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Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily published October 1 a Global Information System (GIS) report from Sarajevo that the Saudi and Iranian governments are working through Bosnian terrorist groups to support Chechen Islamist terrorist and guerilla operations against the Russian government.

A secret Wahabbi terrorist organization, Kvadrat (Quadrant), whose membership practice "Islam from the roots," was founded in Sarajevo in 1995. Kvadrat has expanded dramatically during 2004 in operations and funding by opening a new string of offices and facilities in Bosnia and in the Raska (Sandzak) Muslim area of southern Serbia. A new base for future operations is being built in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus.

"The young Kvadrat members have been brainwashed for a decade; since they were little children in most cases. They have been taught to believe that only their zealous approach to Islam is correct; they are fanatical."

The report claims that individuals who were orphaned as children during the Bosnia-Herzegovina civil war are being indoctrinated and trained in the Wahabbist ideology and in the tactics of terrorism and guerilla warfare. These trained personnel are sent through the "green transversal," a narco-trafficking safe-haven line, that runs from Bosnia, through Turkey and Georgia, to Chechnya, where they join the al-Qaida-supported Chechen Islamist terrorist operations.

The Iranian VEVAK [Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS)] has assisted in the training of the youth of Kvadrat, with the Saudi Government providing financial assistance. The Iranian government has denied publicly that it supports Chechen Islamist separatists, in order to protect the continuation of arms and technology trade with Russia.

Bosnian sources have told GIS "The young Kvadrat members have been brainwashed for a decade; since they were little children in most cases. They have been taught to believe that only their zealous approach to Islam is correct; they are fanatical."

Kvadrat operates in the triangle area between Zenica, Tuzla and Sarejavo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The operational leader of the group is Pezo Adnan, though he "takes his orders" from a leader in Vienna, Austria. Adnan lives in Zenica, and has a known muhahedin, "Acit", as his bodyguard and driver. Acit came to Bosnia through Zagreb in 1993, and was a member of the el-Mujahid terrorist unit in Bosnia from October 20, 1993. El-Mujahid operated within the Bosnian Muslim Army in 1995, and participated in beheadings and mass murders of prisoners in Ozren and Vozuca.

The national origin of Acit is not known at this time. He is known, from surveillance, to be in contact with Abu el-Mali, an "emir" (leader") of the el-Mujahid.

Training of the orphan boys has occurred since 2001 on Jablanickom Lake in Podi, Bosnia. A main trainer for indoctrination is Cengic Faruku from Sarajejo, though VEVAK officers are in charge of training in terrorism and guerilla warfare. Known members of Kvadrat include Zulum Almir, killed in Chechnya, and Bijedic Kenan, arrested in Turkey in 2001.

The Saudi funding of Kvadrat is funneled through the High Saudi Committee for Children Without Parental Care (VSK), based in King Fahd Cultural Center, in Sarajevo Bosnia. This organization is led by Sheikh Nasser al-Saeed, and its deputy is Abdul-Rahman al-Rashed. Another individual linked to the organization as a supporter is Khalid al-Aqueli, said to have a Bosnian passport. The VSK's office have been raided by NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) because of suspected links to terrorists.

Kvadrat has been supported by Al-Haramain charity (AHF) -- the Al-Haramain and Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Charity Foundation -- based in Riyadh. [Note: days after the publication of this report, Arabia announced the dissolution of Al-Haramain Foundation, according to an October 6 report of Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a London-based newspaper (BBC Monitoring International Reports, "Saudi Arabia Announces 'Dissolution' of Controversial Charity Foundation," October 6, 2004.)] The United States has publicly linked Al-Haramain to support of terrorists in Chechnya, as well as to the al-Qaida bombings of two U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar e-Salaam in 1998.

The U.S. branch of AHF is headquartered in Oregon and was established in 1997. A federal search warrant was executed on February 18, 2004, against all property owned by the AHF in the United States. The investigation included agents from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A statement was issued by the U.S. Treasury department on September 9, 2004 designating the AHF a terrorist-linked organization.

The U.S. investigation of AHF revealed criminal violations of tax laws and money laundering. Individuals associated with the U.S. branch concealed the movement of funds to Chechnya by omitting them from tax returns or mischaracterizing their use as being intended for a prayer house in Springfield, Missouri. Funds identified as supporting Chechen refugees were diverted to support the al-Qaida network of Chechen leaders and mujahedin.

AHF has operations through the Union of the Comors, which was identified as a staging area and exfiltration route for the perpetrators of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Labels: al Qaeda, Al-Haramain Foundation, Al-Qa'idah, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Bosnia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Chechnya, Cyprus, Iran, Kvadrat, VEVAK, Wahabbi