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{{short description|Muslim volunteers of 1992–1995 Bosnian War}}
{{pov}}
{{redirect-several|Mujahid|Mujahideen}}
'''Mujahideen''' came in ] during the 1992-1995 ] after the ]s committed by the ] forces on ] (]) ]s. They intended to vage a ''holy war'' against the ''perpetrators''. The number of volunteers is estimated by some newspaper reports to have been about 4,000,<ref></ref> but some recent research discards such claims estimating 400 foreign volunteers.<ref></ref> They came from countries such as ], ], ], ] and ], to quote summary of the ICTY judgement:<ref>ICTY: Summary of the judgement for Enver Hadžihasanović and Amir Kubura - </ref>
{{infobox military unit
| unit_name = Bosnian mujahideen
| image =
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| dates = 1992–95
| country = {{flag|Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
| allegiance =
| branch = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg}} ]
| type = ]
| role =
| size = estimates vary from 500 to 5,000. Most estimates are in the 1,000-2,000 range {{small|(])}}
| command_structure =
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* ]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schrader |first1=Charles R. |title=The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Central Bosnia: A Military History, 1992-1994 |date=2003 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=9781585442614 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceXJTw71MC&pg=PA87}}</ref>
* ]{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* ]{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* ]{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* ]{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* ]{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* ]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rovcanin |first1=Haris |title=Punishment Urged for Wartime Bosnian Army Commander |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/03/30/punishment-urged-for-wartime-bosnian-army-commander/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=30 March 2022 |quote=..members of the El Mujahideen unit killed 55 captured Bosnian Serb Army soldiers in the Vozuca and Zavidovici areas from July to September 1995 and cut some of their heads off..}}</ref>
* ]<ref>{{cite web |title=Rasim Delić Case Information Sheet |url=https://www.haguejusticeportal.net/Docs/Fact%20Sheets/Delic_Case%20Info%20Sheet.pdf |website=haguejusticeportal.net |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia}}</ref>
| anniversaries =
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| disbanded = 1995
<!-- Commanders -->| commander1 =
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| notable_commanders = <!-- Insignia -->
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}}
'''Bosnian mujahideen''' ({{langx|bs|Bosanski mudžahedini}}), also called '''''El Mudžahid''''' ({{langx|ar|مجاهد}}, ''mujāhid''), were foreign ] volunteers who fought on the ] side during the 1992–95 ]. They first arrived in central ] in the latter half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Bosnian Muslim co-religionists in fights against ] and ] forces. Initially they mainly came from ] countries, later from other Muslim-majority countries.<ref name="bos">{{Cite news|title=Bosnia: The cradle of modern jihadism?|work=BBC News|date=2 July 2015|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33345618|access-date=16 November 2021|language=en}}</ref> Estimates of their numbers vary from 500 to 5,000 with most estimates in the 1,000–2,000 range.{{sfn|Donnelly|Sanderson|Fellman|2017|p=8}}


== Bosnian War ==
{{quote|The evidence shows that foreign volunteers arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping their ] ]s against the ] ]s. Mostly they came from ], the Near East and the Middle East. The foreign volunteers differed considerably from the local population, not only because of their physical appearance and the language they spoke, but also because of their fighting methods.}}
{{see|Bosnian War|Foreign support in the Bosnian War}}


In the ] in 1991, ] and ] declared independence. War broke out in Croatia between the Croatian Army and the breakaway ]. Meanwhile, the ]s voted for independence. ] declared an ], independent of Bosnia, and Bosnian Croats took similar steps. The war broke out in April 1992.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Chifton |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Ilyn |editor2-first=Mikhail V. |editor3-last=Mey |editor3-first=Jacob L. |title=Political Discourse in Transition in Europe 1989 1991 |date=1998 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=9789027282620 |page=252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUtCAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA252}}</ref>
It is alleged that mujahideen participated in some incidents considered to be ] according to the international law. However no indictment was issued by the ] against them, but a few Bosnian Army officers were indicted on the basis of superior criminal responsibility. Amir Kubura was found not guilty on all counts related to the incidents involving mujahideen. <ref></ref> On the other hand Enver Hadzihasanović was found guilty for failing to prevent the death of a prisoner of war.<ref>Hadzihasanovic i Kubura - sažetak - </ref> He appealed against the first-instance judgment and was released provisionally in June 2007 pending the judgement of the Appeals Chamber.<ref>Sense - APPELLATE HEARING IN HADZIHASANOVIC - KUBURA CASE</ref>


Muslim foreign fighters came to support the Bosnian Muslims and an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina. There were also Islamist organizations and Muslim non-profit organizations and charitable trusts that supported the Bosnian Muslims.
==Background==


Volunteer mujahideen arrived from all around the world,<ref name=Fisk>{{cite news|last=Fisk|first=Robert|work=The Independent|date=7 September 2014|title=After the atrocities committed against Muslims in Bosnia, it is no wonder today's jihadis have set out on the path to war in Syria|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/after-the-atrocities-committed-against-muslims-in-bosnia-it-is-no-wonder-today-s-jihadis-have-set-9717384.html}}</ref> including ],{{sfn|Farmer|2010|p=126}} ],{{sfn|Berger|2011|p=55}} ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ],<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45182211|jstor = 45182211|title = Afghanistan, Kashmir and Bosnia: Mutual Linkages and Common Direction|last1 = Majeed|first1 = Tariq|journal = Strategic Studies|year = 1995|volume = 18|issue = 2-3|pages = 102–117}}</ref> ] (especially around ] and ]), ], ], ], ],<ref>{{cite book|last=Hunter|first=Shireen T.|title=God on Our Side: Religion in International Affairs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFwdDQAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-7259-0|page=164}}</ref> the ], the ], ]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vidino |first=Lorenzo |last2=Pantucci |first2=Raffaello |last3=Kohlmann |first3=Evan |date=2010 |title=Bringing Global Jihad to theHorn of Africa: al Shabaab, Western Fighters, and the Sacralization of the Somali Conflict |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48598807 |journal=African Security |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=216–238 |issn=1939-2206}}</ref> and ].{{sfn|Lebl|2014|p=8}} The Bosnian mujahideen were primarily from Iran, Afghanistan and numerous Arab countries.{{sfn|Innes|2006|p=157}}
During the ], ] received humanitarian aid from Islamic countries as well as from the West, because of intensive and widespread killing, mass rapes, death camps, ] committed by Serb and, to a lesser extent, Croat forces. The main targets were ] civilians. The ] concluded that these crimes, committed during the 1992 -95 war, were ] and ] ('']'') regarding Srebrenica region according to the Genocide Convention.<ref></ref>
Following such ]s, ] volunteers came across ] into Bosnia to help the Bosnian Army protect the Bosnian Muslim civilian population. The number of the ''El-Mudžahid'' volunteers is still disputed, from around 300 <ref>SENSE Tribunal:ICTY - WE FOUGHT WITH THE BH ARMY, BUT NOT UNDER ITS COMMAND </ref><ref name="""""""""Predrag"""""""" Matvejević analysis">{{cite web |url=http://www.islam.co.ba/razmisljanja/index.php?subaction=ostalo&id=1070747643|title=Predrag Matvejević analysis}}</ref> to 1,500.<ref>SENSE Tribunal:ICTY - WE FOUGHT WITH THE BH ARMY, BUT NOT UNDER ITS COMMAND </ref> According to witness at the trial of Bosnian commander Rasim Delic a group of foreign fighters of Arab origin entered Bosnia from Zagreb together with the Croatian Army unit "Zengas". <ref>Mujahideen came with Zengas </ref>
These caused particular controversy: foreign fighters, styling themselves '']'', turned up in Bosnia around 1993 with ]n identity documents, passports and IDs. They quickly attracted heavy criticism, who considered their presence to be evidence of violent Islamic fundamentalism at the heart of Europe. However, the foreign volunteers became unpopular even with many of the Bosniak population, because the ] had thousands of troops and had no need for more soldiers, but for arms. Many Bosnian Army officers and intellectuals were suspicuos regarding foreign volunteers arrival in central part of the country, because they came from ] and ] in Croatia, and were passed through the self-proclaimed ] without problems unlike Bosnian Army soldiers who were regularly arrested by Croat forces. According to general ], the highest ranking ethnic Croat in Bosnian Army, the key role in foreign volunteers arrival was played by ] and Croatian ] underground with the aim to justify involvement of Croatia in Bosnian War and mass crimes committed by Croat forces. Although Izetbegović regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability.
<ref name="""""""""Predrag"""""""" Matvejević analysis">{{cite web |url=http://www.islam.co.ba/razmisljanja/index.php?subaction=ostalo&id=1070747643|title=Predrag Matvejević analysis}}</ref>


