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{{Short description|Terrorist attack planned for January 1995}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Bojinka plot
| partof = 
| image = Philippine Airlines Bombing Aftermath.png
| image_size = 
| alt = 
| caption = Aftermath of the fatal [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434]] bombing
| map = 
| map_size = 
| map_alt = 
| map_caption = 
| location = [[Makati]], [[Philippines]] (Phase I)<br />[[Airspace]] (Phase II)<br />[[Langley, Virginia]], U.S. (Phase III)
| target = [[Pope John Paul II]] (Phase I)<br />[[United States|American]] [[airliner]]s (Phase II)<br />[[CIA Headquarters]] (Phase III)
| coordinates = 
| date = Planned to be executed January 15–22, 1995; foiled on January 6–7, 1995
| time = 
| timezone = 
| type = [[Suicide attack]], [[bombing]] and [[aircraft hijacking]]
| fatalities = 1 (test bomb in [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434]])
| injuries = 10 (test bomb in [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434]])
| victims = <!-- or | victim = -->
| perpetrators = [[Al-Qaeda]] and [[Jemaah Islamiyah]]
| assailants = <!-- or | assailant = -->
| susperps = <!-- or | susperp = -->
| weapons = [[Improvised explosive device]]<br />[[Cessna]] aircraft
| numparts = <!-- or | numpart = -->
| dfens = <!-- or | dfen = -->
| motive = *Retaliation for [[United States foreign policy in the Middle East]]
* [[Anti-Christian sentiment]]
* [[Distraction]] from the following phases of the plan (assassination of the Pope)
| inquiry = 
| coroner = 
| accused = [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]]
| convicted = [[Ramzi Yousef]]<br />[[Abdul Hakim Murad (militant)|Abdul Hakim Murad]]<br />[[Wali Khan Amin Shah]]
| verdict = 
| convictions = 
| charges = 
| litigation = 
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| module = 
}}

[[Image:Ramzi Yousef.gif|thumb|upright|[[Ramzi Yousef]]]]

The '''Bojinka plot''' ({{IPAc-en|b|oʊ|'|dʒ|ɪ|ŋ|k|ə}} {{respell|boh|JING|kə}}; {{langx|ar|بوجينكا}}) was a large-scale, three-phase [[terrorist]] attack planned by [[Ramzi Yousef]] and [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] for January 1995. They planned to assassinate [[Pope John Paul II]]; blow up 11 [[airliners]] in flight from Asia to the United States, with the goal of killing approximately 4,000 passengers and shutting down air travel around the world; and crash a plane into [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|the headquarters]] of the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) in [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]], [[Virginia]].<ref name="nyt09-11-15">{{cite news |last=Mazzetti |first=Mark |date=November 14, 2009 |title=Portrait of 9/11 'Jackal' Emerges as He Awaits Trial |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/us/15ksm.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902162201/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/us/15ksm.html |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |access-date=November 15, 2009 |journal=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lumpkin |first=John J. |title=Project Bojinka |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/project_bojinka.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612073352/http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/project_bojinka.htm |archive-date=12 June 2008 |access-date=2010-11-06 |website=Global Security}}</ref>

Despite careful planning, the Bojinka plot was disrupted after a chemical fire drew the attention of the [[Philippine National Police]] – Western Police District (PNP-WPD, now known as Manila Police District PNP-MPD) on January 6–7, 1995. Yousef and Mohammed were unable to stage any of the three attacks. The only fatality resulted from a test bomb planted by Yousef on [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434]], which killed one person, Japanese businessman Haruki Ikegami, and injured 10 others. They also planted two other bombs in a shopping mall and theater in the southern Philippines. Elements of the Bojinka plot (including the plan to crash a plane into the CIA headquarters) would be used in the [[September 11 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] and [[the Pentagon]], six years later.

==Terminology and etymology==
The plot is also known as '''Oplan Bojinka''', '''Operation Bojinka''', '''Project Bojinka''', and '''Bojinga'''. FBI officials described Operation Bojinka as "48 hours of terror."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lance |first=Peter |title=Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror |publisher=Regan Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-0060543556 |edition=1st |location=New York }}</ref>

Several news media outlets, including ''[[Time Asia]]'',<ref name="Time Asia">{{Cite news |last1=Elegant |first1=Simon |last2=Manggis |first2=Sungei |date=1 April 2002 |title=Asia's Own Osama |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/malay_terror/hambali.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050828230313/http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/malay_terror/hambali4.html |archive-date=28 August 2005 |access-date=30 July 2024 |work=[[Time Asia]]}}</ref> incorrectly stated that the word ''Bojinka'' means "loud bang" or "explosion" in the [[Serbo-Croatian]] language. Endnote 7 of Chapter 5 of the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' states that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed says "bojinka is not Serbo-Croatian for 'big bang'", as has been widely reported, but rather a nonsense word he adopted after hearing it on the front lines in Afghanistan."<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2016 |title=The 9/11 Commission Report |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/features/911-commission-report |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=GovInfo |publisher=United States Government Publishing Office |page=488 |language=en |publication-date=July 22, 2004}}</ref>

==Financing==
Funding for the Bojinka plot came from [[Osama bin Laden]]{{Source needed|date=June 2025}}, [[Hambali]], and front organizations operated by [[Mohammed Jamal Khalifa]] (bin Laden's brother-in-law).

