Kosovo SHIK, Directly Linked With Albanian
SHIK Intelligence Organization, Prepares for "Big Push" For Kosovo Independence
Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis - January 16, 2006 Monday
Exclusive. From GIS Station South-East Europe. One of Albania's most radical
supporters of jihadist terrorism, the former director of the Albanian
Intelligence Agency, SHIK, Bashkim Gazidede, returned with his family to Albania
on December 10, 2005, from Turkey, via the Turkish airline, THY.
Gazidede served the Albanian Intelligence Agency from 1992 to 1997 with the full
support of then-Pres. Sali Berisha. In 1997 he was the commander in the
headquarters for the restraint of the 1997 events held in southern Albania.
Gazidede left from Albania two days after the June 1997 elections and until 2001
was fugitive, charged with crimes against humanity during the 1997 events. Today
he has been exempted from the charges.
Gazidede is considered to be an extreme fundamentalist, and, based on reliable
information provided to GIS, he retains close relations with extreme Islamists
and with members of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida . He
supports the Islamists in the Balkans and he is the main organizer for the
transportation of volunteer Islamist Albanians to join the Chechnya terrorists.
He had twice, in 1996, brought Osama bin Laden to Albania and Kosovo. Bashkim
Gazidede had also proposed for the admission of Albania in the Islamic
Conference.
Gazidede left Turkey on December 10, 2005, the same day that US Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert S. Mueller visited Ankara, and two days
before, on December 12, 2005, US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director
Porter Goss visited Turkey.
According to information retrieved from the Information Agency of the Kosovo
Force (KFOR) and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) during the past
months, Albanians politicians have provided strategically significant "alerts"
-- briefs -- to their illegal Intelligence agencies. The alerts not only
concerned the gathering of information on KFOR and the Serbian Security Forces;
they also provided tasking to the services to intimidate the Serbian population
in Kosovo and to further expel them from the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.
For that reason, the movement which created "Greater Albania" has also founded
an illegal intelligence and security agency in Kosovo, called SHIK -- the same
name as with the Albanian Intelligence Agency -- which is concerned with
security issues. It was created by Hasim Thaci. Apart from Hasim Thaci, Xhavit
Haliti and Kadri Veseli took part in creating SHIK and both are members of the
main national Albanian Intelligence Agency. According to information retrieved
by the Information Agency of UNMIK, Xhavit Haliti is the mastermind of the new
Kosovo SHIK and he controls events behind the scenes. Hasim Thaci is the
director of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and he was the former director
of KLA.
Kosovo's SHIK is supported by the political parties that control organized
crime. These are the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of Thaci, the Alliance for
the Kosovo Future (AAK) of Haradinaj, the People's Movement for Kosovo and the
Movement for the Liberalization of Kosovo.
The headquarters of the "Governmental Intelligence Agency of Kosovo" is in
Pristina, and is called the "Central Command". Moreover, many branch offices
operate throughout the province and these are called regional branches. The
director of the Central Command is Kadri Veseli, who comes from Kosovska
Mitrovica and he is known as "Ljulji". In his absence, Hiljmi Recica is acting
as deputy, and he is known as "Petriti".
Central Command consists of the following departments: the Technical and
Interception Department, which deals with the interception of cell phones; the
Intelligence Department; and the Internal Security Department, which controls
the agents.
According to information retrieved from the Information Agency of UNMIK, the
main members of SHIK in Kosovo are Xhavit Haliti, Rexhep Selimi, Sabit Geci and
Ljatif Gasi. In the headquarters of SHIK in Kosovo, there are approximately 60
personnel, working in three different departments. The first department is
responsible for organized crime. Their aim is to expel criminal groups which
compete with those of the Kosovo Albanian leadership (ie: essentially, the KLA).
The second department is working on "anti-terrorism" issues and it mainly
focuses on the Serbian organizations and non-Albanian intelligent agencies in
Kosovo. The third department is responsible for counter-surveillance issues and
intelligence, focusing on the gathering of information before the international
organizations in Kosovo do. Also, SHIK pays 650 to 700 people for information
services.
SHIK used as a cover the private company KOBRA; however, KOBRA was forced to
close by the decision made by the United Nations (UN) delegate in Kosovo.
Therefore, SHIK created two new private companies, BESA SECURITY and BODI GARD.
BESA SECURITY engages 50 people and BODI GARD 90 people, while the latter also
provides physical protection services. The members of BODI GARD are lightly
armed and their real mission is to become a Special Unit for SHIK in order to
pressure the Serbs. The headquarters of SHIK in Pristina is in the Grand Hotel,
while the regional branches are using the PDK offices of Hasim Thaci.
Meanwhile, the President of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, had founded his own
Intelligence Agency in Kosovo. The Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (LDK) of Rugova
owns the "Institute of Social Research", which operates as a security agency.