Foreign mujahideen arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Bosnian Muslim co-religionists to defend themselves from the Serb and Croat forces. Some originally went as humanitarian workers,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sense-agency.com/icty/humanitarian-worker-turned-mujahideen.29.html?cat_id=1&news_id=10738 |title=Humanitarian worker turned Mujahideen |access-date=2015-07-08 |archive-date=2019-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204123915/http://www.sense-agency.com/icty/humanitarian-worker-turned-mujahideen.29.html?cat_id=1&news_id=10738 |url-status=dead }}</ref> while some of them were considered criminals in their home countries for illegally travelling to Bosnia and becoming soldiers. On 13 August 1993, the Bosnian government officially organized foreign volunteers into the detachment known as ''El Mudžahid'' in order to impose control and order. Initially, the foreign mujahideen gave food and other basic necessities to the local Muslim population, who were deprived of such by the Serb forces. Once hostilities broke out between the Bosnian government and the Croat forces (HVO), the mujahideen also participated in battles against the HVO alongside ARBiH units.<ref name="icty judgement">{{cite web|url=http://secnet069.un.org/x/cases/hadzihasanovic_kubura/cis/en/cis_hadzihasanovic_kubura_en.pdf |title=ICTY: Summary of the judgement for Enver Hadžihasanović and Amir Kubura |access-date=2010-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728142657/http://secnet069.un.org/x/cases/hadzihasanovic_kubura/cis/en/cis_hadzihasanovic_kubura_en.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-28 }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2020}}
==El Mujahid Detachment==


A small group of Arab volunteers arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of ] with the aim of helping their Bosnian ] coreligionists to defend from the ] and ] attacks. Mostly they came from ], the ] and the ]. On August 13, 1993, the Bosnian Army decided to form a unit, ''Kateebat al-Mujahideen'' ("Battalion of the Holy Warriors") or ''El Mudžahid'' in order to impose control over the foreign fighters whose number increased. Initially, the foreign Mujahideen gave food and other basic necessities to the local Muslim population, deprived many necessities by the Serb forces. Once hostilities broke out between the Bosnian government (ABiH) and the Croat forces (HVO), the Mujahideen also participated in battles against the HVO alongside Bosnian Army units.<ref>, Summary of the Judgmenet for Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura, 15 March 2006</ref> The foreign mujahideen sometimes recruited local young men into the foreign mujahideen units.<ref name="icty judgement"/>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2020}} Accordingly, the ] (ICTY) noted that it was sometimes "difficult to distinguish between the two groups". For that reason, the ICTY has used the term "Mujahideen" (which they spell ''Mujahedin'') for both fighters from ] countries, and also local Muslims who joined the mujahideen units.<ref name=ICTY-Antonetti>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/icty/hadzihas/trialc/judgement/060315/hadz-sum060315.htm |title=ICTY Summary of the Judgment for Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura: Section VI. The Mujahedin |date=15 March 2006}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2020}}


The first mujahideen training camp was located in Poljanice next to the village of ], in the ] valley, ] municipality. The mujahideen group established there included mujahideen from Arab countries as well as some Bosniaks. The mujahideen from Poljanice camp were also established in the towns of ] and Travnik and, from the second half of 1993 onwards, in the village of ], also located in the Bila valley.<ref name="icty judgement"/><ref>{{cite web |author=Adrian Morgan |url=http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=6540 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123230849/http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=6540 |date=13 November 2006 |archive-date=2006-11-23 |title=Bosnia: Muslims upset by Wahhabi leaders |website=Spero News}}</ref>
According to the Arab fighters who testified as the prosecution witnesses at the trial of Bosnian general Rasim Delic indicted by ] on the basis of superior criminal responsibility, the El Mujahid Detachment was only formally part of the Bosnian Army chain of command. All decisions were taken by the ''emir'' and the ''shura'', the Mujahideen commander and the Mujahideen supreme council respectively. This was because the ‘Army couldn’t be trusted’. <ref>ICTY: MUJAHIDEEN DIDN’T TRUST THE ARMY -
</ref>


The military effectiveness of the mujahideen is disputed. However, former U.S. Balkans peace negotiator ] said in an interview that he thought "the Muslims wouldn't have survived without this" help, as at the time a U.N. arms embargo diminished the Bosnian government's fighting capabilities. In 2001, Holbrooke called the arrival of the mujahideen "a pact with the devil" from which Bosnia still is recovering.<ref name="LA Times">, Bosnia Seen as Hospitable Base and Sanctuary for Terrorists, 8 October 2001</ref> On the other hand, according to general ], the highest ranking ethnic Croat in the Bosnian Army, the key role in foreign volunteers arrival was played by Tuđman and Croatian ] with the aim to justify the involvement of Croatia in the Bosnian War and the crimes committed by Croat forces. Although the Bosnian President ] regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability.<ref name="Islam-1070747643">{{cite web|url=http://www.islam.co.ba/razmisljanja/index.php?subaction=ostalo&id=1070747643 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208130905/http://www.islam.co.ba/razmisljanja/index.php?subaction=ostalo&id=1070747643 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-12-08 |title=Predrag Matvejević analysis }}</ref>
==Incidents==