[[Wali Khan Amin Shah]] was the financier of the plot. He funded the plot by [[Money laundering|laundering money]] through his girlfriend and other [[Manila]] women, several of whom were bar hostesses and one of whom was an employee at a [[KFC]] restaurant. They were bribed with gifts and holiday trips so that they would open bank accounts to stash funds.

The transfers were small, equivalent to about 12,000 to 24,000 [[Philippine peso]]s ($500 to $1,000 US), and would be handed over each night at a [[Wendy's]] or a [[karaoke]] bar. The funds went to "Adam Sali," an [[pseudonym|alias]] used by Ramzi Yousef. The money came through a Filipino bank account owned by Syrian-born Omar Abu Omar, who worked at the International Relations and Information Centre, an Islamic organization run by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa.<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell">{{Cite news |last=Brzezinski |first=Matthew |date=January 2, 2002 |title=Operation Bojinka's bombshell |url=https://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1009926464027 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020614124327/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1009926464027 |archive-date=June 14, 2002 |access-date=August 24, 2017 |work=[[Toronto Star]]}}</ref>

A company called [[Konsojaya]] also provided financial assistance to the Manila cell by laundering money to it. Konsojaya was a front company that was started by the head of the group [[Jemaah Islamiyah]], an [[Indonesia]]n named Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali. Wali Khan Amin Shah was on the board of directors of the company.

==Planning==
[[File:Philippines (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|right|The Philippines, the operating base for Bojinka]]

As soon as Yousef arrived in Manila, along with other "Arab Afghans" who were creating cells in Manila, he began work making bombs. Yousef had shown up in [[Singapore]] with Shah earlier in the autumn of 1994.<!-- "Autumn" should be replaced with the specific month if possible --> The two got their Philippine [[Visa (document)|visas]] in [[Singapore]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}

He left Manila for several days, but was met by Islamist emissaries upon his return to [[Metro Manila]]. They asked him to attack [[President of the United States|United States President]] [[Bill Clinton]], who was due to arrive in the [[Philippines]] on November 12, 1994, as part of a five-day tour of Asia. Although Yousef thought of several ways to kill the president, including placing [[nuclear bomb]]s on Clinton's motorcade route,{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}{{Dubious|date=August 2023}} firing a [[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger missile]] at [[Air Force One]] or the presidential [[limousine]], launching [[Theatre&nbsp;ballistic&nbsp;missile|theater ballistic missile]]s at Manila, and killing him with [[phosgene]], a chemical weapon, he decided against this, reasoning the plan to be too difficult. However, he incorporated his plan to kill the then-incumbent [[Pope]] [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]] into the Bojinka plot.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}

In 1994, Yousef and Khalid Sheik Mohammed started testing airport security. Yousef booked a flight between [[Kai Tak International Airport]] in Hong Kong and [[Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport]] near [[Taipei]]. Mohammed booked a flight between [[Ninoy Aquino International Airport]] near [[Manila]] and [[Kimpo International Airport]] near [[Seoul]]. The two had already converted 14 bottles of contact lens solution into bottles containing [[nitroglycerin]], which was readily available in the Philippines. Yousef had taped a metal rod to the arch of his foot, which would serve as a detonator. The two wore jewelry and clothing with metal to confuse airport security. To support their claim that they were meeting women, they packed [[condom]]s in their bags.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Ressa |first=Maria |date=July 26, 2003 |title=Philippines: U.S. missed 9/11 clues years ago |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/07/26/khalid.confession/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721003650/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/07/26/khalid.confession/index.html |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |access-date=July 30, 2024 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

On December 8, Yousef moved into the Doña Josefa Apartments (later known simply as the Josefa Apartments and eventually converted to a hotel in 2019 under the name "Mannra Hotel") in the Malate district under the alias "Najy Awaita Haddad," using a fake [[Morocco|Moroccan]] identity. He booked Unit 603 in advance with a [[Philippine peso|₱]]80,000 deposit and an additional [[Philippine peso|₱]]40,000.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Mohammed purported himself to be a [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] or [[Qatar]]i [[plywood]] exporter named "Abdul Majid." Upon settling in the unit, both men had already started planning Operation Bojinka.<ref name="cnn-convicted" />

Edith Guerrera, the manager, jokingly claimed with the receptionist after the two men asked for new registration forms, that "they have forgotten their names," adding that the first ones were torn up, but nevertheless gave in to their requests. Unknown to them, Yousef had accidentally put his actual name on the first form.<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell" />

The apartment was chosen because of its location; it was {{convert|200|m|sp=us}} away from the [[Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines|Apostolic Nunciature]], the [[Holy See]]'s diplomatic mission in the Philippines, and {{convert|500|m|sp=us}} down the street from Manila Police Station No. 9 on [[Quirino Avenue]]. One of the windows of the unit looks down on the path that the papal motorcade was to take.<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell" /> A conspirator named [[Abdul Hakim Murad (terrorist)|Abdul Hakim Murad]] went to Manila with Yousef and stayed at the same apartment.

