Afghan training camp

An Afghan training camp is a camp or facility used for militant training located in pre-2002 Afghanistan. At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Indian intelligence officials estimated that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of militant groups.^[1]

In 2002 Journalists with the New York Times examined the sites of several former training camps, finding 5,000 documents.^[2] According to the New York Times:

The documents show that the training camps, which the Bush administration has described as factories churning out terrorists, were instead focused largely on creating an army to support the Taliban, which was waging a long ground war against the Northern Alliance.

On July 25, 2007, scholars at the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy published a study that named over two dozen training camps allegedly attended by Guantanamo captives.^[3]

List of Afghan training camps

Khalden	Was open from at least the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, until 2000, when the Taliban movement shut it down.[4]
al Farouq	More Guantanamo captives are alleged to have attended this camp than any other camp. Training lasted for approximately one month. Different Guantanamo captives are alleged to have been trained on a different mix of weapons at al Farouq. If al Farouq provided training on every weapon American intelligence analysts allege is available there then it would provide training on practically every weapon found on the modern battlefield.
Derunta	Alleged to have provided bomb-making training.
Tarnak Farms	One of Osama bin Laden's homes.[5][6][7][8] Converted into a coalition training facility.

References

1. Bindra, Satinder (2001-09-19). "India identifies terrorist training camps". CNN. Sources told CNN that more than 120 camps are operating in the two countries. mirror
2. David Rohde, C. J. Chivers (2002-03-17). "Qaeda's Grocery Lists And Manuals of Killing". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
3. Felter, Joseph; Brachman, Jarret (July 25, 2007). "CTC Report: An Assessment of 516 Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) Unclassified Summaries" (PDF). Combating Terrorism Center.
4. Brynjar Lia, Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus'ab al-Suri pg. 242–243, Columbia University Press, 2008
5. "Missed opportunities: The CIA had pictures. Why wasn’t the al-Qaida leader captured or killed?". MSNBC. March 17, 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
6. "Watch the video: Osama Bin Laden's HQ". London: The Times. October 1, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
7. "Focus: Chilling message of the 9/11 pilots". London: The Times. October 1, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
8. Steve Coll (February 21, 2004). "Legal Disputes Over Hunt Paralyzed Clinton's Aides". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-12-30.