Bujar Behrami, alias Abu Musab El-Albani – one of six Kosovo nationals indicted for terrorism by the Kosovo Prosecution last Saturday – has been the only one to tell investigators so far about the group’s alleged plans to bomb Orthodox churches and clubs in Serb-majority areas, and recruit suicide bombers in Kosovo.

His statement made to police, earlier in September 2018, reveals details about the group’s modus operandi, finances, recruitment and explosives procurement.

Behrami, Resim Kastrati, known as PC Habibi, Gramos Shabani, Albert Ademaj, Leotrim Musliu and Edona Haliti are all indicted with planning attacks and suicide bombings in Kosovo, France and Belgium from December 2017 to June 2018.

Behrami stated that everything began in September and October 2016 when, through his Telegram account “Abu Musab”, he started communicating with a person known as “A1” in Syria.

Graphics: BIRN

“We talked about attacks using Kalashnikovs or explosives and had not yet decided about the target, but I asked A1 to connect me with Rdvan Haqifi [an Albanian ISIS commander] … and after I was connected to Haqifi we agreed that would be good to attack the Israelis at the [football] match planned for later that year,” Behrami is said to have stated.

Behrami said the attack plan was to use a drone against the fans of the Israeli team and after that to continue with Kalashnikov rifles.

“I presented this idea to Haqifi and he told me that we should look at the possibility through Lavdrim [Muhaxheri] and should work with people who were ready to be recruited,” the indictment quotes Behrami as saying.

Muhaxheri, originally from Kacanik in Kosovo, was the infamous leader of Kosovo Albanian foreign fighters for ISIS.

He was reportedly killed by a US drone strike in Syria in June 2017. He became internationally notorious in 2014 after pictures of him beheading a young man were made public.

Behrami added that while he presented his ideas to Muhaxheri, ISIS intelligence had helped with the money side of things.

“I presented my idea about ensuring the money and the attack against Israeli fans and players to Lavdrim, A1 and Haqifi who ensured the money from Abu Ahme, head of ISIS intelligence,” Behrami told the authorities.

Graphics: BIRN

Behrami explained that the attack was to be carried by three groups, each with three or four persons, while noting that he would not be one of the persons taking part.

“I just gave the idea, while Ridvan, Lavdrim and A1 found the people and the money to carry out the attack,” he said.

He added that the communication with Muhaxheri and Aqifi continued until 2017 when they were killed, after which he was communicating with others, “A2” and “A3”, again via Telegram.

Talking about the plans to attack Serbian churches, Behrami told the authorities that he had initially checked the locations and done some research on the net on poisons and explosives.

“I mostly searched on Wikipedia and Google where, after finding the explosives TNT, C4, RDX, TATP and the poisons Sarin, Tabun, Somat and Clorin, I sent it to A2 and A3,” adding that A3 then went to Albania to find them.

He explained that they were able to find the right explosives in Albania for about 1,000 euros per 1 kg, albeit with some difficulty.

“[A3] had difficulties to find the poisons even though they met a senior military man about it,” he said.

Behrami asked A2 to also find people who were ready to sacrifice themselves by wearing explosive vests, and A2 then went to Mitrovica, Gjilan/Gnjilane and Albania looking for such people – but could not find any.

As a result, the planned attacks on Orthodox Christmas in Gracanica, Mitrovica, Peje/Pec and Prizren were postponed for another Serbian holiday in June, on St Vitus Day, or “Vidovdan”.

“This idea was mine … but I started to withdraw from it because Abu Ahmed wanted an attack similar to the [large-scale anti-Serbian] riots of March 2004 but I demanded that the attack be smaller,” Behrami stated.

According to Behrami, all the plans were financed by Abu Ahmed through A4 while the money was to be sent from former Soviet countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as from Russia.

The five other indictees have denied the charges made by the Prosecution.

Gramoz Shabani, who allegedly planned attacks in Belgium and France, when faced with an audio recording, stated that it was just a “game” that took place during a conversation with his wife.

Read more:

Kosovo Indicts Six For Planning Terrorist Attacks

Kosovo Arrests 19 Suspected of Terror Attacks

ISIS in the Balkans