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War). As a result of the explosions in Nairobi alone, 213 people were killed, and about 5,000 citizens were injured of varying degrees of severity.

Since then, bin Laden has received the well-known status of “terrorist No. 1” for American intelligence services. Many of the Islamist businessman's bank accounts were seized, and five million dollars was promised for information that would help apprehend the international criminal.

However, the terrorist continued to actively support extremists living in Central Asia, the North Caucasus and other regions.

According to some sources, bin Laden even managed to establish a real “Terrorist Subsidy Fund.” The head of Al-Qaeda also took part in the Bosnian war, helping the president of the state to create a real “fundamentalist Islamic republic” in the Balkans. To finance the transfer of mujahideen mercenaries to Bosnia from the states of the Arab world, Osama resorted to the help of his Sudanese business partners.

In the mid-90s, the extremist visited Albania, visiting the president. No authentic photographs or videos have been preserved since then, but it is known that during this visit Osama represented one of the radical fundamentalist groups that sent its members to participate in the armed conflict in Kosovo. When the war in Chechnya began, the leader of the cruel and unprincipled Al-Qaeda began actively transporting his Mujahideen to this region.

Events of September 11

As you know, on September 11, 2001, a terrorist organization hijacked four passenger planes, which subsequently crashed into two towers of the World Trade Center, into the Pentagon building and into a field near the city of Shanksville (it was assumed that the fourth plane would crash into the Capitol). Almost three thousand people died as a result of heinous acts of terrorism.

At first, Osama bin Laden denied the involvement of his terrorist group al-Qaeda in carrying out these attacks. He later admitted that he knew about the impending attacks and discussed them with other leaders of the extremist underground, and after a while he took responsibility for what happened. In October 2004, Osama said that the September 2011 terrorist attacks were, in his opinion, just punishment for the “tyranny” of the US-Israeli alliance in Lebanon and Palestine.

Detention and liquidation

Both, and, and tried to destroy the world-famous terrorist. The bounty on bin Laden's head increased to $25 million and then to $50 million. Over the years of persecution of the extremist, many media and political figures reported that Osama was killed, died of typhus, and the like. However, it later turned out that the terrorist was still alive. Numerous operations to apprehend the terrorist were carried out in the United States, one of which is dedicated to the film “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Bin Laden met his true death on May 2, 2011, when US forces carried out a covert operation on the terrorist's villa. It was located near Islamabad, in the city of Abbottabad. Subsequently, many sources, including US President Barack Obama himself, confirmed the information about the murder of the terrorist and told where Osama was killed, how terrorist No. 1 was killed, how old he was at the time of death, etc. Bin Laden's body, according to CNN, was buried in the Arabian Sea.

Personal life

There is not much accurate information about the head of al-Qaeda. They said that he was left-handed, his height was either a little over 180 cm, or 193-196 cm, he walked with a stick and was distinguished by his manner of speaking quietly. The extremist married several times and divorced several times, and in total he had about 20-26 children. It was reported that after the events of September 11, many of them moved to Iran.

Gene Sasson, Najwa bin Laden, Omar bin Laden

This book is dedicated to all the innocent victims who have suffered or died at the hands of terrorists around the world, and to the families who continue to grieve and mourn their loved ones.

We pray for world peace.

I want to thank Omar for his sincerity and honesty. I would like to thank dear Najwa for being so sweet and answering my endless and often annoying questions in detail at any time of the day or night. Many thanks to Zaina for her dedication to Omar, for supporting Omar in his endeavor, and as a result, this book was finally released.

I also want to thank Lisa, my tireless literary agent, for believing in this project when others had given up on it. As a writer, I am very lucky to have you representing me. Many thanks to Frank, the copyright attorney, for being a rock solid advocate for all of my interests for the past sixteen years. Thanks to Havis for his generosity and willingness to help in any situation. To Chandler, a scholar of international law, many thanks for loving this work and presenting it to publishers around the world with warmth and affection.

