India was on bin Laden's target list before 9/11, CIA documents reveal

A previously classified 1998 CIA assessment indicated that Osama bin Laden harbored plans to conduct terrorist operations in India along with numerous other countries, according to documents that have since been made public.

While the intelligence report did not specify particular targets within India or provide details of attack timelines, it documented bin Laden's broader strategic intentions to strike multiple nations. The CIA assessment also noted that bin Laden was actively exploring options to target the United States and Britain, demonstrating the global scope of his militant ambitions.

The agency's analysis highlighted the extensive reach of bin Laden's terror network, which by that time had established operational cells and support structures across more than 60 countries worldwide. The 1998 report represented the U.S. intelligence community's understanding of al-Qaeda's organizational capacity and geographic footprint during the late 1990s, years before the September 11, 2001 attacks on American soil.

The disclosure of these documents provides historical context to India's own long-standing concerns about international terrorism and al-Qaeda's transnational operational planning. India has faced repeated terrorist threats and attacks linked to extremist networks over the past two decades.