== Size ==
On ], 1993, ] attacked Croat forces in the area of Maline village. After the village was taken, a military police unit of the 306th Brigade of Bosnian Army arrived in Maline. These ] were to evacuate and protect the civilians in the villages taken by the Bosnian Army. The wounded were left on-site and around 200 people, including civilians and Croat soldiers, were taken by the police officers towards Mehurici. The commander of the 306th Brigade authorised the wounded be put onto a truck and transported to Mehurici. Suddenly, a number of mujahideen stormed the village of Maline. Even though the commander of the Bosnian Army 306th Brigade forbade them to approach, they didn't submit. The 200 villagers who were being escorted to Mehurici by the 306th Brigade military police were intercepted by the mujahideen in Poljanice. They took 20 military-aged Croats and a young woman wearing a Red-Cross armband. The prisoners were taken to Bikoci, between Maline and Mehurici. 23 Croatian soldiers and one young woman were executed in Bikoci while they were being held prisoner.<ref>Judgement Summary - Kubura and Hadzihasanovic </ref>
Estimates of the mujahideen forces size vary. In 2003, Charles R. Shrader reported that ] general ] had estimated 3,000 to 4,000, but the actual figure would probably be closer to 2,000, based on testimonies given in the ] trial against ] and {{ill|Mario Čerkez|bs}}.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=179}} In 2004, ] stated that "the deployment of Arab fighters in Bosnia who were generally loyal to the jihadi leadership in Afghanistan exploded in the mid-1990s into numbers sometimes estimated even to exceed 5,000".{{sfn|Kohlmann|2004|p=xii}} ] stated that "up to 6,000 “Arab Afghan” volunteers arrived in the country and enlisted in combat."{{sfn|Schwartz|2004}} In 2011, Thomas Hegghammer estimated the number of foreign Muslim fighters in Bosnia to be 1,000–2,000.{{sfn|Hegghammer|2011|p=}} In 2013, the ] estimated that "between 2,000 and 5,000 fought in BiH."{{sfn|ICG|2013|p=14}} In 2017, a ] report stated that "figures range from 500–5,000 with a preponderance of estimates in the 1,000–2,000 range", citing Hegghammer for the later estimate.{{sfn|Donnelly|Sanderson|Fellman|2017|p=8}}


==Relationship to the Bosnian Army==
==Propaganda==
] found that there was one ]-sized unit called El Mudžahid (El Mujahid). It was established on 13 August 1993, by the Bosnian Army, which decided to form a unit of foreign fighters in order to impose control over them as the number of the foreign volunteers started to increase.<ref name="un.org">{{cite web |title=Appeals Judgement Summary for the Case of Hadžihasanović and Kubura |url=http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2008/pr1240e-summary.htm |website=ICTY.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805095409/http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2008/pr1240e-summary.htm |archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref> The El Mudžahid unit was initially attached to and supplied by the regular ] (ARBiH), even though they often operated independently as a special unit.{{sfn|Curtis|2010|p=207}}


According to the ICTY indictment of ], Commander of Main Staff of the Bosnian army (ARBiH), after the formation of the ] on 19 November 1992, the El Mudžahid were subordinated within its structure. According to a UN communiqué of 1995, the El Mudžahid battalion was "directly dependent on Bosnian staff for supplies" and for "directions" during combat with the Serb forces.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309074206/http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_16/feature.html |date=2008-03-09 }}, The Bosnian Connection, by Brendan O’Neill, 16 July 2007</ref> The issue has formed part of two ICTY war crimes trials against two former senior officials in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of superior criminal responsibility. In its Trial Chamber judgement in the case of ICTY v. ], commander of the ] (who was later made part of the joint command of the ARBiH and was the Chief of the Supreme Command Staff), and ], commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade of the 3rd Corps of the ARBiH, the Trial Chamber found that:
{{main article|Serb propaganda}}


<blockquote>the foreign Mujahedin established at Poljanice camp were not officially part of the 3rd Corps or the 7th Brigade of the ARBiH. Accordingly, the Prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the foreign Mujahedin officially joined the ARBiH and that they were ''de iure'' subordinated to the Accused Enver Hadžihasanović and ].<ref name="icty judgement"/></blockquote>
Although Serb and Croat media created much controversy about alleged war crimes committed by the squad, no indictment was issued by ] against any of these foreign volunteers. The only foreign person convicted of war crimes was ] ] ], who fought in the ] (first convicted by a Bosnian court, later by a Swedish court).


It also found that:
According to ], a notable Italian and Croatian modern prosaist who analyzed the situation, the number of Arab volunteers who came to help the Bosnian Muslims, ''was much smaller than the number presented by Serb and Croat propaganda''.<ref> Predrag Matvejević analysis </ref>


<blockquote>there are significant indicia of a subordinate relationship between the Mujahedin and the Accused ''prior'' to August 13, 1993. Testimony heard by the Trial Chamber and, in the main, documents tendered into evidence demonstrate that the ARBiH maintained a close relationship with the foreign Mujahedin as soon as these arrived in central Bosnia in 1992. Joint combat operations are one illustration of that. In Karaula and Visoko in 1992, at Mount Zmajevac around mid-April 1993 and in the Bila valley in June 1993, the Mujahedin fought alongside ARBiH units against Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat forces."<ref name="icty judgement"/></blockquote>
According to the ICTY verdicts, Serb propaganda was very active, constantly propagated false information about the foreign fighters in order to inflame ] hatred among Serbs. After the takeover of Prijedor by Serb forces in 1992, Radio Prijedor propagated Serb nationalistic ideas characterising prominent non-Serbs as ]s and ]s who should be punished for their behaviour. One example of such propaganda was the derogatory language used for referring to non-Serbs such as '''], ] or ]''', although at the time there were no foreign volunteers in Bosnia. According to ICTY conclusion in ] ] Mile Mutić, the director of Kozarski Vjesnik and the ] Rade Mutić regularly attended meetings of Serb ]s (local authorities) in order to get informed about next steps of spreading propaganda. <ref> ICTY: Milomir Stakić judgement - The media </ref>


However, the ICTY Appeals Chamber in April 2008 concluded that the relationship between the 3rd Corps of the Bosnian Army headed by Hadžihasanović and the El Mudžahid detachment was not one of subordination but was instead close to overt hostility since the only way to control the detachment was to attack them as if they were a distinct enemy force.<ref name="un.org" />
Another example of propaganda about ''Islamic holy warriors'' is presented in the ICTY ''Kordić and Čerkez verdict'' for ] and ] committed by ] leadership on Bosniak civilians. ] was attacked by ] (HV) and ] (HVO) in January 1993 followed by heavy shelling of the town by Croat artillery. During ] ]s at the Britbat HQ in Gornji Vakuf, ] Andrić, representing the HVO, demanded that the Bosnian forces lay down their arms and accept HVO control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground. <ref>ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 2. The Conflict in Gornji Vakuf </ref> <ref> SENSE Tribunal: Poziv na predaju </ref> The HVO demands were not accepted by the ] and the attack continued, followed by massacres on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the neighbouring villages of Bistrica, Uzričje, Duša, Ždrimci and Hrasnica.<ref> SENSE Tribunal: Ko je počeo rat u Gornjem Vakufu </ref> <ref> SENSE Tribunal: "James Dean" u Gornjem Vakufu</ref>The shelling campaign and the attackes during the war resulted in hundreds of injured and killed, mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians. Although Croats often cited it as a major reason for the attack on Gornji Vakuf in order to justify attacks and massacres on civilians, the commander of the British Britbat company claimed that there were no Muslim ''holy warriors'' in Gornji Vakuf and that his soldiers did not see any. <ref>ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 2. The Conflict in Gornji Vakuf </ref>


