Darunta training camp explained

The Darunta training camp (also transliterated as Derunta) was one of the most well-known of many military training camps that have been alleged to have been affiliated with al Qaeda.[1]

Training with poisons

CNN published a story in which they claimed to have acquired videotapes showing al Qaeda experiments poisoning dogs with chemical weapons, at Darunta.[2]

Location

The camp is reported to have been near Jalalabad.According to The Guardian, it was 15 miles from Jalalabad, just north of the village of Darunta across the dam.[3] According to a paper by Hekmat Karzai, published by the Pentagonthe camp was really a complex of four camps, eight miles from Jalalabad.[4] Karzai wrote that the four camps were:

  • includes an explosives depot;
  • "operated by a group of Pakistani extremists fighting in Kashmir"
  • "where religious militia were trained and indoctrinated to fight the Northern Alliance."

The CIA provided intelligence, pinpointing Osama bin Laden's presence, that enabled Northern Alliance allies to bombard him in at the Darunta camp in 1999.[5]

The documents from some Guantanamo captives, such as Abbas Habid Rumi Al Naely,state that the Khalden training camp was also located in Darunta.[6]

Administration

Some sources claim the director of the camp was Midhat Mursi.[7]

Dispute over whether Darunta was an al Qaeda camp

During his Administrative Review Board Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy acknowledged attending the Darunta camp, but he disputed that it was affiliated with al-Qaeda.[8] [9] He asserted that the Derunta camp was a non-al Qaeda camp, that dated back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, that it was originally run by the Hezbi Islami, and that after his attendance there the Derunta camp was one of the many non-al Qaeda camps that the Taliban shut down at al Qaeda's request.

Other Guantanamo captives have reported that the similarly well-known Khalden training camp was not an al-Qaeda camp, and was shut down in 2000, at Osama bin Laden's request.

Alleged attendees

Individuals alleged to have attended the Derunta camp
Nabil Aukal[10] Attended in 1997 with four other members of Hamas
  • Alleged by DoD officials to have attended in 1998.[11]
  • Leaked files reveal that the DoD had secretly concluded Begg had been an instructor at Derunta.[12]
Menad Benchellali[13] Alleged to be a "chemical weapons" specialist
The detainee reportedly received military training on the use of light arms in the Darunta Camp in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Riyad Bil Mohammed Tahir Nasseri[14] Alleged to have attended both Khalden and Darunta.
Ahmed Ressam[15] The "millennium bomber"; admitted that he trained how to manufacture advanced explosives and make electronic circuits for six weeks at the camp.[16] [17]
Hisham Sliti[18] Alleged to have attended both the Khalden training camp and Derunta.
During his Administrative Review Board Saed Khatem Al Malki faced the allegations[19] a:
  • The detainee may have been involved in a November 1995 bomb attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad. He then escaped to the Shamshad and Deruntah camps in Afghanistan the day of the attack.
  • The Deruntah training camp has a poisons course that lasts approximately two weeks and teaches students how to poison food and drinks.
During both his Combatant Status Review Tribunal and Administrative Review BoardAbdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgyfaced the allegations:
  • Abdul Haddi Bin Hadiddi faced the allegation: "The detainee reportedly received military training on the use of light arms in the Derunta Camp in Jalalabad, Afghanistan."[20]
  • Riyad Bil Mohammed Tahir Nasseri faced the following allegations during his Administrative Review Board:[21]
    • The detainee received military training at the Derunta camp in Jalalabad, Afghanistan and Khaldan camp near Khowst, Afghanistan.
    • The detainee received training on light arms while at the camps.
    • Derunta was one of Usama bin Laden's most important bases in Afghanistan. The camp provided training in the use of explosives and toxic chemical usage. Derunta also contained several secondary bases belonging to Usama bin Laden.

References

  1. News: Uyghur Muslim Ethnic Separatism in Xinjiang, China. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604221232/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA493744. live. June 4, 2011. Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. January 2008. Elizabeth Van Wie Davis. Elizabeth Van Wie Davis. 2010-03-21. A January 2007 Chinese raid on a training camp in Xinjiang killed 18 terrorist suspects and one policeman. Seventeen more suspects were reported captured and explosives were seized. The raid was said to have provided new evidence of ties to "international terrorist forces." The raid marks the latest clash between Uyghur Muslim separatists and Chinese security services, reflecting a limited challenge to China's mainland stability. In Beijing's view, however, instability in Xinjiang could also bring instability to Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Taiwan. As with many of these disputes throughout Asia, the root causes of the problem are a complex mix of history, ethnicity, and religion, fueled by poverty, unemployment, social disparities, and political grievances..
  2. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/08/19/terror.tape.chemical/ Disturbing scenes of death show capability with chemical gas
  3. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1501,597008,00.html Al-Qaeda's trail of terror
  4. Web site: The return of the black turban: Causes of the Taliban resurgence. 185. Institute Of Defence And Strategic Studies. . 2010-03-16 -->. 2010-03-16.
  5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62889-2004Feb22.html Flawed Ally Was Hunt's Best Hope: Afghan Guerrilla, U.S. Shared Enemy
  6. http://www.dod.mil/pub/foi/detainees/csrt_Mar05.pdf Summary of Evidence memo (.pdf)
  7. http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/wanted_captured/index.cfm?page=midhat_mursi WANTED: Midhat Mursi al-Sayid 'Umar - Up to $5 Million Reward
  8. Summarized transcripts (.pdf)
  9. Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf)
  10. http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/levitt200403261126.asp Moderately Deadly: Yassin's long history of terror
  11. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/world/15begg.html Jihadist or Victim: Ex-Detainee Makes a Case
  12. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-british-prisoners-profiles Guantánamo Bay files: Profiles of the 10 released British prisoners
  13. http://middleeastinfo.org/article.php?sid=4441 An Al Qaeda 'Chemist' and the Quest for Ricin
  14. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_mar05.pdf Summary of Evidence memo (.pdf)
  15. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,872924,00.html Al-Qaeda - a meaningless label
  16. Web site: U.S. v. Ressam. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. February 2, 2010. February 27, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120301022909/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/US_v_Ressam_9thcircuitappeals0210.pdf. March 1, 2012.
  17. Web site: Ressam Testimony in Mokhtar Haouari Trial. July 2001. Southern District of New York. February 27, 2010.
  18. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_mar05.pdf Summary of Evidence (.pdf)
  19. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt/ARB_Transcript_Set_5_20000-20254.pdf#180 Summarized transcript (.pdf)
  20. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/detainees/csrt_mar05.pdf#53 Summary of Evidence (.pdf)
  21. Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf)
  22. Abuse testimony (.pdf)

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