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The 7th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 3rd Corps (Bosnian: Sedma muslimanska brigada - El Mudžahid) was a brigade of Islamic Mujahideen volunteers that included as its core El Mujahid - foreign Arab and other fighters from various Islamic countries that fought during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. The membership of the brigade peaked at around 6,000 fighters in 1995 and was a part of the 3rd (Zenica) corps of the Bosnian Army. The 7th Muslim Brigade was led by Amir Kubura who was found guilty of war crimes by International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2006.

During the Yugoslav wars, Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) forces received financial and military aid from Islamic countries, as well as from the West. This military aid was partially sent in the form of experienced mujahideen troops. Organized in special units like El Mujahid, they were known for their brutality and highly experienced troops mostly from the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Bosniak recruits were trained by fighters from Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

A certain number of these mujahideen fighters stayed in Bosnia when the war ended. They attained Bosnian citizenship, and are now living in several villages throughout Bosnia, where life is organized according to Sharia law. It is known that those who remained are concentrated around the cities of Zenica, Maglaj and Bocinja and in villages near Brčko. An unknown number of Mujahideen fighters from Bosnia later joined the ranks of KLA in its fight against Serbian authorities in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo.

They committed various crimes against Serb and Croat civilians. Brigadier Amir Kubura, the brigade commander, was found guilty of failure to prevent or punish the plunder of property in the villages of Šusanj, Ovnak, Brajkovići and Grahovčići in June 1993 and in Vareš in November of the same year. He received 30 month sentence.

There were two other Mujahideen units operating in Bosnia: the 9th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 2nd Corps, headquartered in Travnik; and the 4th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 4th Corps, headquartered in Konjic.

See also

• Hasan Čengić

Notes

1. ^ US Senate, Republican Policy Committee, January 16, 1997: Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base Cite error: The named reference "senate" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. The Wall Street Journal Europe, November 01, 2001: Al Qaeda's Balkan Links (hosted on Balkanpeace.org)
3. ICTY: Summary of the judgement for Enver Hadžihasanović and Amir Kubura
4. bbc.co.uk, Tuesday, 18 July, 2000: Mujahideen fight Bosnia evictions
5. The Washington Post, March 11, 2000: A Bosnian Village's Terrorist Ties (hosted on highbeam.com)
6. SENSE Tribunal article

External links

• Sky News: Mujahideen who settled in BiH
• "'Brutal crimes' of Bosnia Muslims" BBC News, 2 December, 2003.
• "A Bosnian Village's Terrorist Ties; Links to U.S. Bomb Plot Arouse Concern About Enclave of Islamic Guerrillas" by Jeffrey Smith, The Washington Post, March 11, 2000.
• "Bin Laden´s Balkan Connections " by Scott Taylor, The Ottawa Citizen, December 16, 2001.
• "Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base" by Sen. Larry Craig, United States Senate Republican Policy Committee, January 16, 1997.
• "Mujahideen fight Bosnia evictions" by Alix Kroeger, BBC News, 18 July, 2000.
• "Al Qaeda´s Balkan Links" by Marcia Christoff Kurop, The Wall Street Journal Europe, November 1, 2001.
• "Osama bin Laden: The Balkan Connection" by Srdja Trifkovic, The Chronicles, December 2001.

• Military of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Expatriate units and formations
• Islamist groups
• Islamic organizations
• Jihadist organizations
• Bosnian War