== After the war ==
Mujahideen phenomenon is often used by Serb scholars as an instrument in denying and relativising war crimes committed by the Serbs. On ], 2003, former President ] honored the ] dead and condemned the ''genocidal madness''.<ref>The New York Times - At Memorial In Bosnia, Clinton Helps Mourn 7,000 </ref> Soon after, Serb historian ] wrote that Clinton attended a memorial for dead mujahedeen troops in Bosnia.<ref>Serbianna: Carl Savich - </ref>
In 1995, veterans of the Bosnian mujahideen established the ], regarded the most dangerous of the Islamist groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina.{{sfn|Deliso|2007|p=18}}


===Citizenship controversy===
==Al Qaeda speculation==
The foreign mujahideen were required to leave the Balkans under the terms of the 1995 ], but many stayed. Although the U.S. State Department report suggested that the number could be higher, an unnamed ] official said allied military intelligence estimated that no more than 200 foreign-born militants actually lived in Bosnia in 2001, of whom around 30 represented a hard-core group with direct or indirect links to terrorism.<ref name="LA Times"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/840241.stm|title=BBC News - EUROPE - Mujahideen fight Bosnia evictions|access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>


In September 2007, 50 of these individuals had their citizenship status revoked. Since then 100 more individuals have been prevented from claiming citizenship rights. 250 more were under investigation, while the body which is charged with reconsidering the citizenship status of the foreign volunteers in the Bosnian War, including Christian fighters from ] and ], states that 1,500 cases will eventually be examined.
Following the end of the ] and, especially, after the ] attacks on the World Trade Center, Serbian propaganda started to fabricate the links between ] and Al Qaeda, in order to move the focus from the ] to more interesting topic such as terrorism in the ] era. According to ] produced research by Vlado Azinović about alleged links between Bosnia and Al Qaeda ''"Al Qaeda in Bosnia: Myth Or Present Danger"'', the claims about the alleged presence of Al Qaeda in Bosnia are unverified and mostly fabricated. The presence of Wahhabism and of the remaining Muslim fighters do not qualify Bosnia as a particular threat to international security, according to the Azinovic's conclusion. Furthermore, Azinovic quotes Evan F. Kohlmann:<ref>Al-Kai'da u Bosni i Hercegovini:Mit ili stvarna opasnost?</ref>
{{quote|Serb propaganda throughout the whole war had portrayed the ] as violent extremists, fundamentalists, and as eager to jump on the bandwagon of the mujahedin.}}


==Other information== ===War crimes trials===
{{main|Enver Hadžihasanović|Amir Kubura|Rasim Delić}}


It was alleged that Bosnian mujahideen participated in ], including the killing, torture and beheading of Serbian and Croat civilians and soldiers.<ref>{{cite web |title='Brutal crimes' of Bosnia Muslims |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3254890.stm |work=BBC News |date=December 2, 2003}}</ref>{{sfn|Berger|2011|p=93}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swicord |first1=Jeff |title=Seeds of Jihad Planted in the Balkans |url=https://www.voanews.com/europe/seeds-jihad-planted-balkans |publisher=Voice of America |date=November 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Erjavec |first1=Dragana |title=Bosnia Mujahideen Prisoner 'Forced to Kiss Severed Head' |url=https://www.justice-report.com/en/articles/bosnia-mujahideen-prisoner-forced-to-kiss-severed-head |website=JusticeReport |publisher=BIRN |date=June 8, 2016 |access-date=April 12, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411205849/https://www.justice-report.com/en/articles/bosnia-mujahideen-prisoner-forced-to-kiss-severed-head |url-status=dead }}</ref> However no indictment was issued by the ICTY against them, but a few Bosnian Army officers were indicted on the basis of ]. Both ] and Enver Hadžihasanović (the indicted Bosnian Army officers) were ultimately acquitted on all counts related to the incidents involving the mujahideen.<ref name="un.org" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Hadžihasanović & Kubura Appeals Only Partially Granted |url=https://www.icty.org/en/press/had%C5%BEihasanovi%C4%87-kubura-appeals-only-partially-granted |website=ICTY.org |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |date=22 April 2008}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2020}} In the judgment, the judges concluded that the Mujahideen were responsible for execution of 4 Croatian civilians in the village of Miletići in April 1993, inhumanely treating POWs and killing one at the ] in October 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/hadzihasanovic_kubura/press/en/PR1054e%2520-%2520Summary%2520of%2520Judgement%2520for%2520Hadzihasanovic%2520an.pdf |title=Summary of the Judgement for Hadžihasanović and Kubura |access-date=2018-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310142208/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/hadzihasanovic_kubura/press/en/PR1054e%20-%20Summary%20of%20Judgement%20for%20Hadzihasanovic%20an.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After the war, many of the Arabs attained Bosnian citizenship and settled in several villages throughout Bosnia. It is known that those who remained are concentrated around the cities of ], ] and Bočinja and in villages near ].{{Fact|date=October 2007}}


The judgments in the cases of Hadžihasanović and Kabura concerned a number of events involving the mujahideen. On June 8, 1993, Bosnian Army units attacked Maljine, a Croat village. After the village was taken, a military police unit of the 306th Brigade of Bosnian Army arrived there. These policemen were tasked with evacuating and protecting the civilians in the villages taken by the Bosnian Army. The wounded were left on-site and around 200 people, including civilians and Croat soldiers, were taken by the police officers towards Mehurici. The commander of the 306th Brigade authorised the wounded be put onto a truck and transported to Mehurici. The 200 villagers who were being escorted to Mehurici by the 306th Brigade military police were intercepted by a group of mujahideens and a dozen Bosnian Army forces in Poljanice. They took prisoner at least 24 military-aged Croats and a 19 years old Croat girl who was wearing a ] armband. The prisoners were taken to Bikoši, between Maljine and Mehurici. All these prisoners including the 19 years old girl were executed in Bikoši while they were being held prisoner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/hadzihas/trialc/judgement/060315/hadz-sum060315.htm|title=ICTY - TPIY|access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2020}}
==Notes==


