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Osama Bin Laden Time Line
compliments of al Jazeera
1957 Osama Bin Laden born to Syrian mother, reportedly the seventh son among 50 brothers and sisters. His father Mohammed
Awad bin Laden owned the biggest construction company in the kingdom of South Yemen. Source
1970 Osama Bin Laden's father dies.
1974 Bin Laden marries a Syrian girl who is a relative.
1979 After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Bin Laden supported the Afghan resistance.
1981 Bin Laden obtains a degree in public administration from King Abdul-Aziz university in Jeddah.
1981 Bin Laden visits mujahedeen refugees and fighers in Pakistan who fled after Soviet Invastion of Afghanistan. He sympathizes
with them and begins collecting funds and supplies for the mujahedeen.
1982 Bin Laden visits Afghanistan with construction machinery which he uses to help the mujahedeen.
1984 Bin Laden establishing the guesthouse in Peshawar which becomes the first stop for Arab mujahedeen before they start
training or go to the front.
1986 Bin Laden builds his own command and training camps in Afghanistan and begins leading battles himself.
1988 His command complex is called "The Base" or Al-Qa'edah. He starts recording and tracking visitors to the Base and
movement between the guesthouse and camps.
1989 Bin Laden went to South Yemen and was banned from travel because he gave speeches warning of an imminent invasion
by Sadam Hussein, which was embarrassing to the Yemeni leadership who had a good relationship with Hussein.
1990 After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he volunteered to the king of South Yemen to bring all the Arab mujahedeen to
protect the kingdom.
1991 Bin Laden was about to mobilize his forces, but was disappointed to learn that the U.S. was sending forces to Kuwait.
1991 (April) Bin Laden has his travel restrictions lifted temporarily but leaves South Yemen and goes to Pakistan and
then on to Afghanistan.
late 1991 Bin Laden leaves Afghanistan which was embroiled in disputes between various factions and goes to Sudan in his
private jet.
1992 Bin Laden claimed responsibility for an attempted bombing on U.S. soldiers in Yemen.
1993 After United States troops were attacked in Somalia, Bin Laden claimed responsibility.
Bin Laden was involved int he car bombing outside of the World Trade Center.
1994 The Saudi's announce publicly their opposition to Bin Laden and withdraw his citizenship.
1995 In Pakistan the Egyptian Embassy was attacked. It is alleged that Bin Laden is repsonsible.
1995 Bin Laden supported a car bombing incident at a United States training camp in Saudi Arabia. He televised a confession,
and he was indicted for the confession.
1996 Bin Laden flees Sudan and goes to Eastern Afghanistan.
1996 He issued his first anti-American message, a Declaration of War, stating his intentions to expel American forces
outside the Arabian Peninsula.
1996 Bin Laden was responsible for the bombing of the Khobar Towers, a United States military complex in Saudi Arabia.
1996 (late) Taliban (a political faction) takes control of Jalalabad, where Bin Laden lives. Mullah Omer, the leader of
Taliban, promises him protection.
1997 Taliban Mullah Omer meets Osama after two TV interviews, including one with CNN. Mullah Omer reported expressed respect
and admiration but requested that Osama keep a low profile.
1997 It is alleged that Bin Laden is responsible for a massacre of some German tourists in Egypt.
1997 (late) The U.S. plans an operation where "American special forces [would] attack bin Laden's residence in Qandahar
and kidnap him in a commando style operation." Source
1997 Bin Laden pursuades 40 religious scholars in Afghanistan to sign a "fatwah" which sanctions the use of "all means
to expel the American forces from the Peninsula."
1998 (February) Bin Laden forms the "International Front" and announces a "fatwah" sanctioning killing Jews and Americans.
1998 (April) Bin Laden is interviewed by an ABC news team and two weeks later he holds a press conference in Khost. He
warned of an impending attack.
1998 (July) The American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed within 9 minutes of each other killing 224 people.
Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center twin towers destroyed by hijaaked commercial airline flights crashing into upper floors.
Entire buildings collapsed. Manhattan is evacuated. Commercial airliner also crashes into Pentagon building in Washington,
D.C. causing major damage and fire. All federal buildings are closed and evacuated.
2001 The United States FBI placed a $25 million bounty upon Bin Laden's head.
February 2002 It is reported that Bin Laden is hiding somewhere along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
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