People were suspicious of the men in Unit 603, who were described as being very secretive. According to Guerrera, the men gave the impression that they were in the Philippines to study, adding that "they looked like students." She also revealed that they double-locked the door when they were inside or out and never asked for a cleaning crew to clear up the room, also adding that they "had chemical burns on their hands," carried boxes, and never hired other people to help them. Also unknown to them, the boxes contained chemicals bought from suppliers in [[Manila]] and [[Quezon City]] in [[Metro Manila]], which Yousef used to make his bombs.<ref name="cnn-convicted">{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Brian |date=September 5, 1996 |title=Plane terror suspects convicted on all counts |url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9609/05/terror.plot/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114232018/http://edition.cnn.com/US/9609/05/terror.plot/index.html |archive-date=January 14, 2024 |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=CNN |agency=Reuters}}</ref>

According to [[Abdul Hakim Murad (terrorist)|Abdul Hakim Murad]], he gave Yousef an idea for crashing a plane into the [[CIA]]'s [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|headquarters]]; Yousef took this suggestion but did not draft plots for it at the moment, before heading off with Mohammed to [[Puerto Galera]] for scuba diving.

==Test bombs: mall, theater, 747 airliner==
{{Main|Philippine Airlines Flight 434}}
Yousef's first operational test of his bomb was inside a mall in [[Cebu City]]. The bomb detonated several hours after he put it in a generator room. It caused minor damage, but it proved to Yousef that his bomb was workable.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} On December 1, 1994, Yousef placed a bomb under a seat in the Greenbelt Theatre in Manila to test what would happen if a bomb exploded under an [[airline seat]]. The bomb went off, injuring several patrons.

Following this incident, Yousef booked the Manila-Cebu leg of the [[Narita International Airport|Narita]]-bound [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434]] under the alias Armaldo Forlani, using a forged Italian passport. During this leg, he built another bomb, which had one-tenth of the power that his final bombs were planned to have, in the lavatory of the aircraft, setting the timer for four hours. Yousef planted the bomb inside the life jacket pouch of seat 26K, which he moved into after takeoff, and disembarked in [[Cebu City|Cebu]]. 

The bomb exploded while the aircraft was over Japan's [[Minamidaitō]] Island, part of [[Okinawa Prefecture]], killing Haruki Ikegami, a Japanese citizen occupying the seat; an additional 10 passengers were injured. The flight was carrying 273 passengers in total. The blast blew a hole in the floor, and the cabin's rapid expansion severed several control cables in the ceiling, cutting off control of the plane's right aileron, as well as both the captain's and first officer's steering controls. Usually, 26K, the seat that Yousef chose to plant the bomb, would be positioned directly over the centre fuel tank, and the detonation of the bomb would have caused a crippling explosion, but on this particular airframe, a former [[Scandinavian Airlines]] aircraft, the seat was two rows forward from normal. The flight crew kept control of the [[Boeing 747-200]] and brought it into an emergency landing at Okinawa's [[Naha Airport]]. Satisfied with the deadly results of the attack, Yousef then planned which flights to attack for "Phase II" of the plot.

==Phase I: Pope assassination plot==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2024}}
The first plan was to assassinate [[Pope John Paul II]] when he visited the Philippines during the [[World Youth Day 1995|World Youth Day celebrations]] in January 1995. On January 15 of that year, a suicide bomber would dress up as a priest while John Paul II passed in his motorcade on his way to the San Carlos Seminary in [[Makati]]. The assassin planned to get close to the Pope and detonate the bomb. The planned assassination of the Pope was intended to divert attention from the next phase of the operation. About 20 men had been trained by Yousef to carry out this act prior to January 1995.

The details of Phase I were found in the evidence discovered in the investigation into Unit 603 in the Doña Josefa.

==Phase II: Airline bombing plot==
The next plan would have involved at least five terrorists, including Yousef, Shah, Murad, and two more unknown operatives. Beginning on January 21, 1995, and ending on January 22, 1995, they would have placed bombs on 11 United States-bound airliners that had stopovers scattered throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia. All of the flights had two legs, wherein the bombs would be planted inside [[life jacket]]s under seats on the first leg, and each bomber would then disembark. He would then board one or two more flights and repeat. After all of the bombers had planted bombs on all of the flights, each man would then catch flights to [[Lahore, Pakistan]]. The attackers never needed U.S. [[visa (document)|visas]], as they only would have been on the planes for their first legs within Asia.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