In the ] judgment during the trial of ], the judges concluded that the prosecution had proven that more than 50 Serbs captured during the ] had been killed in the ] by the Mujahideen. Though the judges agreed Delić had effective control over the El Mujahideen unit, he was acquitted from responsibility since ICTY concluded he did not possess enough information to stop them. He was also acquitted from the charge of not saving 24 imprisoned Croat POWs and 19 years old Croat girl Ana Pranješ from being executed by the Mujahideen since the prosecution could not prove he had already assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the ] to which he had been appointed on the same day. The judges concluded that the prosecution had proven that the Mujahideen from July to August 1995 had treated 12 Serbian POWs detained first in the village of Livada and then the Kamenica camp, inhumanely and had killed three of them. Delić was sentenced to three years in prison for not stopping it.<ref name="mts">{{cite web |title=Rasimu Deliću tri godine zatvora |url=http://www.mtsmondo.com/news/vesti/text.php?vest=109558 |website=mtsmondo.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918205259/http://www.mtsmondo.com/news/vesti/text.php?vest=109558 |archive-date=18 September 2008 |date=15 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rasim Delić osuđen na tri godine zatvora |url=http://www.danas.rs/vesti/svet/region/rasim_delic_osudjen_na_tri_godine_zatvora.9.html?news_id=139355 |website=Danas.rs |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130113140156/http://www.danas.co.rs/vesti/svet/region/rasim_delic_osudjen_na_tri_godine_zatvora.9.html |archive-date=13 January 2013}}</ref>
* (] conclusion) ''The evidence shows that foreign volunteers arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Muslim brothers against the Serbian aggressors. Mostly they came from North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. The foreign volunteers differed considerably from the local population, not only because of their physical appearance and the language they spoke, but also because of their fighting methods. Initially, the foreign volunteers gave food and other basic necessities to the local Muslim population. Once hostilities broke out between the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the HVO (Croat forces), they also participated in battles against the HVO alongside Army of BiH units.'' <ref></ref>

In 2015, former Human Rights Minister and Vice President of BiH Federation Mirsad Kebo talked about numerous war crimes committed against Serbs by mujahideen in Bosnia and their links with current and past Muslim officials including former and current presidents of federation and presidents of parliament based on war diaries and other documented evidence. He gave evidence to the BiH federal prosecutor. Kebo also accused ] who at that time was a police commander of ], and others, of deliberately hiding the war crimes. The ] party denounced his accusations as "lies and cheap fabrications."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nezavisne.com/novosti/bih/Mirsad-Kebo-Novi-dokazi-o-zlocinima-nad-Srbima/282906 |title=Mirsad Kebo: Novi dokazi o zločinima nad Srbima |website=Nezavisne.com |date=10 January 2015 |access-date=2016-09-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bosniak Politician Evades Censure in War Crimes Row |url=http://www.avim.org.tr/bulten/en/98694 |website=avim.org |publisher=BIRN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122040451/http://www.avim.org.tr/bulten/en/98694 |archive-date=22 November 2015 |date=15 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.srna.rs/novosti/271609/kebo-to-show-evidence-izetbegovic-brought-mujahideen-to-bosnia.htm |title=Kebo To Show Evidence Izetbegovic Brought Mujahideen To Bosnia &#124; Срна |website=Srna.rs |access-date=2016-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510054417/http://www.srna.rs/novosti/271609/kebo-to-show-evidence-izetbegovic-brought-mujahideen-to-bosnia.htm |archive-date=2016-05-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Denis Dzidic |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ex-sda-official-claims-party-men-involved-in-war-crimes |title=Bosnian Party Accused of Harbouring War Criminals |date=13 January 2015 |publisher=Balkan Insight |access-date=2016-09-04}}</ref> The prosecutors investigating Džaferović decided to drop the investigation after examining documents sent by Kebo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dzidic |first1=Denis |title=Bosnian Serbs Slate Decision Against Probing Dzaferovic |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2015/03/13/bosnian-prosecution-decides-against-investigating-politician/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=13 March 2015}}</ref>

An Iraqi mujahideen Abduladhim Maktouf was convicted of helping his compatriots to abduct Croat civilians of Travnik in 1993. He was ultimately given a prison term of three years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dizdarevic |first1=Emina |title=Bosnia Awards Iraqi War Crimes Convict €36,600 |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2016/11/09/bosnia-awards-iraqi-war-crimes-convict-36-000-11-09-2016/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=9 November 2016}}</ref>

In 2016, former Bosnian Army Third Corps commander ] was put on trial for having failed to prevent the murders and torture of ] by members of the Mujahideen unit in the ] and ] areas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dzidic |first1=Denis |title=Report Probes Mujahideen Killings During Bosnian War |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2016/01/25/bosnian-serb-victims-still-waiting-for-mujahedin-crimes-justice-01-25-2016/ |website=BalkanInsight.com |date=January 25, 2016}}</ref> According to the indictment, 50 Serb ] were killed and several were decapitated.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dizdarevic |first1=Emina |title=Bosnian Army Commander Honoured Despite War Crimes Charges |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/08/30/bosnian-army-commander-honoured-despite-war-crimes-charges/ |website=BalkanInsight.com |access-date=18 September 2019 |date=August 30, 2019}}</ref> He was sentenced to 10 years in first instance in January 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fena.ba/article/1193716/army-of-bih-commander-mahmuljin-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-war-crime|title=Army of BiH commander Mahmuljin sentenced to 10 years in prison for war crime|website=fena.ba}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bosnian Muslim ex-commander jailed 10 years over war crimes by Islamist fighters |website=] |date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709183220/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bosnia-warcrimes/bosnian-muslim-ex-commander-jailed-10-years-over-war-crimes-by-islamist-fighters-idUSKBN29R1O6?il=0 |archive-date=2023-07-09 |url-status=live |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bosnia-warcrimes/bosnian-muslim-ex-commander-jailed-10-years-over-war-crimes-by-islamist-fighters-idUSKBN29R1O6?il=0}}</ref>

===Links to Al-Qaeda and ISIS===
US intelligence and phone calls intercepted by the Bosnian government show communication between Al-Qaeda commanders and Bosnian mujahideen.{{sfn|Berger|2011|p=153}} Several of the mujahideen were connected to Al-Qaeda.{{sfn|Berger|2011|p=153}} Osama Bin Laden sent resources to the Bosnian mujahideen.{{sfn|Berger|2011|p=153}} Two of the five ] ], childhood friends ] and ], had been Bosnian mujahideen.<ref>9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 5.2, pp. 153–159</ref> ], a senior leader of the ], had fought in Bosnia in 1995.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Joscelyn |first1=Thomas |last2=Adaki |first2=Oren |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/10/aqap_leader_calls_on.php |title=AQAP official calls on rival factions in Syria to unite against West |newspaper=The Long War Journal |date=1 October 2014 |access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref> Bosnian Salafi leader and mujahideen veteran ] was in 2015 sentenced to seven years in prison for public incitement to terrorist activities, recruitment of terrorists to fight with ISIS in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bosnia Jails Salafist Chief for Recruiting Fighters |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bosnia-jails-imam-for-recruiting-islamic-state-fighters-11-05-2015 |publisher=BalkanInsight |date=5 November 2015 |access-date=25 November 2015}}</ref>