And a special thank you to my editor, Hope. Lisa told me that you are one of the best editors, and working with you has proven that to be true. I also thank Laura - you never let me down and were always ready to answer my questions. I thank all the employees of the St. Martin publishing house, who, like me, were imbued with this special story and invested all their strength and skill in developing this project and bringing it to a brilliant conclusion.

Thanks to my dear Hikmat for working diligently and diligently, translating countless pages from English to Arabic and from Arabic to English for my critical research. Amina - for providing assistance when the flow of translations became especially abundant and inexhaustible. My sincere thanks to artist Evan T. White. You were behind my project from the very beginning and never complained, despite the fact that I pestered you so much in my usual quest for perfection.

My thanks to everyone who has shown interest in the creation of this book, as well as in other books I have written or projects in the pipeline. Among them are my relatives: Aunt Margaret and cousins ​​Bill and Ellis. My nephew Greg and his son Alec were sincerely concerned, calling me and asking how the book was going and how I was doing during that difficult period when I worked day and night without stopping.

My Dear friends, who generously helped me at every stage, should not remain in the shadows either. Thanks to Alice, Anita, Danny and Jo, Judy and her mum, Eleanor, Lisa, Maria and Bill, Mayada, Peter and Julia, Vicky and her mum Jo.

And of course, thanks again to my dear Jack, who gives me his unconditional love and protects me from life's troubles.

Gene Sasson

From the moment Osama bin Laden captured the world's attention, he carefully guarded even the most insignificant details of his family life. The absence of this information has been exciting the imagination of the world community since September 11, 2001.

While many books have been published on bin Laden and the al-Qaeda organization, this is the first to provide an insider's view - that of members of the bin Laden family, first wife, Najwa Ghanem, and fourth son, Omar. I hasten to assure readers that not a single line of this publication was passed through the prism of the point of view of the author himself. The accounts of all events were directly received by me from Najwa and Omar. Although some of their revelations came as a shock to me, I have tried to present the truth about bin Laden's family life as accurately as possible. Like other members of bin Laden's vast family, Najwa and Omar are not terrorists. None of them caused the slightest harm to others, moreover, they are among the kindest people I have ever known.

It is important to remember that this is a book about the private life of Osama bin Laden and his family. Please do not forget that his son Omar was a little boy before he moved to live in Afghanistan, and Omar’s mother Najwa lived isolated from the world during her marriage, at the request of her husband. This is a completely personal story about family life, because most of Osama bin Laden's political, military and religious activities were hidden from his wife and son, although they influenced their lives, which they did not realize at the time.

During the turbulent years with bin Laden, Omar and Najwa were often preoccupied with survival and had little time for diaries or memoirs. They acknowledge that the time frames and dates of important family events may not always be accurate, and ask readers to take into account that the information in the book is, in fact, a recording of oral histories, and therefore errors and distortions inherent in any memories are not excluded.

Finally, while this publication is based on the story of Najwa and Omar, on their memories and views, I would like to clarify to the reader that my own opinions are reflected in the comments and appendix.

As we seek to learn more about those who have caused terrible harm to the world, we should perhaps be guided by the words of Winston Churchill, spoken at the very end of the Second World War: “Now that it is all over, we look back and with a keen and scrupulous interest we try to find the criminals and heroes of this war. Where are they? Where are the scoundrels who started the war?<…>We need to know; we will certainly find out. Suffering from wounds, enraged by the pain of loss, amazed at our own dedication and achievements, and aware of our power, we demand the truth and want to hold someone accountable.”

People are not born terrorists. And they don’t become terrorists overnight. This happens gradually, like a farmer preparing the land for sowing, their life step by step turns into fertile ground for the seeds of terrorism.

The head of state is President Bashar al-Assad.

The capital is Damascus.

Area 185 180 sq. km.

The main religion is Islam; there are small Christian communities.

The main language is Arabic.

Population - 20 million people.

The monetary unit is 1 Syrian pound = 100 piastres.

I wasn't always Osama bin Laden's wife. Once upon a time I was a small, innocent child and dreamed of the same things that all girls dream of. Today my thoughts often return to the distant past, and I remember myself, that nice little girl, I remember my safe and happy childhood.