American airlines had been chosen instead of Asian airlines to maximize the shock toward Americans. The flights targeted were listed under operatives with codenames: "Zyed," "Majbos," "Markoa," "Mirqas," and "Obaid." The explosions were to be timed by the operatives before they disembarked from the plane. The aircraft would have exploded over the Pacific Ocean and the [[South China Sea]] almost simultaneously. If this plan worked, several thousand passengers would have perished, and air travel would likely have been shut down worldwide. The U.S. government estimated the prospective death toll to be about 4,000 if the plot had been executed,{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} as compared to almost 3,000 killed during the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Plumer |first=Brad |date=September 11, 2013 |title=Nine facts about terrorism in the United States since 9/11 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/09/11/nine-facts-about-terrorism-in-the-united-states-since-911/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819021549/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/09/11/nine-facts-about-terrorism-in-the-united-states-since-911/ |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |access-date=November 26, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

===Bomb===

The "Mark II microbombs" had [[Casio]] digital watches as the timers, stabilizers that looked like cotton wool balls, and an undetectable quantity of [[nitroglycerin]] as the explosive. Other ingredients included [[glycerin]], [[nitrate]], [[sulfuric acid]], and minute concentrations of [[nitrobenzene]], [[silver azide]] (silver trinitride), and liquid [[acetone]]. Two 9-volt [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]] in each bomb were used as a power source. The batteries would be connected to light bulb filaments that would detonate the bomb. Murad and Yousef wired an [[Silicon controlled rectifier|SCR]] (silicon controlled rectifier) as the switch to trigger the filaments to detonate the bomb. There was an external socket hidden when the wires were pushed under the watch base as the bomber would wear it. The alteration was so small that the watch could still be worn in a normal manner.<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/><ref name="jenkins-terrorism">{{Cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Brian |date=May 13, 1996 |title=Terrorism trial begins in New York |url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9605/12/terror.plot/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506181605/http://edition.cnn.com/US/9605/12/terror.plot/ |archive-date=May 6, 2024 |access-date=July 30, 2024 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref name="lance-thousand">{{Cite book |last=Lance |first=Peter |title=1000 Years for Revenge: International Terrorism and the FBI—the Untold Story |publisher=William Morrow and Company |year=2003 |isbn=978-0060543549 |edition=1st |location=New York}}</ref>

Yousef got batteries past airport security during his December 11 test bombing of [[Philippine Airlines Flight 434]] by hiding them in hollowed-out heels of his shoes. Yousef smuggled the nitroglycerin on board by putting it inside a small container, reputedly containing [[contact lens]] cleaning solution.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Bomb on Board |series=Mayday |series-link=Mayday (Canadian TV series) |network=[[Discovery Channel Canada]] / [[National Geographic Channel]] |date=12 October 2005 |season=3 |number=5}}</ref>

===Airports planned to be targeted===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2018}}

====Asia====

* [[Kai Tak Airport]] in British Hong Kong
* [[Narita International Airport]] in [[Tokyo]], Japan
* [[Ninoy Aquino International Airport]] in [[Manila]], Philippines
* [[Taoyuan International Airport|Chiang Kai-shek (Taoyuan) International Airport]] in [[Taipei]], Taiwan
* [[Singapore Changi Airport]] in Singapore
* [[Gimpo International Airport]] in [[Seoul]], South Korea
* [[Don Mueang International Airport|Bangkok (Don Mueang) International Airport]] in [[Bangkok]], Thailand

====United States====

* [[Honolulu International Airport]], [[Honolulu]], Hawaii
* [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]], New York City, New York
* [[Los Angeles International Airport]], Los Angeles
* [[Chicago O'Hare International Airport]], Chicago, Illinois
* [[San Francisco International Airport]], San Francisco

===Targeted flights===

* "Zyed" was to attack a [[Northwest Airlines]] Manila-Seoul-Los Angeles flight, then a [[United Airlines]] Seoul-Taipei-Honolulu flight, and then a United Bangkok-Taipei-San Francisco flight. Zyed would then flee to [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]] after disembarking in Bangkok.<ref name="Piszkiewicz93">{{Cite book |last=Piszkiewicz |first=Dennis |title=Terrorism's War with America: A History |date=November 30, 2003 |publisher=Praeger Publishers |isbn=978-0275979522 |edition=1st |location=Westport |pages=92–93}}</ref>
* "Majbos" was to attack a [[United Airlines]] Taipei-Tokyo-Los Angeles flight, with him disembarking in Tokyo, and then proceed to a United Tokyo-Hong Kong-New York flight. After disembarking in Hong Kong, he would have fled to Karachi, Pakistan.<ref name="Piszkiewicz93"/>
* "Maroka" was to attack a Northwest Airlines Manila-Tokyo-Chicago flight, with him disembarking in Tokyo, and then proceed to a Northwest Tokyo-Hong Kong-New York flight. After disembarking in Hong Kong, he would have escaped to Karachi.<ref name="Piszkiewicz93"/>
* "Mirqas" was to attack a United Airlines Manila-Seoul-San Francisco flight, with him disembarking in Seoul, and then proceed to a [[Delta Air Lines]] Seoul-Taipei-Bangkok flight. After disembarking in Taipei, he would have escaped to Karachi.<ref name="Piszkiewicz93" />
* "Obaida" was to attack a United Airlines Singapore-Hong Kong-Los Angeles flight and a United Airlines Los Angeles-Hong Kong-Singapore flight, which would become a Singapore-Hong Kong-San Francisco flight. After arriving in Singapore, Obaida was to flee to Pakistan.<ref name="Piszkiewicz93"/>

==Phase III: CIA plane crash plot==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2024}}
Abdul Hakim Murad's [[#Murad's confession|confession]] detailed Phase III in his interrogation by the Manila police after his capture.