This agency is similar to SHIK of Kosovo, although it is smaller. Based on
information received by GIS, Rugova has now amalgamated his Intelligence Agency
with SHIK. Nevertheless, the cells of the Intelligence Agency of Rugova are
members of the former Governmental Security Force of Yugoslavia and their aim is
to minister to the needs and interests of LDK, in other words Rugova.
Furthermore, the Albanian Intelligent Agencies have clear missions. Their
primary aim is to capture the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica. According to
information retrieved by the Information Agency of UNMIK, the command charged
with capturing the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica is the "CELAT" group, a
special terrorist group of the National Albanian Army (AKSH or ANA). The
personnel in charge to accomplish this plan are Bekim Uti, who is the chief of "CELAT";
Ismet Haxha, a member of AKSH and the director of SHIK in Kosovska Mitrovica;
and Nexhat Cubreli who is an associate of SHIK. "CELAT" is an extreme Islamist
group.
Bashkim Gazidede is the link between the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) and
SHIK of Kosovo and he retains very close relations with the leader of SHIK,
Xhavit Haliti. Gazidede was using Haliti while he was the director of the
Albanian Intelligence Agency, SHIK (1992-1997), and the latter was the link
between the Albanian SHIK and Kosovo.
On November 17, 2005, the Syrian security forces arrested the Albanian Xhavit
Haliti in Damascus as a member of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida
. Haliti had studied in Syria and he speaks both Arabic and English. Haliti was
located by the Intelligence Agency of a Balkan country and there was evidence
that he was gathering funds and he was recruiting volunteers in Europe in order
to support the al-Qaida operations of Abu Musab al-Zarqawiin Iraq.
Also, Haliti was very closely linked to the networks of the Chechnya mafia and
he was gathering funds for the Chechen terrorist, Shamil Basayef, whose fanatic
groups were supported by mujahedin volunteers coming from the Balkans. Also,
Haliti was close linked with the director of al-Qaida in Europe, Abou Rabia. He
even managed to incorporate his own extremist group consisted by Albanian
mujahedin with the Abou Rabia network in Europe. The chief of this group uses
the alias "Abou Abdallah", and the acronym AK, He comes from northern Albania.
After January 2003, AK was in the Caucasus with Chechen terrorists and he had
transported Moroccans mujahedin to support Shamil Basayef. In July 2003 he
entered Iran with a Chechen terrorist group in order to assist the terrorists of
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and this group was incorporated with the groups of "Allah's
Lions", led by Zarqawi. On August 19, 2003, AK and the Chechen group undertook a
terrorist attack against the UN offices in Baghdad; 21 people were killed and
among them the leader of the UN mission in Iran, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
A year ago, Xhavit Haliti, along with AK, had organized the assassination of the
General Secretary of the Islamic community of Albania in Syria, a high-ranking
cleric, Sali Tivari. Further, Xhavit Haliti had moved from Albania to Syria to
meet with AK who was still in Syria. Haliti and his group tried to legalize
their existence; hence they founded the Islamic party called "Mediu" in Albania,
and they provided false ID documents for the four founder members. However, the
application was rejected by the Court in Tirane.
Sources, and public documents in the Balkans, and in particular in Albania,
provide extensive evidence of their active and dynamic support of international
terrorism. On December 12, 2005, the Albanian Government froze the bank accounts
and assets of Abdul Latif Saleh, an important member of international Islamist
terrorism and a close associate of Osama bin Laden.
Abdul Latif Saleh has dual nationality, Albanian and Jordan. In the past he was
the link between Jordanian extremists and Chechen terrorists. Information
reveals that Saleh is in Kosovo and he is leading the new terrorist
organization, "White Devils", with Bosnian Muslim volunteers and Kosovo
Albanians.
In the past, Bashkim Gazidede had close cooperation with Saleh. In 1996 Saleh
had accompanied Osama bin Laden during his visits to Albania and Kosovo, via
Turkey, from and to the airport of Adana and afterwards from Istanbul. For
almost seven years, Gazidede stayed in Turkey and he was protected by MIT. He
kept close relations and cooperation with the Chechen terrorist organizations
based in Istanbul. Information reveals that he visited Georgia at least four
times, where in the Pankisi Gorge, Chechen terrorists groups are located. Also,
he retained and still retains relations with the networks of international
Islamic terrorism around the world.
The return of Bashkim Gazidede in Albania raises many questions, particularly at
a time that Sali Berisha is back in power as Prime Minister of Albania. Gazidede
was the former director of the disreputable SHIK and the most trusted person of
Sali Berisha.
Bashkim Gazidede has spent the first part of January 2006 in Kosovo, meeting
with old associates and new members of Kosovo SHIK. He is also meeting with
politicians just a few days before the beginning of the formal negotiations over
the future status of Kosovo which will be held in Vienna.
Copyright Defense & Foreign Affairs/International
Strategic Studies Association
Reprinted with permission.