Osama bin Laden today is the most famous terrorist of the 20th-21st centuries. What is known about his life path? We have collected as much as possible for you full biography this man. You will learn about how Osama bin Laden turned from the spoiled son of a Saudi billionaire into a criminal hunted by the world's most powerful intelligence agencies.

Childhood, youth, family

The exact date of birth of Osama bin Laden (Osama bin Laden) is unknown, but most experts agree that he was born in Riyadh on March 10, 1957. Osama was the seventeenth of 52 children of the Yemeni emigrant Mohammed bin Laden, owner of the largest construction company in the Saudi Kingdom. The mother of the future “terrorist number one” was Syrian and not the only wife of Osama’s father.

Osama's father began his career as a simple laborer in the port of Jeddah. During the reign of King Saud, Muhammad managed to get a contract for the construction of royal palaces, offering the most low price. Nothing is known about how the former docker managed to open his own business. Some sources claim that bin Laden Sr. had the gift of persuasion, thanks to which he not only managed to impress Saud, but was also lucky to have a good relationship with members of the royal family, especially the king's half-brother Faisal.

In the 60s, a conflict arose between Saud and Faisal and the current king abdicated the throne. It is believed that Mohammed played a key role in making this decision. After Saud's departure, it turned out that the state treasury was empty. Here, bin Laden Sr. provided enormous support to the new king: at his own expense, for six months he paid salaries to civil servants.

For such help, Faisal gave Muhammad all the construction projects in the kingdom, issuing a special decree. Bin Laden took over as minister of public works, effectively gaining a monopoly in the construction sector. In 1968, Osama's father died in a plane crash.

It should be noted that bin Laden Jr.'s parents divorced when he was still very young, so Osama was raised in his mother's house, in the family of her new husband. The reason for the divorce was that the Syrian woman did not agree to keep herself within the strict framework that constituted the generally accepted model of behavior for Saudi women. Therefore, her husband sent her to a distant province, and kept her son with him. For ten years Osama did not see his mother.

There is information according to which in the family of bin Laden Sr. Osama’s mother was given the nickname “Slave.” Accordingly, her son was referred to by his half-brothers as “the son of a slave.” After the death of Muhammad, Osama inherited several companies, as well as 25 (according to other sources - 300) million dollars out of a total fortune that was estimated at 5 billion. At that time, the range of interests of his company was quite wide: for example, among other things, it was the main supplier of Volkswagen cars and Snapple soft drinks throughout the Middle East.

At the age of 13, the orphaned bin Laden married a 17-year-old girl with whom he was related by blood. Osama received a strict religious upbringing and was a deeply devout Sunni Muslim, having joined the Muslim Brotherhood in his early youth. Most likely, the future head of al-Qaeda entered college at King Abdulaziz University, but expert opinions differ here: some say that bin Laden studied in Jeddah, others say that he was educated in London, Riyadh or Mecca .

At the age of 14, Osama traveled with his brothers around Europe. He visited Great Britain, France, Sweden. In London he became very interested in cinema. He watched movies all day long and tried to avoid noisy parties, avoiding social life. Some sources claim that at the age of 16, Osama entered an elite school in Beirut and there he plunged headlong into the wild student life. There, despite his Muslim upbringing, he, like many Arab young people coming to Europe, became addicted to alcohol. According to some reports, at that time Bin Laden was a regular at the expensive Crazy Horse bar, where, after drinking champagne and whiskey, he regularly tried to show attention to the fair sex. I tried to dress fashionably and drove a Mercedes-Benz. In the spring of 1975, war broke out in Lebanon, and his relatives demanded that he return home. At first, Osama continued his carefree life according to the Western model: he had fun with women and alcohol, and participated in illegal races with other children of the rich.

But then his elder brother persuaded him to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. They lived in tents, adhered to the prescribed diet, performed religious rituals. According to some sources, Osama participated in the restoration of Muslim shrines in Medina and Mecca, and then served in the Sharia police.

In 1979 he graduated from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, mastering the specialty of an economist or, according to other sources, an engineer.