Phase III would have involved Murad either renting, buying, or [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking a small airplane]], preferably a [[Cessna]]. The airplane would be filled with explosives. He would then crash it into the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|headquarters]] in the [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]] area in [[Fairfax County, Virginia]]. Murad had been trained as a pilot in [[North Carolina]], and was slated to be a suicide pilot.

There were alternate plans to hijack a 12th commercial airliner and use that instead of the small aircraft, probably due to the Manila cell's growing frustration with explosives, as they knew testing them in a house or apartment was dangerous and could easily give away the terrorist plot. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed likely made the alternate plan.

A report from the Philippines to the United States on January 20, 1995, stated, "What the subject has in his mind is that he will board any American commercial aircraft pretending to be an ordinary passenger. Then he will hijack said aircraft, control its cockpit, and dive it at the CIA headquarters."

Another plot that was considered would have involved the hijacking of more airplanes. The [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] (New York City, New York), the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] (Arlington, Virginia), the [[United States Capitol]] (Washington, D.C.), the [[White House]] (Washington, D.C.), the [[Sears Tower]] (Chicago, Illinois), the [[U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles)|U.S. Bank Tower]] (Los Angeles, California), the [[Renaissance Center]] (Detroit, Michigan) and the [[Transamerica Pyramid]] (San Francisco, California) would have been the likely targets. In his confession to Filipino investigators, prior to the foiling of Operation Bojinka, Abdul Hakim Murad said that this part of the plot was dropped since the Manila cell could not recruit enough people to implement other hijackings. This plot would eventually be the base plot for the [[September 11 attacks]], which involved hijacking commercial airliners as opposed to small aircraft loaded with explosives and crashing them into their intended targets. However, only the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] (which was destroyed) and [[The Pentagon]] (which suffered partial damage) were hit. The original plan for the September 11 attacks was to hijack ten airplanes, with one of them confirmed to have been planned to crash into the [[U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles)|U.S Bank Tower]] in Los Angeles. Additionally, the United States Capitol and the White House were the potential targets of [[United Airlines Flight 93]] but were never hit due to passengers revolting against the hijackers, which caused the hijacked plane to crash into a field near [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]].

==Discovery and termination==

The plot was abandoned after an apartment fire at the six-story Doña Josefa apartments occurred in [[Manila, Philippines]], on the evening of Friday, January 6, 1995. The fire occurred before [[Pope John Paul II]] was scheduled to visit the Philippines on January 12.

According to the initial accounts of the Philippine authorities, Abdul Hakim Murad started a chemical fire in the kitchen sink in Room 603 on the sixth floor of the Doña Josefa apartment by pouring water on a substance. The fire was spotted at about 11:00{{nbsp}}p.m. after residents complained about a strange odour. Edith Guerrera, the owner of the apartments, called the fire brigade, but the fire went out unassisted. Yousef and Murad had told the firefighters to stay away before they fled.{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}} Police Major Francisco F. Bautista and his staff, including watch commander [[Aida D. Fariscal]], decided to investigate the situation and saw four [[hot plate]]s in their packing crates, what looked like cotton batting soaked in a beige [[Solution (chemistry)|solution]], and loops of green, red, blue, and yellow electrical wiring. The telephone rang, and the police ran downstairs, thinking that it was a trap.<ref name=":0" /> Fariscal had been suspicious of the men in Room 603 due to the recent wave of bombings (committed by Yousef) that hit Metro Manila and Philippine Airlines Flight 434. Seeking a search warrant, they left and asked 11 judges before finding one that would grant a warrant.

A 2002 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' article stated that the police deliberately set a fire to rouse the men out of their apartment.<ref name="mcdermott-plot">{{Cite news |last=McDermott |first=Terry |date=September 1, 2002 |title=The Plot |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/specials/911/la-na-plot-1sep01.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030412091134/http://www.latimes.com/news/specials/911/la-na-plot-1sep01.story |archive-date=April 12, 2003 |access-date=July 30, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

After police discovered the evidence, they arrested a man who called himself "Ahmed Saeed." "Saeed," who later proved to be Murad, claimed that he was a commercial [[aviator|pilot]] who was on his way to the precinct house to explain that what he claimed to be [[firecracker]]s had gone off. Murad initially tried to run away, but he was arrested after he tripped over a tree root. The arresting officer, having lost his handcuffs, improvised a solution by tying Murad's hands with the elastic cord taken from the officer's raincoat. Murad was hauled to the precinct in a [[taxicab|taxi]] van with the help of two other people. He offered 110,740 [[Philippine peso]]s (US$2,000) to the policemen if they would agree to let him go, but the officers refused.<ref name=":0" /> At the precinct, Murad signed a statement saying that he was innocent and that he was a tourist visiting his friend in his chemical import/export business. He then mumbled about "two Satans that must be destroyed: the Pope and America."<ref name= "brzezinski-bombshell"/>