In a 2005 interview with U.S. journalist ], ] said:

<blockquote>There were over 1,000 people in the country who belonged to what we then called Mujahideen freedom fighters. We now know that that was al-Qaida. I'd never heard the word before, but we knew who they were. And if you look at the 9/11 hijackers, several of those hijackers were trained or fought in Bosnia. We cleaned them out, and they had to move much further east into ]. So if it hadn't been for Dayton, we would have been fighting the terrorists deep in the ravines and caves of Central Bosnia in the heart of Europe.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002173827/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/bosnia/july-dec05/holbrooke_11-22.html |date=2013-10-02 }}, A New Constitution for Bosnia, 22 November 2005</ref></blockquote>

] wrote: "Some of the most important factors behind the contemporary radicalization of European Muslim youth can be found in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the cream of the Arab mujahideen from Afghanistan tested their battle skills in the post-Soviet era and mobilized a new generation of pan-Islamic revolutionaries". He also noted that Serbian and Croatian sources about the subject are "pure propaganda" based on their historical hatred for ] "as Muslim aliens in the heart of Christian lands".<ref name="slobodnaevropa.org">RFE - Al-Qaeda In Bosnia-Herzegovina: Myth Or Present Danger - Chapter: Myth Or Present Danger? {{cite web|url=http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/specials/al_kaida/16_mit_ili_stvarna_opasnost.htm |title=Al-Kai'da U Bosni I Hercegovini: Mit Ili Stvarna Opasnost? |access-date=2008-10-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012111333/http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/specials/al_kaida/16_mit_ili_stvarna_opasnost.htm |archive-date=2008-10-12 }}</ref>

According to the Radio Free Europe research "Al-Qaeda In Bosnia-Herzegovina: Myth Or Present Danger", Bosnia is no more related to the potential terrorism than any other European country.<ref name="slobodnaevropa.org"/> In 2007, Juan Carlos Antúnez in an analysis of the phenomenon of ] in Bosnia concluded that despite Bosnian Serb and Serbian media inflated and often fictitious reports on risk of terrorism and existence of terrorist cells, the risk of a terrorist attack in Bosnia and Herzegovina 'is not higher than in other parts of the world'.<ref>{{citation |mode=cs1 |author=Juan Carlos Antúnez |title=Wahhabism in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Part One |chapter=5. Wahhabi links to international terrorism |chapter-url=http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2468 |publisher=Bosnian Institute |date=16 September 2008 |access-date=5 February 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723222822/http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2468 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Notable people==
*]–Abu el-Ma'ali (d. 2015), Algerian;
*] (N/A), Moroccan;
*] (1975–2001), Saudi; Al Qaeda member and 9/11 hijacker
*] (b. 1961), Algerian; later guilty on support of terrorism charges in France
*] (N/A), Saudi; later guilty on terrorism charges in Morocco
*] (b. 1974), Pakistani-British; tried in the US
*] (b. 1971), French
*] (b. 1978), Saudi Arabian former al-Qa'ida member and MI6 spy

== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Lebl |first=Leslie S. |title=Islamism and Security in Bosnia-Herzegovina |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute |year=2014 |isbn=978-1584876229 |url=http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1206.pdf#page=21 |pages=21, 26 |access-date=2022-04-01 |archive-date=2017-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302001335/https://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1206.pdf#page=21 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book|last=Deliso|first=Christopher|title=The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7dq8mi0DWkC|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-99525-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Kohlmann|first=Evan|title=Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network|url=https://archive.org/details/alqaidasjihadine0000kohl|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Berg Publishers|isbn=978-1-85973-802-3}}
* {{cite journal|last=Schwartz|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Suleyman Schwartz|year=2004|title=Wahhabism and al-Qaeda in Bosnia-Herzegovina|url=https://jamestown.org/program/wahhabism-and-al-qaeda-in-bosnia-herzegovina-2/|journal=Terrorism Monitor|volume=2|issue=20|publisher=]}}
*Zosak, Stephanie. "Revoking citizenship in the name of counterterrorism: the citizenship review commission violates human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Nw. UJ Int'l Hum. Rts. 8 (2009): 216
* {{cite book|last=Moghadam|first=Assaf|title=The Globalization of Martyrdom: Al Qaeda, Salafi Jihad, and the Diffusion of Suicide Attacks|publisher=JHU Press|year=2011|isbn=9781421400587}}
* {{cite book|last=Shrader|first=Charles R.|title=The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Central Bosnia: A Military History, 1992-1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceXJTw71MC|year=2003|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=978-1-58544-261-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Innes|first=Michael A.|title=Bosnian Security After Dayton: New Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9x9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA157|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-14872-1|pages=157–}}
* {{cite book|last=Farmer|first=Brian R.|title=Radical Islam in the West: Ideology and Challenge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCxV7ERw09oC|year=2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-6210-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Berger|first=J. M.|title=Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam|url=https://archive.org/details/jihadjoeamerican0000berg|url-access=registration|year=2011|publisher=Potomac Books, Inc.|isbn=978-1-59797-693-0|pages=–}}
* {{cite book|last=Curtis|first=Mark|title=Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion with Radical Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfFrZ2_KnnwC|year=2010|publisher=Profile Books|isbn=978-1-84668-763-1}}
* {{cite journal|last=Hegghammer|first=Thomas|year=2011|title=The Rise of Muslim Foreign Fighters: Islam and the Globalization of Jihad|journal=]|volume=35|issue=3|pages=53–94|doi=10.1162/ISEC_a_00023|url=https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/The_Rise_of_Muslim_Foreign_Fighters.pdf|publisher=]|s2cid=40379198}}
* {{cite web |last1=Donnelly |first1=Maria Galperin |last2=Sanderson |first2=Thomas M. |last3=Fellman |first3=Zack |title=Foreign Fighters in History |url=https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/171220_history_foreign_fighter_project.pdf |website=Web Services |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |date=2017}}
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8Xb6x2XYvIC |last=Schindler |first=John R. |title=Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad |location=New York City |publisher=Zenith Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780760330036 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* , by, Evan F. Kohlmann. The paper was presented at a conference held by the Swedish National Defence College's Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies (CATS) in Stockholm in May 2006 at the request of Dr. Magnus Ranstorp - former director of the St. Andrews University Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence - and now Chief Scientist at CATS. It is also the title of a by the same author.
*, ]
* {{cite web |author=International Crisis Group |author-link=International Crisis Group |url=http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/7825~v~Bosnias_Dangerous_Tango__Islam_and_Nationalism.pdf |title=Bosnia's Dangerous Tango: Islam and Nationalism |date=26 February 2013 |access-date=17 April 2015 |ref={{harvid|ICG|2013}} |archive-date=6 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206162929/http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/7825~v~Bosnias_Dangerous_Tango__Islam_and_Nationalism.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*, Vlado Azinovic's research about the alleged presence of Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and the role of Arab fighters in the Bosnian War