The beginning of extremist activity

At the age of 16, Osama joined the followers of the scholar and radical pan-Islamist Abdullah Azzam, who believed that all Muslims of the world should take the path of jihad (“holy war”) and, united, create one Islamic State. These ideas appealed to the deeply religious Osama, who was outraged by the growing influence of the West and Western culture on Middle Eastern life.

In 1979 there was an invasion Soviet troops to Afghanistan. Bin Laden was already an accomplished businessman. Subsequently, recalling that period, he stated that he was very angry at the fact of Soviet aggression, so already at the end of 1979 he was in Afghanistan. Osama first arrived in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, and from there he crossed the border and joined the resistance forces. He used his extensive connections and capital to finance the Mujahideen and provide them with covert diplomatic and information support. It is known that until 1989 he collaborated with the US government, which also supplied militants in Afghanistan with weapons and money. In fact, American assistance played a decisive role in the conflict: thanks to MANPADS with Stinger missiles, the Mujahideen managed to deprive the USSR of the ability to conduct operations with air support.

In 1980, bin Laden, along with his spiritual and ideological mentor Abdullah Azzama, created the Maktab al-Khadamat organization, which translates to “Service Bureau.” This structure has opened recruitment centers in more than fifty countries, including the USA, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and a number of European countries. The network organized by bin Laden cannot be underestimated: tens of thousands of volunteers from Muslim countries were trained in training camps founded by Maktab al-Khadamat. Osama also took care of his reputation among refugees, purchasing food, clothing, household items for them, and starting the construction of housing. It is difficult to judge how effective the assistance that bin Laden provided to the civilian population was, but among more than two and a half million refugees, he gained the reputation of a “benefactor.”

Al Qaeda and death

In 1988, Osama split from the Service Bureau and used his authority among Muslims to organize a more aggressive structure - Al-Qaeda (the Base), which later positioned itself as the Islamic Army. Al-Qaeda initially declared the goal of spreading jihad to all countries of the world.

In 1989, Soviet forces left Afghanistan, but bin Laden did not give up his goals of starting a “holy war” on a planetary scale. Under the guise of his official construction and trading business, he continued to multiply and strengthen al-Qaeda cells around the world, with particular emphasis on supporting opposition movements in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

In 1990, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. The al-Qaeda leader appealed to the Saudi government demanding that non-Muslim forces not be involved in this conflict. Nevertheless, the Saudis turned to the United States for help and American military bases were deployed on the territory of the state.
For the first time, he came out with slogans calling for active opposition to, as he believed, the “American occupation” of Israel and Saudi Arabia in 1991, accusing the Saudis of collaboration.

Al-Qaeda struck first in 1992: a bomb exploded in a hotel in Adena (Yemen), where American troops were temporarily based before being sent to Somalia. Two Austrian tourists died.

In 1993, “terrorist No. 1” organized the training of Somali rebels, who subsequently fought against representatives of the American peacekeeping mission. That same year, there was a terrorist attack on the New York World Trade Center.

In 1994, the Saudi authorities decided to expel bin Laden from the country and he fled to Sudan. While in exile, the terrorist launched a real information war against the United States. Through the media under his control, bin Laden relishes the casualties among civilians in detail: he exaggerates the number of killed and maimed, shows photos and videos of the corpses of children and pregnant women, placing responsibility for the deaths of civilians solely on the Saudi authorities and the United States.

In 1995, al-Qaeda militants were accused of actively participating in the Chechen conflict, on the side of the rebel forces. But the official representative of Ichkeria, Akhmed Zakaev, denied the connection between the Chechen militias and al-Qaeda. Some sources claim that bin Laden helped the Uzbek Islamists financially, as well as in establishing ties with the Taliban group.

In 1996, Osama openly accused Sudan of supporting international terrorism, and also stated that it was the “sacred” duty of Muslims to destroy American military personnel abroad, throughout the world. Sudanese authorities expelled him from the country and he settled in Afghanistan.

