Foreign volunteers in Army of B&H

Foreign volunteers in Army B&H

by Michal Warczakowski

Muslim Liberation Brigades

Originated from the dissolved Armija Republike BH 3, Korpus Odred "el-Mudzahedin", the largest mujahedin unit during the war. From the end of 1995 these brigades became subordinated to the Corps. Their respective sizes were raised from 1500 troops to around 2 000 troops each. The nucleus of each brigade consist of a core of foreign mujahedin, with the rest being composed of Bosnian Islamists. Most of the foreign Mujahedin are members of the Iranian-sponsored "al-Quds" formations that were deployed in BiH by Iran, following intensive training and indoctrination at terrorist training facilities in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sudan. All in all the three Muslim Liberation Brigades contained over 8 000 troops (as of 1996).

They are as follows:

7th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 3-rd Corps (HQ in Zenica). In mid-April of 1996 it became mechanized, and it contained the following units:

Elements of the 319-th Brigade

Elements of the 330-th Brigade

Three maneuver battalions

A Green Beret company (mujahedin-dominated Islamist Special Forces)

A tank company

9th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 2-nd (Tuzla-based) Corps (HQ in Travnik)

4th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 4-th Corps (HQ in Konjic)

In 1996 an additional fourth Muslim Liberation Brigade was raised. It was designated as the 17th Muslim Light Brigade of the 1st Corps in Sarajevo.

In December of 1995 additional mujahedin formations were raised by Bosnian Muslims. These units had a cadre of foreign mujahedin, but most of the lower ranks were made up of Bosnian Muslims. By June of 1996 there were at least 10 such units in the ABiH (not including the four previously mentioned Muslim Liberation Brigades).

They are as follows:

807th Muslim Liberation Brigade of the 81-st Division (HQ in Gorazde), it was sworn-in at Gorazde on 20 December, 1995.

117th Brigade "Dzemisetski Golubovi" (HQ in Lukovac)

119th Special Forces Mudzahedin Brigade (HQ in Banovici). This brigade was divided into two task forces know as "Tigrici" and "Zelena Strela"

203rd Brigade (HQ in Tesanj). This brigade was composed of three "independent mudzahedin special
task forces" named "Kritce", "Vitezovi", and "Tigrovi".

204th Light Brigade "Citloviki Vukovi" (HQ in Citlukl)

115th Muslim Brigade (forward HQ in Vogosc)

17th Muslim Light Brigade of the 14-th Division of the 1-st Corps (HQ in Pazaric)

379th Motorized Brigade of the 37-th Division (HQ in Tesanj). This unit is considered to be elite on Bosnian standards.

Operational Group "Zivinicke Ose" (HQ in Zivinice)

An unspecified Operational Group with HQ in Tuzla; it contained two special task forces named "Janicari" and "Taut". This Operational Group is independent of the Tuzla-based 2nd Corps

There are some estimated 750 to 1 000 foreign mujahedin serving in each of these 10 above-mentioned units.

Foreign mujahedin form the core of recon-sabotuer and other special operation forces units of the ABiH, as well as of the Muslim Defense Force of the SDA. The latter included (in 1996) over 1 000 Bosnian Muslims trained and indoctrinated abroad. Foreign mujahedin also play a prominent part in training the ABiH special forces, and they are often found in prominent positions in ABiH serving as intelligence officers, religious commissars, and operational commanders of special operations forces units.

Many mujahedins of the type mentioned above are found in the following units:

1st Bosniak Brigade "Nocne Ptice". This is a highly specialized "mother unit", and includes a wide variety of experts and specialists from Turkey, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Lebanon.

3rd Corps. There is a training unit for both foreign mujahedins and Bosnian Islamists that forms part of the 3-rd Corps. This unit is know as the "G" Force (the G stands for Gazi'a which is Arabic for retribution, retaliation, or punishment). Some formerly separate mujahedin units like "Martyrs' Detachment" and the Ansar Force were incorporated into "G" Force. In spite of its training character, "G" Force can be deployed in combat. The unit's cadre seems to be composed of a group of Saudi phanatics, while most the menpower is drawn from an ABiH recon-sabotage battalion from Vukovije. Abu-Ma'ali was presumably the force's commander (as of 1996).

Foreign Mujahedin in the Bihac Pocket

The Bihac Pocket had (and probably still has) an unusually high saturation of foreign mujahedin. This was due to the fact that they
were intentionally send there by Izetbegovic's administration in order to prevent the pocket's loss to the rebel Muslim forces of Fikret
Abdic. Among other things, they were assigned the task of reinforcing the local units' loyalty to Sarajevo, as the local Muslims often opted for massive desertions to the Abdic camp. Majority of the mujahedin reached the enclave by being smuggled by UN and other international relief organizations, or by being flown-in on illicit arms shipments.

As of 1996 the key mujahedin units of the 5th Corps were as follows:

501st Mountain Brigade IDG "Tigrovi"

503rd Mountain Brigade IDG "Caruge"

505th Mountain Brigade IDG "Tajfun", "Hamze", "Balije"

511th Light Brigade IDC "Apaci"

All of these brigades are elite by designation (IDG or IDC, with IDC being the smaller of the two), and capable of recon, sabotage, and of airborne-heliborne (desant) operations. There are an estimated 1 200 to 1 500 foreign mujahedin serving in each of these brigades.

In mid-1993 the Handzar Division was raised in Sarajevo. The division's chief task was to serve as presidential guards, and as
security for other important Bosnian Muslim leaders. The division was composed of two bodies of troops; the Handzar troops in Sarajevo numbered between 2 500 and 3 000, and were considered as elite on ABiH standards. The second body of the division's troops was a "back-up force" of 6 000 to 7 500 troops stationed in Fojnica. Unlike its SS predecessor, this new Handzar Division was made up largely of Muslims from outside of BiH. Most of them were ethnic Albanians, however, the highest-ranking positions were filled with mujahedin veterans from Afghanistan and Pakistan. By 1995 elements of the division were already involved in special operations actions on the front-line, often alongside foreign mujahedin. Also in 1995 the transfer to Albania of most of the division's ethnic Albanian personnel was initiated.