U.S. SAMs Sent by Bosnian Islamists to Iraqi Insurgents

Bosnian, Macedonian Sources Report Movement of US Stinger SAMs from Islamists, Possibly for Iraq
Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis - March 5, 2005 Saturday

Exclusive. From GIS Station Sarajevo. A highly-reliable long-term source within the Bosnian Islamist movement has told GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs that, in late February 2005, a five-ton IVECO truck was loaded with 38 to 50 US-made General Dynamics (now Raytheon) FIM-92 Stinger MANPAD missile systems, apparently for sale to Middle Eastern buyers. The sources said that there were "several groups of buyers from Middle East".

The source said that he was not aware how the weapons were brought to Bosnia, but believed that they had been provided by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to Bosnian Muslim fighters during the Bosnia-Herzegovina civil war in the early 1990s. The source said that there were apparently more Stingers which were available to be transferred, as with the original truckload, from Bosnia (Tuzla and Vlasenica) to Macedonia. By March 3, 2005, according to the source, the truck-load of weapons was in Macedonia, and other GIS sources were attempting to track the vehicle's movements.

Sources in Serbia, who had been tracking the shipment, said that they understood that the weapons were to be transferred to Iraq, but that there were clearly enough in the area, apart from the initial truckload, to be used "in the area". Clearly, there was concern that the weapons were available to be used in the event of a breakdown of the peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina, or in the event of conflict if Kosovo attempted to declare sovereignty from Serbia later in 2005.

Another source told GIS that a man identified as Osman Selimbasic was seeking, around the Balkans, to buy Russian-built SA-7 Strela -2 MANPADs.

Bosnian Muslim sources have told GIS over the past decade that many weapons provided by the US and other foreign supporters remained in hiding in Bosnia-Herzegovina, usually in old mining tunnels.

Regional intelligence sources have alleged to GIS that one companies dealing in weapons in the area had been identified by the name "Meshe", located in Zenica in Bosnia. The owner of the company was given as Hakan Bogoculu, a citizen of Armenia, but who also possesses a Turkish passport. The company, according to the sources, was dealing with export/import and and one of its employees, Edo Sisic, of Zenica, was reportedly working with the owner of the company in the illicit trafficking of weapons and drugs. The company's legal business is in the trade in fruit and vegetables, which are transported from Turkey with the trucks, at least one of which was equipped with the number plate TR 34 Istanbul. All the trucks have the sign of European Union painted on them, and drugs were allegedly being hidden in fruit and vegetables. With same trucks, wood and timber were being exported, and weapons were hidden and transfer to Macedonia and Turkey.

The source also said that members of Muslim Police in Zenica had themselves transferred and hidden a large quantity of weapons in one weekend [date not given], at a place called Puhovac hill, near Zenica. All the weapons were stored in the weekend house of Mehmed Pasalic. As well, in the weekend house of Munever Bajramovic, who was one of the chiefs of Police in Zenica, and near the house of Mehmed Pasalic, were allegedly stored a large quantity of weapons, including manportable rockets, including RPGs. Muzafira Hukic, a policeman, helped in transferring and hiding the weapons. All action of hiding the weapons was done with the knowledge of Asim Saranovic who at that time was chief of criminal police in Zenica and was later the Minister of Internal Affairs of Zenica-Doboj canton.