In 1998, he rephrased his anti-American thesis, emphasizing that all Muslims in the world are obliged to kill not only American soldiers, but also US allies, to which he included the civilian population of countries that are not in conflict with this state. In the same year, he organized a large extremist association, which was joined by members of such groups as Al-Jihad, Jamiat-i Ulama-i Pakistan, Harakat al-Anasar, Jihad and Al-Gaama al Islamiyya." On August 7, a bombing occurred at the American embassy in Kenya, after which the FBI included bin Laden on its list of most wanted criminals. Bill Clinton declared him "terrorist number one."

On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda's largest and most notorious terrorist attack occurred: the attack on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers in the United States. The CIA received reliable information about bin Laden's involvement in organizing these actions, but for the first time he publicly confirmed his participation in this terrorist attack only in 2004, through the Qatari television company Al-Jazeera. October 7th. It was the fight against al-Qaeda that served as the official reason for the start of the NATO operation in Afghanistan (2001-2014) and the start of the military campaign in Iraq (2003-2011).

In August 2010, the CIA managed to find bin Laden and track him to the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, located 35 miles from Islamabad. For several months, surveillance of the house in which the al-Qaeda leader was located continued. On the night of May 1–2, 2011, an operation was carried out by a US Navy SEAL unit. Some sources claim that Osama bin Laden was killed while trying to resist because he was armed; others suggest that he did not have a weapon in his hands. Citing anecdotal evidence from participants in the operation, Western media reported that the special forces were not ordered to take bin Laden alive.

According to information distributed by CNN, the body of “terrorist No. 1” was buried at sea, so that his grave would not serve as a place of pilgrimage for fanatics who consider Osama bin Laden a righteous martyr who died for his faith.

The public did not immediately learn that Osama bin Laden had been killed - the information was secret at first and was carefully double-checked, but as soon as the fact was finally confirmed, the special services responsible for this proudly announced: the main terrorist of our planet had finally stopped pose a danger. However, not everyone considered him such a villain - many were ready to worship the man, as if he were a messiah on mortal earth. Who is this a famous person, and why did it become popular?

Fear and hatred are where you have the strength to reach

From the photo, Osama bin Laden looks calmly, calmly, confidently - it is difficult to imagine that this rather handsome man could give an order that would entail the death of ordinary people - women, children, the elderly. In Moscow, in Pechatniki, on a September day in 1999, no one could even think that death was near. The explosion caused the house to collapse. 96 instant casualties, 300 casualties. Next, an eight-story building on Kashirka exploded - this happened a few days later. 130 dead.

They started almost immediately research papers, they were attended by representatives of the American service - the CIA. Having studied the chemical residues of the substances used, we came to the conclusion that the person who organized these terrorist attacks is one and the same person. His name even then terrified almost the entire planet - Osama bin Laden. A photo of the terrorist was shown on television, and at the same time his statement was broadcast: they say, there is no need to distinguish between civilians and military men, anyone who is not with us is our target.

Hero or villain?

It is believed that Osama bin Laden was involved in the bombing of the New York World Trade Center. Perhaps, with his assistance, the Act of terrorism against American soldiers serving in Saudi Arabia. Some believe that it was he who blew up the Egyptian embassy located in Islamabad, and he also organized the assassination attempt on the president of this country when he was in Ethiopian territories. Some believe that bin Laden was planning an assassination attempt on the main Catholic priest- the Pope. Others believe that it could not have happened without him when the American embassy in Nairobi was blown up.

As you can learn from the film dedicated to bin Laden, in peacetime this man was not so dangerous and bloodthirsty - the murders he committed are unknown. He declared his goal to be the fight against infidels, set the task of preparing an Islamist revolution, and creating all the conditions so that a new order could be established. He began to finance terrorism internationally, built many training camps, bought countless weapons and uniforms - all to create Allah's own army. He will pay his warriors, and every new success will be celebrated very generously.

Famous and secret

The media will talk no less about how Osama bin Laden was killed than they wrote about him during his lifetime. He was nicknamed Godfather terror, he became an anti-hero for the press of almost all civilized countries. His portraits are almost always signed: “the main enemy of free humanity.” But Pakistani, Albanian, and Sudanese citizens revered Osama as a savior and liberator, and in their homes his portraits could be seen in the “red corner.”