== External links ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{in lang|bs}}
*
*, CTY: BiH Army Knew About Mujahedin Crimes, 8 September 2007


{{Yugoslav wars}} {{Yugoslav wars}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosnian Mujahideen}}
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Latest revision as of 15:18, 25 December 2024

Muslim volunteers of 1992–1995 Bosnian War Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Mujahid (disambiguation) and Mujahideen (disambiguation).
Bosnian mujahideen
Active1992–95
Disbanded1995
Country Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Branch Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
TypeInfantry
Sizeestimates vary from 500 to 5,000. Most estimates are in the 1,000-2,000 range (details)
EngagementsBosnian War
Military unit

Bosnian mujahideen (Bosnian: Bosanski mudžahedini), also called El Mudžahid (Arabic: مجاهد, mujāhid), were foreign Muslim volunteers who fought on the Bosnian Muslim side during the 1992–95 Bosnian War. They first arrived in central Bosnia in the latter half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Bosnian Muslim co-religionists in fights against Serb and Croat forces. Initially they mainly came from Arab countries, later from other Muslim-majority countries. Estimates of their numbers vary from 500 to 5,000 with most estimates in the 1,000–2,000 range.

Bosnian War

Further information: Bosnian War and Foreign support in the Bosnian War

In the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. War broke out in Croatia between the Croatian Army and the breakaway Serb Krajina. Meanwhile, the Bosnian Muslims voted for independence. Bosnian Serbs declared an autonomous province, independent of Bosnia, and Bosnian Croats took similar steps. The war broke out in April 1992.

Muslim foreign fighters came to support the Bosnian Muslims and an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina. There were also Islamist organizations and Muslim non-profit organizations and charitable trusts that supported the Bosnian Muslims.

Volunteer mujahideen arrived from all around the world, including Afghanistan, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia (especially around Chechnya and Dagestan), Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Somalia and Yemen. The Bosnian mujahideen were primarily from Iran, Afghanistan and numerous Arab countries.

Foreign mujahideen arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Bosnian Muslim co-religionists to defend themselves from the Serb and Croat forces. Some originally went as humanitarian workers, while some of them were considered criminals in their home countries for illegally travelling to Bosnia and becoming soldiers. On 13 August 1993, the Bosnian government officially organized foreign volunteers into the detachment known as El Mudžahid in order to impose control and order. Initially, the foreign mujahideen gave food and other basic necessities to the local Muslim population, who were deprived of such by the Serb forces. Once hostilities broke out between the Bosnian government and the Croat forces (HVO), the mujahideen also participated in battles against the HVO alongside ARBiH units.

The foreign mujahideen sometimes recruited local young men into the foreign mujahideen units. Accordingly, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) noted that it was sometimes "difficult to distinguish between the two groups". For that reason, the ICTY has used the term "Mujahideen" (which they spell Mujahedin) for both fighters from Arab countries, and also local Muslims who joined the mujahideen units.

The first mujahideen training camp was located in Poljanice next to the village of Mehurici, in the Bila valley, Travnik municipality. The mujahideen group established there included mujahideen from Arab countries as well as some Bosniaks. The mujahideen from Poljanice camp were also established in the towns of Zenica and Travnik and, from the second half of 1993 onwards, in the village of Orasac, also located in the Bila valley.

The military effectiveness of the mujahideen is disputed. However, former U.S. Balkans peace negotiator Richard Holbrooke said in an interview that he thought "the Muslims wouldn't have survived without this" help, as at the time a U.N. arms embargo diminished the Bosnian government's fighting capabilities. In 2001, Holbrooke called the arrival of the mujahideen "a pact with the devil" from which Bosnia still is recovering. On the other hand, according to general Stjepan Šiber, the highest ranking ethnic Croat in the Bosnian Army, the key role in foreign volunteers arrival was played by Tuđman and Croatian counter-intelligence with the aim to justify the involvement of Croatia in the Bosnian War and the crimes committed by Croat forces. Although the Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability.

Size

Estimates of the mujahideen forces size vary. In 2003, Charles R. Shrader reported that HVO general Tihomir Blaškić had estimated 3,000 to 4,000, but the actual figure would probably be closer to 2,000, based on testimonies given in the ICTY trial against Dario Kordić and Mario Čerkez [bs]. In 2004, Evan Kohlmann stated that "the deployment of Arab fighters in Bosnia who were generally loyal to the jihadi leadership in Afghanistan exploded in the mid-1990s into numbers sometimes estimated even to exceed 5,000". Stephen Schwartz stated that "up to 6,000 “Arab Afghan” volunteers arrived in the country and enlisted in combat." In 2011, Thomas Hegghammer estimated the number of foreign Muslim fighters in Bosnia to be 1,000–2,000. In 2013, the International Crisis Group estimated that "between 2,000 and 5,000 fought in BiH." In 2017, a Center for Strategic and International Studies report stated that "figures range from 500–5,000 with a preponderance of estimates in the 1,000–2,000 range", citing Hegghammer for the later estimate.

Relationship to the Bosnian Army

ICTY found that there was one battalion-sized unit called El Mudžahid (El Mujahid). It was established on 13 August 1993, by the Bosnian Army, which decided to form a unit of foreign fighters in order to impose control over them as the number of the foreign volunteers started to increase. The El Mudžahid unit was initially attached to and supplied by the regular Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), even though they often operated independently as a special unit.

According to the ICTY indictment of Rasim Delić, Commander of Main Staff of the Bosnian army (ARBiH), after the formation of the 7th Muslim Brigade on 19 November 1992, the El Mudžahid were subordinated within its structure. According to a UN communiqué of 1995, the El Mudžahid battalion was "directly dependent on Bosnian staff for supplies" and for "directions" during combat with the Serb forces. The issue has formed part of two ICTY war crimes trials against two former senior officials in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of superior criminal responsibility. In its Trial Chamber judgement in the case of ICTY v. Enver Hadžihasanović, commander of the ARBiH 3rd Corps (who was later made part of the joint command of the ARBiH and was the Chief of the Supreme Command Staff), and Amir Kubura, commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade of the 3rd Corps of the ARBiH, the Trial Chamber found that:

the foreign Mujahedin established at Poljanice camp were not officially part of the 3rd Corps or the 7th Brigade of the ARBiH. Accordingly, the Prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the foreign Mujahedin officially joined the ARBiH and that they were de iure subordinated to the Accused Enver Hadžihasanović and Amir Kubura.

It also found that:

there are significant indicia of a subordinate relationship between the Mujahedin and the Accused prior to August 13, 1993. Testimony heard by the Trial Chamber and, in the main, documents tendered into evidence demonstrate that the ARBiH maintained a close relationship with the foreign Mujahedin as soon as these arrived in central Bosnia in 1992. Joint combat operations are one illustration of that. In Karaula and Visoko in 1992, at Mount Zmajevac around mid-April 1993 and in the Bila valley in June 1993, the Mujahedin fought alongside ARBiH units against Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat forces."