Fariscal was later depicted in the 2006 docudrama ''[[The Path to 9/11]]'', in which US agencies in the script gave her much credit. An actress portrays her in the ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'' episode "Bomb on Board." The widow of a slain police officer, she had spent 17 years as a homemaker before enrolling in the police department in 1977. She became well known in her home nation, which awarded her the equivalent of 33,222 pesos ($700) and a trip to [[Taiwan]]. The [[CIA]] awarded her a certificate reading "In recognition of your personal outstanding efforts and co-operation." Her decision to investigate the fire was key to disrupting the plot and forcing Yousef to flee.

==Evidence in Room 603==
When the officers returned to Suite 603 at 2:30{{nbsp}}a.m. on January 7, they found street maps of Manila with routes plotting the papal motorcade, a [[rosary]], a photograph of the [[pope|pontiff]], bibles, [[crucifix]]es, papal confessions, and priest clothing, including robes and collars. This collection of objects and a phone message from a tailor reminding the occupant that "the [[cassock]] was ready to be tried on," along with the fact of the Pope's impending visit, were enough for Police Major Francisco F. Bautista to infer that an assassination plot had been interrupted. A search warrant was granted by 4:00{{nbsp}}a.m. on January 7.<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/>

More chemicals, such as gallons of [[sulfuric acid]], [[picric acid]], [[nitric acid]], [[glycerin]], [[acetone]], [[sodium chlorate]], nitrobenzoyl, [[ammonia]], [[silver nitrate]], [[methanamine]], and [[ANFO]] were found. Several cans of gasoline and two large [[Welch's]] [[grape juice]] bottles containing [[nitroglycerin]] were found. Equipment such as [[thermometer]]s, [[graduated cylinder]]s, large cooking [[kettle]]s, [[funnel]]s, [[fuse (explosives)|fuses]], [[filter (chemistry)|filters]], [[soldering iron]]s, [[beaker (glassware)|beakers]], [[mortar (bowl)|mortars]], [[pestle]]s, different electronic fusing systems, [[timer]]s, [[switch]]es, and [[circuit breaker]]s were found. Also discovered in the search was a finished remote-controlled [[brass]] pipe bomb, as well as another pipe bomb that was about to be packed. The apartment also contained a chemistry [[textbook]] and chemical [[dictionary]], a ''Time'' magazine with the cover story on [[international terrorism]],<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/><ref name="cnn-convicted"/> as well as a pharmacy receipt and bottle of [[contact lens]] [[Solution (chemistry)|solution]]. In a cupboard under the [[sink]], a finished time bomb and other [[Casio]] watches were found.

The most conclusive piece of evidence found was a manual written in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] on how to build a liquid [[bomb]].

Stacks of 12 false passports, including Norwegian, [[Afghanistan|Afghan]], [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]], and [[Pakistan]]i were also found in the apartment. Investigators found a business card from [[Mohammed Jamal Khalifa]]; Saeed apparently possessed five telephone numbers from Khalifa. Investigators also found phone numbers for Rose Masquera, Mohammed's girlfriend.<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/>

===Yousef's computer===

Yousef's project was discovered on four [[floppy disks]] and an off-white [[Toshiba]] laptop inside his apartment, two weeks before the plot would have been implemented. Several encrypted files on the hard drive contained flight schedules, calculations of detonation times, and other items.<ref name="dueling">{{Cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Friedman |title=DOSCapital |url=http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1181/1999_Fall/56750484/p1/article.jhtml?term= |journal=[[Foreign Policy]] |date=1999 |issue=116 |pages=110–116 |doi=10.2307/1149647 |jstor=1149647 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040505023201/http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1181/1999_Fall/56750484/p1/article.jhtml?term= |archive-date=May 5, 2004 |via=[[FindArticles]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The first string of text in one of the files states, "All people who support the U.S. government are our targets in our future plans and that is because all those people are responsible for their government's actions and they support the U.S. foreign policy and are satisfied with it. We will hit all U.S. nuclear targets. If the U.S. government keeps supporting [[Israel]], then we will continue to carry out operations inside and outside the United States to include&nbsp;..." which is where the text ended.

