Special Analysis: Iraq, al-Qaeda & Unit 999

by Dan Darling at October 13, 2003 2:00 AM

In previous analyses, I have noted the various ties between al-Qaeda and the former Iraqi government. However, I also periodically review my material to see if I can draw any new conclusions from the evidence at hand. As such, when I came across this news story dealing with Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda, I noticed this paragraph in particular:

The O'Neill lawsuit also cites an account of al-Qaida training from a former member of the Saddam Fedayeen, a special Iraqi paramilitary unit.

"A trainer at Unit 999, Abu Mohammed, who had escaped Iraq, confirmed that such training was under way on how to lay bombs and how to use chemical and biological weapons in operations in the Middle East and West. Unit 999 ran a course for a number of extremist Middle Eastern groups, including al-Qaida," the suit states.


That got me thinking about Unit 999 and as a result I decided to look more into it, relying on the the FAS description of the Iraqi al-Istikhbarat al-Askariyyah or Military Intelligence, of which Unit 999 was a part of. I found this:

"Unit 999: This "deep penetration" unit, responsible for domestic and international clandestine operations, is headquartered at the army base at Salman Pak southeast of Baghdad. Unit 999 activities have included infiltratration of opposition militias in the Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq, a planned effort by the unit to kidnap the US commander General Schwarzkopf from Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, and sabotage attacks on Iranian oil installations in the 1990s."

Initially Unit 999 had five battalions of 300 men apiece, and more recently another battalion was formed to counter Iraqi opposition groups.

  • 1st "Persian" Battalion [Iran]
  • 2nd "Saudi Arabia" Battalion
  • 3rd "Palestine" Battalion [Israel]
  • 4th "Turkish" Battalion;
  • 5th "Marine" Battalion [sea-borne operations, mine warfare, etc]
  • "Opposition" battalion

In 1994, following the founding of the Iraqi National Congress [INC] opposition group, the Istikhabarat was assigned the role in monitoring and countering the opposition to the Saddam regime. The "Opposition" includes comprises sections dealing with Kurds in the north and Shias in the marshes of the south.

Most of these battalions can be linked up with known Iraqi-sponsored terrorist groups:

  • Persian = Mujahideen-e-Khalq
  • Palestine = Palestine Liberation Front/Abu Nidal Organization
  • Turkish = PKK/KADEK

That accounts for all of the groups of foreign terrorists except one: the Saudis. What Saudi terrorist group was training at Salman Pak? Well, according to the testimony of an Iraqi lieutenant general and Sabah Khodada, I think that we can draw a fairly straightforward conclusion.

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