However, the ICTY Appeals Chamber in April 2008 concluded that the relationship between the 3rd Corps of the Bosnian Army headed by Hadžihasanović and the El Mudžahid detachment was not one of subordination but was instead close to overt hostility since the only way to control the detachment was to attack them as if they were a distinct enemy force.

After the war

In 1995, veterans of the Bosnian mujahideen established the Active Islamic Youth, regarded the most dangerous of the Islamist groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Citizenship controversy

The foreign mujahideen were required to leave the Balkans under the terms of the 1995 Dayton Agreement, but many stayed. Although the U.S. State Department report suggested that the number could be higher, an unnamed SFOR official said allied military intelligence estimated that no more than 200 foreign-born militants actually lived in Bosnia in 2001, of whom around 30 represented a hard-core group with direct or indirect links to terrorism.

In September 2007, 50 of these individuals had their citizenship status revoked. Since then 100 more individuals have been prevented from claiming citizenship rights. 250 more were under investigation, while the body which is charged with reconsidering the citizenship status of the foreign volunteers in the Bosnian War, including Christian fighters from Russia and Western Europe, states that 1,500 cases will eventually be examined.

War crimes trials

Main articles: Enver Hadžihasanović, Amir Kubura, and Rasim Delić

It was alleged that Bosnian mujahideen participated in war crimes, including the killing, torture and beheading of Serbian and Croat civilians and soldiers. However no indictment was issued by the ICTY against them, but a few Bosnian Army officers were indicted on the basis of command responsibility. Both Amir Kubura and Enver Hadžihasanović (the indicted Bosnian Army officers) were ultimately acquitted on all counts related to the incidents involving the mujahideen. In the judgment, the judges concluded that the Mujahideen were responsible for execution of 4 Croatian civilians in the village of Miletići in April 1993, inhumanely treating POWs and killing one at the Orašac camp in October 1993.

The judgments in the cases of Hadžihasanović and Kabura concerned a number of events involving the mujahideen. On June 8, 1993, Bosnian Army units attacked Maljine, a Croat village. After the village was taken, a military police unit of the 306th Brigade of Bosnian Army arrived there. These policemen were tasked with evacuating and protecting the civilians in the villages taken by the Bosnian Army. The wounded were left on-site and around 200 people, including civilians and Croat soldiers, were taken by the police officers towards Mehurici. The commander of the 306th Brigade authorised the wounded be put onto a truck and transported to Mehurici. The 200 villagers who were being escorted to Mehurici by the 306th Brigade military police were intercepted by a group of mujahideens and a dozen Bosnian Army forces in Poljanice. They took prisoner at least 24 military-aged Croats and a 19 years old Croat girl who was wearing a Red Cross armband. The prisoners were taken to Bikoši, between Maljine and Mehurici. All these prisoners including the 19 years old girl were executed in Bikoši while they were being held prisoner.

In the ICTY judgment during the trial of Rasim Delić, the judges concluded that the prosecution had proven that more than 50 Serbs captured during the Battle for Vozuća had been killed in the Kamenica camp by the Mujahideen. Though the judges agreed Delić had effective control over the El Mujahideen unit, he was acquitted from responsibility since ICTY concluded he did not possess enough information to stop them. He was also acquitted from the charge of not saving 24 imprisoned Croat POWs and 19 years old Croat girl Ana Pranješ from being executed by the Mujahideen since the prosecution could not prove he had already assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the ARBiH to which he had been appointed on the same day. The judges concluded that the prosecution had proven that the Mujahideen from July to August 1995 had treated 12 Serbian POWs detained first in the village of Livada and then the Kamenica camp, inhumanely and had killed three of them. Delić was sentenced to three years in prison for not stopping it.

In 2015, former Human Rights Minister and Vice President of BiH Federation Mirsad Kebo talked about numerous war crimes committed against Serbs by mujahideen in Bosnia and their links with current and past Muslim officials including former and current presidents of federation and presidents of parliament based on war diaries and other documented evidence. He gave evidence to the BiH federal prosecutor. Kebo also accused Šefik Džaferović who at that time was a police commander of Zenica, and others, of deliberately hiding the war crimes. The SDA party denounced his accusations as "lies and cheap fabrications." The prosecutors investigating Džaferović decided to drop the investigation after examining documents sent by Kebo.

An Iraqi mujahideen Abduladhim Maktouf was convicted of helping his compatriots to abduct Croat civilians of Travnik in 1993. He was ultimately given a prison term of three years.

In 2016, former Bosnian Army Third Corps commander Sakib Mahmuljin was put on trial for having failed to prevent the murders and torture of Bosnian Serbs by members of the Mujahideen unit in the Vozuća and Zavidovići areas. According to the indictment, 50 Serb prisoners of war were killed and several were decapitated. He was sentenced to 10 years in first instance in January 2021.

Links to Al-Qaeda and ISIS

US intelligence and phone calls intercepted by the Bosnian government show communication between Al-Qaeda commanders and Bosnian mujahideen. Several of the mujahideen were connected to Al-Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden sent resources to the Bosnian mujahideen. Two of the five 9/11 hijackers, childhood friends Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, had been Bosnian mujahideen. Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, a senior leader of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, had fought in Bosnia in 1995. Bosnian Salafi leader and mujahideen veteran Bilal Bosnić was in 2015 sentenced to seven years in prison for public incitement to terrorist activities, recruitment of terrorists to fight with ISIS in Syria.

In a 2005 interview with U.S. journalist Jim Lehrer, Richard Holbrooke said:

There were over 1,000 people in the country who belonged to what we then called Mujahideen freedom fighters. We now know that that was al-Qaida. I'd never heard the word before, but we knew who they were. And if you look at the 9/11 hijackers, several of those hijackers were trained or fought in Bosnia. We cleaned them out, and they had to move much further east into Afghanistan. So if it hadn't been for Dayton, we would have been fighting the terrorists deep in the ravines and caves of Central Bosnia in the heart of Europe.

Evan Kohlmann wrote: "Some of the most important factors behind the contemporary radicalization of European Muslim youth can be found in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the cream of the Arab mujahideen from Afghanistan tested their battle skills in the post-Soviet era and mobilized a new generation of pan-Islamic revolutionaries". He also noted that Serbian and Croatian sources about the subject are "pure propaganda" based on their historical hatred for Bosniaks "as Muslim aliens in the heart of Christian lands".

According to the Radio Free Europe research "Al-Qaeda In Bosnia-Herzegovina: Myth Or Present Danger", Bosnia is no more related to the potential terrorism than any other European country. In 2007, Juan Carlos Antúnez in an analysis of the phenomenon of Wahhabism in Bosnia concluded that despite Bosnian Serb and Serbian media inflated and often fictitious reports on risk of terrorism and existence of terrorist cells, the risk of a terrorist attack in Bosnia and Herzegovina 'is not higher than in other parts of the world'.

Notable people

See also

References

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