Derunta training camp

Image of the camp that ran with CNN

The Derunta training camp (also transliterated as Darunta) was one of the most well-known of many military training camps that have been alleged to have been affiliated with al Qaeda.

Training with poisons

CNN published a story in which they claimed to have acquired videotapes showing al Qaeda experiments poisoning dogs with chemical weapons, at Derunta.^[1]

Location

It was fifteen miles from Jalalabad,^[2] just north of the village of Darūntah across the dam (coordinates: 34° 28' 44" North, 70° 21' 44" East). The CIA provided intelligence, pinpointing Osama bin Laden's presence, that enabled Northern Alliance allies to bombard him in at the Derunta camp in 1999.^[3] The documents from some Guantanamo captives, such as Abbas Habid Rumi Al Naely, state that the Khalden training camp was also located in Darwanta.^[4]

Administration

Some sources claim the director of the camp was Midhat Mursi.^[5]

Dispute over whether Derunta was an al Qaeda camp

During his Administrative Review Board Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy acknowledged attending the Derunta camp, but he disputed that it was affiliated wi al Qaeda.^[6][7] He asserted that the Derunta camp was a non-al Qaeda camp, that dated back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, that it was originally run by the Hezbi Islami, and that after his attendance there the Derunta camp was one of the many non-al Qaeda camps that Taliban shut down at al Qaeda's request. Other Guantanamo captives have reported that the similarly well-known Khalden training camp was not an al-Qaeda camp, and was shut down in 2000, at Osama bin Laden's request.

Alleged attendees

References

1. ^ Disturbing scenes of death show capability with chemical gas, CNN, August 19 2002
2. ^ Al-Qaeda's trail of terror, The Guardian, November 18 2001
3. ^ Flawed Ally Was Hunt's Best Hope: Afghan Guerrilla, U.S. Shared Enemy, Washington Post, February 23 2004
4. ^ Summary of Evidence memo (.pdf) prepared for Abbas Habid Rumi Al Naely's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - October 25 2004 - page 65
5. ^ WANTED: Midhat Mursi al-Sayid 'Umar - Up to $5 Million Reward. Rewards for Justice
6. ^ ^{a b} Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 34-42
7. ^ ^{a b} Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Abdul Bin Mohammed Bin Abess Ourgy Administrative Review Board, May 2 2005 - page 48
8. ^ Al-Qaeda - a meaningless label, The Guardian, January 12 2003
9. ^ Moderately Deadly: Yassin’s long history of terror, National Review, March 26 2004
10. ^ An Al Qaeda 'Chemist' and the Quest for Ricin, Middle East Info, May 5 2004
11. ^ Jihadist or Victim: Ex-Detainee Makes a Case, The New York Times, June 15 2006
12. ^ ^{a b} Summary of Evidence (.pdf) prepared for Hisham Sliti's Combatant Status Review Tribunals - November 19 2004 - page 62
13. ^ ^{a b} Summary of Evidence (.pdf) prepared for Abdul Haddi Bin Hadiddi's Combatant Status Review Tribunals - October 13 2004 - page 53
14. ^ Summary of Evidence memo (.pdf) prepared for Riyad Bil Mohammed Tahir Nasseri's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - October 21 2004 page 148
15. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Saed Khatem Al Malki's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 180
16. ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Riyad Bil Mohammed Tahir Nasseri Administrative Review Board, April 27 2005 - page 5
17. ^ Abuse testimony (.pdf), from Sada Jan's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - page 2

Coordinates: 34°28′44″N 70°21′44″E / 34.47889, 70.36222