Declassified CIA docs show bin Laden eyed India for attacks before 9/11

Declassified CIA documents released on September 11, 2026, reveal that Osama bin Laden was considering attacks in India and several other countries years before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The release, marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, includes over 100 pages of material from dozens of intelligence briefs prepared for former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. A presidential daily brief dated August 28, 1998, titled "Bin Laden terrorist network still a threat," listed India among countries where bin Laden intended to conduct attacks. The brief stated bin Laden intended to attack Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, especially Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, India, Pakistan, Uganda, and possibly Nigeria. The document did not identify a specific target in India, an intended date, or details of an operational plan. The source of the intelligence was redacted. The 1998 brief assessed that bin Laden and other terrorist leaders based in Afghanistan had survived recent U.S. missile strikes and that their communications network remained intact. Training had resumed at some camps, while others were being relocated. The assessment came shortly after the U.S.