2000 al-Qaeda Summit
Encyclopedia
The 2000 al-Qaeda Summit was a meeting of several high-level al-Qaeda
members held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The meeting was held in the hotel room of Yazid Sufaat
, a former army captain and businessman, in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting lasted from January 5 to January 8, 2000. The summit's purpose was allegedly to plan future attacks, which apparently included the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11
plot. The attendance consisted of Arab veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan
, including Hambali, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Nawaf al-Hazmi
, Khalid al-Mihdhar
, and Tawfiq bin Attash
.
Before the meeting, the United States
intercepted a telephone call to Yemen
by al-Mihdhar concerning arrangements for the trip. Osama bin Laden
had called that number dozens of times. By request of the CIA, the Malaysian authorities videotaped the meeting, but no sound recordings were made. The men were also photographed when they came out of the meeting. U.S. investigators did not identify these men until much later. That bin al-Shibh attended the meeting was discovered by the investigators by looking into his credit card records. Sufaat was later arrested, but he denied that he knew any of the men and said that Hambali had arranged the meeting.
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
members held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The meeting was held in the hotel room of Yazid Sufaat
Yazid Sufaat
The Malaysian Yazid Sufaat was a member of the Islamist terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah from shortly after its foundation in 1993 until his arrest by Malaysian authorities on 9 December 2001....
, a former army captain and businessman, in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting lasted from January 5 to January 8, 2000. The summit's purpose was allegedly to plan future attacks, which apparently included the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
plot. The attendance consisted of Arab veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
, including Hambali, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, and Tawfiq bin Attash
Tawfiq bin Attash
Walid Muhammad Salih bin Roshayed bin Attash is a Yemeni prisoner held in extrajudicial detention at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps....
.
Before the meeting, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
intercepted a telephone call to Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
by al-Mihdhar concerning arrangements for the trip. Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
had called that number dozens of times. By request of the CIA, the Malaysian authorities videotaped the meeting, but no sound recordings were made. The men were also photographed when they came out of the meeting. U.S. investigators did not identify these men until much later. That bin al-Shibh attended the meeting was discovered by the investigators by looking into his credit card records. Sufaat was later arrested, but he denied that he knew any of the men and said that Hambali had arranged the meeting.