Osama bin Laden is known to everyone - it is difficult to find a person who has not heard this name. In the same time personal life The terrorist, as befits a criminal, is quite secret, and few had access to him while he was alive. It is known that bin Laden received Western guests at his residences, some of whom survived. All the witnesses will then talk about the noble manners of the terrorist, about classic hospitality - everything is as it should be in the East. Osama always wore a checkered scarf or a thick hat, spoke quietly, or even whispered, and did not encounter the slightest disagreement from his subordinates.

How it all began

Osama bin Laden was born in 1957, on March 10th. His date of death was the second day of May 2011. The man led al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the September 11 bombing in the United States. During his lifetime he was one of the most wanted terrorists. The internationally launched war on terrorism in the period 2001-2011. one of the primary goals was to neutralize this particular criminal.

Different sources provide rather contradictory information about the life and family of the terrorist. Opinions also differ about his character and the methods he resorted to to achieve his plans. 1957 is considered the year of his birth, but the information has never been definitively confirmed. Osama himself once said that he was 10 years old when he was left without a father. It is not known exactly whether he was born in Riyadh or the city of Jeddah, but various sources agree that the boy was born in Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden's mother is Alia Ghanem. The boy grew up in Hijaz, studied first at school, then at university. The exact specialization is unknown, it is assumed that it was management, administration, economics or construction.

First war

Bin Laden initially built a career as a businessman in the construction industry. When the battles began in Afghanistan, without hesitation, he went there - this happened in 1979. Since that year, the young man has been in the ranks of the Afghan Jihad. In 1980, he found himself in Lahore, Pakistan, and talked with local opposition leaders. Since the same year, his assistance to the Afghan resistance has been regular. The funds came from the terrorist’s personal funds. He forms a “Service Bureau”, collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood, and organizes a call for volunteers. He pays for the journey, sends people to Afghanistan, teaches them in camps formed for this purpose. It is known that the terrorist personally participated in battles with the Soviet military forces - under his command there was a detachment of two thousand selected fighters, mainly recruited from volunteers.

As Michael Schuer would later thoughtfully say, looking at a photo of bin Laden, even in those days, American services had information about the terrorist, knew about his activity in battles with the USSR, but never entered into contact with him.

New times and goals

The USSR government decided to withdraw the military from the territory of Afghanistan, and bin Laden immediately lost interest in the state. He didn’t see a problem in Russia either. Now his activity was concentrated on the American military, whose presence in the Palestinian territories seemed unacceptable to the terrorist. Hamid Mir will later say that Osama did not fight for Islam, he fought with America. For him, the Chinese and Russians, the Japanese or the Europeans were not enemies. Hamid Mir was one of those who interviewed Osama, and he asked him a tricky question: why, where did such an attitude against America come from? The terrorist expressed his opinion: the Americans represent an imperialist force seeking control over the entire planet. In his opinion, they used adherents of Islam in the war with the Russians, and then tried to redirect aggression towards China, seeing it as a danger to themselves and not wanting to deal with the problem with their own hands.

In 1989, bin Laden decided to return to his family's business, while simultaneously supporting the established organization and stimulating the opposition. He took part in Iraq's military operations against Kuwait, proposed a plan to defend the homeland, and put forward a proposal to use troops he trained. Just then, American forces volunteered to help the Gulf countries; bin Laden accused the rulers of his country of aiding the invaders. Until recently, he was a national hero, but such performances made him an outcast. The authorities expelled Osama from the country in 1991, and deprived him of his citizenship in 1994. The terrorist chose Sudan as his new place of residence.

Problems and formality

Many people knew that bin Laden had moved to Sudan. The American government insisted on extraditing the man, accusing him of terrorism. In 1996 they threatened UN sanctions. The Sudanese authorities decided to expel the criminal, however, giving him enough time and opportunity to calmly move to Afghanistan. Here the extremist continued his activity.