A file named "Bojinka" lists the 11 flights between Asia and the United States, which were grouped under five codenames. Strings were found, such as "<code>SETTING: 9:30&nbsp;pm to 10:30&nbsp;pm TIMER: 23HR. BOJINKA: 20:30-21:30 [[Narita International Airport|NRT]] Date 5</code>" (for United flight 80), and "<code>SETTING: 8:30-9:00. TIMER: 10HR. BOJINKA: 19:30-20:00 [[Narita International Airport|NRT]] Date 4</code>" (for Northwest Flight 30).<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/>

The laptop had names of dozens of associates, including some photographs of a few of them and including contact information for [[Mohammed Jamal Khalifa]]. They contained records of information about five-star hotels, dealings with a London trading corporation, a meat market owner in [[Malaysia]], and an Islamic center in [[Tucson, Arizona]]. Information about how money moved through an [[Abu Dhabi]] banking firm was found.

A communication signed "Khalid Shaikh + Bojinka" was also found on Yousef's computer that threatened to attack targets "in response to the financial, political and military assistance given to the Jewish state in the occupied land of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] by the United States Government." The letter also said that the bombers claimed to have the "ability to make and use chemicals and poisonous gas&nbsp;... for use against vital institutions and populations and the sources of drinking water."<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/>

The letter also threatened to assassinate [[Fidel V. Ramos]], then-[[President of the Philippines]], as well as attack aircraft if the United States did not meet the group's demands. The letter said that the group claiming responsibility was the "Fifth Division of the Liberation Army."<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/>

The evidence found at the Doña Josefa filled three police vans.<ref name="cnn-convicted"/>

==Murad's confession==
{{More citations needed|date=March 2016}}
Sometime after police arrested Saeed, he had called [[Ramzi Yousef]]'s cellular phone.

Saeed turned out to be Abdul Hakim Murad, who was sent to the apartment to retrieve the computer after the fire. Murad was sent to [[Camp Crame]], the headquarters of the [[Philippine National Police]]. Murad at first taunted investigators. For 67 days, he endured "[[torture|tactical interrogation]]" by Filipino investigators.

According to journalists [[Marites Dañguilan Vitug]] and Glenda M. Gloria, authors of the book ''[[Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao]]'', agents hit Murad with a chair and club of wood when he did not talk. They forced [[water cure (torture)|water into his mouth]] and crushed out lit cigarettes on his genitals. Murad's ribs were completely cracked. Agents were surprised that he survived. According to an investigator, he finally confessed out of fear of Jews after an agent masquerading as a member of the [[Mossad]] told him that he was being sent to [[Israel]].

Murad admitted in his interrogations, "This is my&nbsp;— the best thing. I enjoy it," and "because the United States is the first country in this world making trouble for us, for Muslims, and for our people."

He talked about the bombs. "Nobody [would] think that it's [an] explosive," he said, referring to the watches [[Ramzi Yousef]] planned to put on the airliners. He said that the [[nitroglycerin]] "which even if you'll put in the [[X-ray]], you will never, nobody can" detect it.

Murad confessed that he was on a [[quest]] to be a [[martyr]]. He confessed to being the hijacker as part of Phase II of his plan. Murad was extradited to the United States on April 12, 1995. His testimony helped convict Yousef.

==Manhunt==
[[File:House Where Ramzi Yousef Captured - Photographed by US Embassy Staff.png|thumb|Islamabad guesthouse where Yousef was captured in February 1995]]

[[Wali Khan Amin Shah]] was arrested at an apartment complex on January 11 after police saw that a pager called by Yousef was registered in the name of Shah's girlfriend. Shah escaped from custody about 77 hours later. Shah was found to be a conspirator after authorities saw photos of him scanned on the laptop that contained information about the plot, as well as cell phone numbers that led investigators to the apartment. Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were able to escape from the [[Philippines]] to [[Pakistan]].<ref name="brzezinski-bombshell"/> On January 31, 1995, Yousef flew from Pakistan to Thailand in an attempt to place suitcase bombs on a Delta Airlines and United Airlines aircraft. When that failed, he flew back to Pakistan.

After receiving Murad's phone call, Yousef made plans to leave and flew to [[Singapore]] about five hours after Murad's arrest. One day after Bojinka was discovered, Yousef made his way to Pakistan.<ref name="cnn-convicted"/> Mohammed went to Pakistan days or weeks afterwards.<ref name="cnn-convicted"/>

The Philippines forwarded details on the Bojinka plot to the United States in April 1995. [[Konsojaya]] was heard via [[Telephone tapping|wiretaps]] to be frequently in contact with Mohammed Jamal Khalifa's charitable organization until the plot was discovered.

Yousef was arrested in the Su-Casa guest house in [[Islamabad]], Pakistan on February 7, 1995, after a 23-day manhunt. Yousef later boasted to [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agent [[Brian Parr]] about his plan. [[Wali Khan Amin Shah]], the financier, was picked up in [[Malaysia]] in December 1995. His identity was revealed after he was fingerprinted. Shah was also extradited to the United States.

All three conspirators received [[life sentence]]s for participating in the plot. Yousef also received a 240-year sentence along with his life sentence for the 1993 [[World Trade Center bombing]]. Yousef was sentenced on January 8, 1998, and Murad was sentenced on May 16, 1998. Shah has been cooperating with the government since August 1998.

