Osama bin Laden Biography

Birth of Osama bin Laden

Maktab al-Khidamat is established by Abdullah Azzam and Bin Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan

Maktab al-Khidamat is established by Abdullah Azzam and Bin Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan

Al-Qaeda begins to set up a network of recruiting offices in the United States, the hub of which is the Al Kifah Refugee Center at the Farouq Mosque in Brooklyns Atlantic Avenue

Azzam and bin Laden start creating camps inside Afghanistan

Formed to take up the jihadist cause after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. Formed during meeting between "several senior leaders" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abdullah Azzam, and Osama bin Laden, where it was agreed to join bin Ladens money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organisation

Formed during meeting between "several senior leaders" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abdullah Azzam, and Osama bin Laden, where it was agreed to join bin Ladens money with the expertise of the Islamic Jihad organisation

Bin Laden offers the services of his mujahideen to King Fahd to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army, the Saudi monarch refuses bin Ladens offer, opting instead to allow US and allied forces to deploy troops into Saudi territory

After speaking publicly against the Saudi Government for harboring American troops, he was banished and forced to live in exile in Sudan

Bin Laden offers the services of his mujahideen to King Fahd to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army, the Saudi monarch refuses bin Ladens offer, opting instead to allow US and allied forces to deploy troops into Saudi territory

Saudi leaders instead accept protection from international coalition forces.

Sudan becomes alQaedas base for business operations and preparations for jihad, from here a number of attacks on Western targets are alleged to have been organised or supported. A bomb explodes at the World Trade Center

Al-Qaedas involvement is unclear but some analysts believe after the attack the group seeks out the plotter Ramzi Yousef and offers him money, Yousef later serves a life sentence for the attack. A bomb explodes at the World Trade Center

The Al-Qaeda move to Sudan follows an Islamist coup in Sudan, led by Colonel Omar al-Bashir, who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values

The Al-Qaeda move to Sudan follows an Islamist coup in Sudan, led by Colonel Omar al-Bashir, who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values

The Al-Qaeda move to Sudan follows an Islamist coup in Sudan, led by Colonel Omar al-Bashir, who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values. From around 1992 to 1996, al-Qaeda and bin Laden based themselves in Sudan at the invitation of Islamist theoretician Hassan al Turabi

The Al-Qaeda move to Sudan follows an Islamist coup in Sudan, led by Colonel Omar al-Bashir, who professed a commitment to reordering Muslim political values. From around 1992 to 1996, al-Qaeda and bin Laden based themselves in Sudan at the invitation of Islamist theoretician Hassan al Turabi

A key turning point for bin Laden, further pitting him against the Sauds, occurred in 1993 when Saudi Arabia gave support for the Oslo Accords which set a path for peace between Israel and Palestinians

Saudi support for the Oslo process contributes to bin Laden's hostility toward the Saudi monarchy

A key turning point for bin Laden, further pitting him against the Sauds, occurred in 1993 when Saudi Arabia gave support for the Oslo Accords which set a path for peace between Israel and Palestinians

Bin Laden views Saudi support for the Oslo Accords as evidence of unacceptable compromise with Israel

Members of a Somali militia shoot down two Black Hawk helicopters, the US believes that Al-Qaeda fighters helped train those responsible for the incident in which 18 American servicemen were killed

Due to bin Ladens continuous verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, on 5 March 1994 Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Ladens passport; bin Ladens Saudi citizenship was also revoked

Due to bin Ladens continuous verbal assault on King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, on 5 March 1994 Fahd sent an emissary to Sudan demanding bin Ladens passport; bin Ladens Saudi citizenship was also revoked

An attempt to assassinate Egyptian president Mubarak led to the expulsion of bin Laden, by the Sudanese Government

Osama bin Laden had lived in Afghanistan along with other members of al-Qaeda, operating terrorist training camps in a loose alliance with the Taliban

Bin Laden issues a fatwa against the United States of America and its allies

Bin Laden issues a fatwa against the United States of America and its allies. Al-Qaeda announceds its Jihad to expel foreign troops and interests from Islamic lands

Al-Qaeda announceds its Jihad to expel foreign troops and interests from Islamic lands

Bin Laden issues a fatwa against the United States of America and its allies. Al-Qaeda announceds its Jihad to expel foreign troops and interests from Islamic lands

Al-Qaeda announceds its Jihad to expel foreign troops and interests from Islamic lands

Bin Laden leaves Sudan and returns to Afghanistan

A bomb rips through a US military housing complex near Dhahran Saudi Arabia killing 19 Americans