They say that bin Laden was visiting the Taliban in Afghanistan, which at that moment controlled almost 2/3 of the entire territory. Using the traditional understanding of hospitality, local authorities refused the Americans' request for access to Osama. Negotiations on this issue ended with a decision on their own trial of the terrorist or his transfer to another, neutral power dominated by Islam, if the Taliban received satisfactory information in its reliability about the involvement of their guest in terrorist acts.

Ratings and Opportunities

Many said that for terrorists, bin Laden was more of an ideological leader than a tactician and strategist. All those who were arrested during that period mentioned Osama’s calls, but not his practical activities.

Many have talked about bin Laden's enormous fortune, which he inherited from his family. Others argued that Osama received only a small share of the property, which was soon almost completely wasted.

Some argued that bin Laden showed himself to be a brave warrior when Soviet soldiers fought Afghan militias. Others claim that he only did charity work, helping refugees in Peshawar.

About family and life

Bin Laden was a devout Muslim and, as befits such a man, had four wives. It is known that he had a small harem with him, and the concubines followed their master everywhere.

Rumor has it that he was literally obsessed with a variety of weapons. Among small arms, his favorite was the Kalashnikov assault rifle, although the UZI, designed in Israel, was highly rated. True, he never used this as a matter of principle.

It is known that bin Laden loved horse racing. He especially liked camel competitions. But he himself chose cars as transport, and Japanese ones. It is known that he always had a special love for Toyota jeeps. Another hobby of the terrorist was hunting with falcons. Some believe that he developed such a hobby as a result of his desire to imitate the royalty of the past.

Curious Features

Bin Laden comes from an ordinary peasant family. His ancestors lived in Yemen and, during the oil boom, made a good fortune by starting to build roads in time. Some newspapers reported that there were 52 children in the family, and Osama was born the 17th. In 1931, the man’s father created his own enterprise, which developed along with the country. The strength and power of the family is evidenced by the fact that it was the bin Laden family that was responsible for the renovation of the mosques.

The company still exists today and has numerous subsidiaries and branches. Area of ​​specialization: oil and its products, chemical products, communications. The group of companies is not just the brainchild of terrorists and criminals; the company regularly pays taxes and works with well-known and reliable entrepreneurs. At some point, such news literally blew up the public: it turned out that an impressive percentage of all businessmen in the civilized world are indirectly dependent on the terrorist.

Life and death

In many ways, Osama’s chosen path was predetermined by his acquaintance with Abdullah Azzam during his university studies. The man will become the spiritual leader and mentor of the young man, he is also the author of the ideology of the Afghan Arabs. In 1989, his car was blown up by unknown assailants; the crime would never be solved. Both Azzam and his two sons were killed. However, the man’s death did not pass without a trace for the people: his image became a symbol of the fight against the infidels.

Bin Laden also felt in danger, although this did not stop him from risking his life for what he believed was a holy and irreplaceable cause. When he moved to Afghanistan, the risks were assessed as particularly high. He established his headquarters in Kandahar, in the caves. He had at his disposal all the most modern means of communication, the best bodyguards who accompanied him at any time of the day. It is known that his guards even carried weapons that could protect against aggression from the air.

Hopelessness?

For a long time it seemed impossible to find bin Laden. He lived in military bases, traveled to neighboring countries disguised and under an assumed name, and the financing of terrorists was always organized through legal charitable channels, which precluded bringing charges. Prosecuting someone who does charity in court is the height of indecency in the Muslim world, and the sponsors whose direct money was channeled into the cause by bin Laden did not even know where it was going.

At one point, the terrorist had about 7,000 active military personnel at his disposal in two dozen powers around the world. Thanks to its funding, there were fifty organizations that terrorized the common population. All this ended in 2011. The media will write about how bin Laden was killed for a long time. The operation was carried out on the orders of then US President Obama. The terrorist was found in Abbottabad. Responsibility for the operation is assigned to the DEVGRU unit. The man’s body was transported to Afghanistan, where it was identified and buried in the sea waves within 24 hours.