[[Mohammed Jamal Khalifa]], a [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] businessman from [[Jeddah]] who was married to one of [[Osama bin Laden]]'s sisters, was in the Philippines earlier in 1994. He was arrested in 1994 in [[Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California|Mountain View, California]], for conspiring in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He was financing the Bojinka plot, according to the content that the Filipino investigators forwarded to the United States. The [[United States Immigration and Naturalization Service]] deported Khalifa to [[Jordan]] in May 1995. He was acquitted by the Jordanian court and moved to [[Saudi Arabia]]. He was murdered in his hotel room in January 2007 in [[Madagascar]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Fielding |first=Nick |date=1 March 2007 |title=Gems, al-Qaida and murder. Mystery over killing of Osama Bin Laden's friend |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/02/alqaida.saudiarabia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506051537/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/02/alqaida.saudiarabia |archive-date=May 6, 2024 |accessdate=19 June 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Roggio |first=Bill |date=31 January 2007 |title=Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, killed in Madagascar |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/01/mohammed_jamal_khali.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610043425/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/01/mohammed_jamal_khali.php |archive-date=June 10, 2024 |accessdate=19 June 2012 |newspaper=[[FDD's Long War Journal]]}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[File:WTC smoking on 9-11.jpeg|thumb|right|The September 11 attacks evolved from the original Bojinka plot.]]

U.S. investigators did not find the connection with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to al-Qaeda until several years later.

[[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] decided that explosives were too risky to use in his next plot and chose instead to use airplanes. The plot was later revised and executed during the [[September 11 attacks]]. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in [[Rawalpindi]], Pakistan in 2003.

Yousef filed a motion for a new trial in 2001. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard the case on May 3, 2002, and announced on April 3, 2003, the decision that Yousef and his partners were to remain incarcerated.<ref name= appeals2>[http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/usyousef40403opn.pdf Decision] (2003). United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, August Term 2001.</ref>

Bojinka was included in a number of 9/11 documentaries and miniseries, including ''[[The Path to 9/11]]'' and ''[[The Secret History of 9/11]]''.
<!-- <ref name="smokinggun-murad">{{Cite web |date= |title=Interrogating A Terrorist |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/fall/murad1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980117014818/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/fall/murad1.html |archive-date=January 17, 1998 |access-date=January 22, 2004 |website=[[The Smoking Gun]] |language=en}}</ref -->

==See also==
{{Portal|Philippines|Aviation|1990s}}
* [[Pan Am Flight 103]], Pan Am plane destroyed by [[pentaerythritol tetranitrate]] (PETN) bomb, killing 270 people
* [[2001 failed shoe bomb attempt]], failed al-Qaeda PETN bombing of plane
* [[2006 transatlantic aircraft plot]], failed plot to blow up at least 10 planes as they flew from the U.K. to the U.S. and Canada
* ''[[Debt of Honor]]'', a 1994 [[Tom Clancy]] novel in which a [[Japan Air Lines|JAL]] [[Boeing 747|747]] is used as a weapon against Washington, D.C.
* [[Cargo planes bomb plot]], failed al-Qaeda PETN bombing of plane
* ''[[Executive Decision]]'', a 1996 [[Kurt Russell]] movie in which a 747 is used as a weapon targeting Washington, D.C.
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft]]
* [[List of terrorist incidents, 1995]]
* [[Northwest Airlines Flight 253]], failed al-Qaeda PETN bombing of plane

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/terrorism/bojinka_jetliners_bomb_plot/index.html "Bojinka Jetliners Bomb Plot"]. (index of related articles) ''[[The New York Times]]''.
* [http://tech.mit.edu/V116/N39/terror.39w.html Jury Finds Three Guilty of Plot To Blow Up a Dozen US] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823153916/http://tech.mit.edu/V116/N39/terror.39w.html |date=August 23, 2019 }}, John J. Goldman, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', ''[[The Tech (newspaper)|The Tech]]'', September 6, 1996
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031204000141/http://meadev.nic.in/ind-ter/for-med/latimes6june2002.htm Information about Khalid Sheik Mohammed]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606111801/http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1001/102201nj1.htm Information on the attack against the pope]

{{Al-Qaeda}}
{{War on Terrorism}}
{{Pakistan–United States relations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bojinka}}
[[Category:1995 crimes in Pakistan]]
[[Category:1995 crimes in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Al-Qaeda activities]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1995]]
[[Category:Failed airliner bombings]]
[[Category:Failed terrorist attempts in Asia]]
[[Category:Failed terrorist attempts in Europe]]
[[Category:Failed terrorist attempts in the United States]]
[[Category:Holy See–Pakistan relations]]
[[Category:Holy See–Philippines relations]]
[[Category:Holy See–United States relations]]
[[Category:Islam in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in the United States]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 1995]]
[[Category:Pakistan–Philippines relations]]
[[Category:Pakistan–United States relations]]
[[Category:Philippines–United States relations]]
[[Category:Pope John Paul II]]
[[Category:September 11 attacks]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1995]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1995]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the Philippines in 1995]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States in 1995]]
[[Category:War on terror]]