Osama bin Laden

Us?mah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin L?din (born March 10, 1957) ({{lang-ar|????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????}}), commonly known as Osama bin Laden, or Usama bin Laden, ({{lang-ar|أسامة بن لادن}}), is the founder of al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist terrorist network that has been involved in attacks against civilians and military targets around the world. He and his organization are widely believed to be responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001 on New York City and Washington, D.C. which killed at least 2,752 people.

Related Topics:
March 10 - 1957 - Al-Qaeda - Sunni - Islamist - Terrorist - September 11, 2001 - New York City - Washington, D.C.

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One of bin Laden's main grievances was the presence of U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia, where two of Islam's holiest places are located. The U.S. withdrew from these bases in 2003, although it is unclear whether these decisions were already planned before the September 11 attacks.

Related Topics:
Saudi Arabia - Islam - 2003

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Bin Laden is the "most wanted" man in the western countries with a reward for information leading to his capture of US$50 million. While his current whereabouts are unknown, the most popular assumption is that he is hiding in Pakistan's unruly tribal region of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, or, more specifically, near the small Pakistani market town of Chitral http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=855866&page=1 http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins200507011213.asp. If bin Laden is in Pakistan, it is likely that he continues to benefit from significant local support from the fiercely independent Waziri tribe. Together with the inhospitable mountainous terrain and uncertainty about the true cooperation of Pakistani intelligence, the United States faces many difficulties in pursuing his capture despite a wide array of sophisticated eavesdropping sensors deployed in the region http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/20/terror/main607634.shtml.

Related Topics:
Pakistan - Waziristan - Afghanistan - Chitral - Waziri

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