Bin Laden issues fatwa calling for attacks on US citizens

US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed

US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed

The US retaliates against the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania with air strikes against alleged training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan

Two suicide attackers ram a boat carrying explosives into the USS Cole in Aden port killing 17 American sailors

Two suicide attackers ram a boat carrying explosives into the USS Cole in Aden port killing 17 American sailors

Two suicide attackers ram a boat carrying explosives into the USS Cole in Aden port killing 17 American sailors

Letters containing anthrax are sent to the US Senate

Al-Qaeda hijack aeroplanes & destroy the Twin Towers, nearly 3,000 are killed

Al-Qaeda hijack aeroplanes & destroy the Twin Towers, nearly 3,000 are killed

Al-Qaeda hijack aeroplanes & destroy the Twin Towers, nearly 3,000 are killed

The officially-stated purpose of the invasion is to target al-Qaeda members, and to punish the Taliban Government in Afghanistan which had provided support and haven to al-Qaeda

The officially-stated purpose of the invasion is to target al-Qaeda members, and to punish the Taliban Government in Afghanistan which had provided support and haven to al-Qaeda

The officially-stated purpose of the invasion is to target al-Qaeda members, and to punish the Taliban Government in Afghanistan which had provided support and haven to al-Qaeda

American and British forces begin an aerial bombing campaign targeting Taliban forces and al-Qaeda, strikes were reported in the capital, Kabul

American and British forces begin an aerial bombing campaign targeting Taliban forces and al-Qaeda, strikes were reported in the capital, Kabul

A French citizen of Moroccan origin is charged with conspiring with Osama Bin Laden and other suspects to kill thousands of Americans in the 11 September attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui is detained in the US on immigration charges

A French citizen of Moroccan origin is charged with conspiring with Osama Bin Laden and other suspects to kill thousands of Americans in the 11 September attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui is detained in the US on immigration charges

The United Nations Security Council had issued Resolution 1333 directed towards the Taliban demanding that the Taliban turn over bin Laden to the United States or a third country

The United Nations Security Council had issued Resolution 1333 directed towards the Taliban demanding that the Taliban turn over bin Laden to the United States or a third country

The United Nations Security Council had issued Resolution 1333 directed towards the Taliban demanding that the Taliban turn over bin Laden to the United States or a third country

Arrested on a flight from Paris to Miami after trying to blow up the plane with explosives hidden in his shoes, during his trial in the US Richard Reid pledges allegiance to Osama Bin Laden

Abu Zubaydah believed to have served as Osama Bin Ladens field commander and chief recruiter is captured during a raid on a house in Pakistan

Two bombs rip through a nightclub area in the Balinese town of Kuta killing 202 people most of them foreign tourists, Indonesian authorities believe the attacksare carried out by the South East Asian network Jemaah Islamiah, linked to Al-Qaeda

Two bombs rip through a nightclub area in the Balinese town of Kuta killing 202 people most of them foreign tourists, Indonesian authorities believe the attacksare carried out by the South East Asian network Jemaah Islamiah, linked to Al-Qaeda

A fuel tanker is blown up outside a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba killing 19 people including 14 German tourists, an al Qaeda spokesman later says the organisation is behind the suicide attack

Two bombs rip through a nightclub area in the Balinese town of Kuta killing 202 people most of them foreign tourists, Indonesian authorities believe the attacksare carried out by the South East Asian network Jemaah Islamiah, linked to Al-Qaeda

Two bombs rip through a nightclub area in the Balinese town of Kuta killing 202 people most of them foreign tourists, Indonesian authorities believe the attacksare carried out by the South East Asian network Jemaah Islamiah, linked to Al-Qaeda

A fuel tanker is blown up outside a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba killing 19 people including 14 German tourists, an al Qaeda spokesman later says the organisation is behind the suicide attack

A bin Laden broadcast by al-Jazeera says, "we will fight for our brothers in Iraq"

Shortly before the US presidential election, in a taped statement, bin Laden publicly acknowledged al-Qaedas involvement in the attacks on the US, and admitted his direct link to the attacks. Says the attacks were carried out because "we are a free people who do not accept injustice, and we want to regain the freedom of our nation"

Six suspected Al-Qaeda militants are charged in connection with the attack by a Yemeni court

Shortly before the US presidential election, in a taped statement, bin Laden publicly acknowledged al-Qaedas involvement in the attacks on the US, and admitted his direct link to the attacks

In an audiotape posted on a website that the US claims is "frequently used by al-Qaeda", bin Laden says he had personally directed the 19 hijackers

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the US is formed by the US Government, called the 9/11 Commission, concludes the attacks were planned & carried out by al-Qaeda