A look back at some key moments in the life of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, including attacks that he was purportedly behind and messages attributed to him, based on information from U.S. authorities and other official government sources.
* 1957 -- Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden is born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is the 17th of 54 children fathered by Muhammad Awad bin Laden, a Yemeni immigrant who built a billion-dollar construction company in Saudi Arabia. His mother is Hamida al-Attas, from Syria.
* 1979-- Bin Laden graduates from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah with a degree in public administration and economics. He goes to Afghanistan to join the "jihad," or "holy war," against the Soviet Union. He remains there for a decade, using construction equipment from his family's business to help the Muslim guerrilla forces build shelters, tunnels and roads through the rugged Afghan mountains, and at times taking part in battle.
* 1980 - 1989-- Bin Laden raises money for the mujahedeen fighting in Afghanistan and also provides them with logistical and humanitarian aid. During these years, he also personally fights in battles against the Soviet Union.
* 1988-- Bin Laden founds a group he names al Qaeda, which in Arabic means "the base."
* 1989 -- The Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan. Bin Laden returns to Saudi Arabia to work for the family construction firm, the Bin Laden Group.
* August 7, 1990 -- Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, U.S. troops arrive in Saudi Arabia in order to have a close base to eventually go after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's troops. Bin Laden becomes outraged at the U.S. forces' presence near the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina.
* 1991-- Bin Laden is expelled from Saudi Arabia by its regime. Eventually he and his followers relocate to Sudan, funded by assets that had grown to as much as $20 million, according to lawyers familiar with the family forture. In that African nation, al Qaeda begins to evolve into a terror network.
* December 1992 -- U.S. forces land in Somalia, spearheading a U.N.-authorized humanitarian plan to bring in famine relief supplies. Part of their challenge is disarming the various warlords who control the country. Prosecutors charge that bin Laden threw himself into the conflict, sending some of his followers to Somalia to train the warlords to fight the U.S. troops.
Read more at http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-02/world/bin.laden.timeline_1_bin-laden-group-osama-bin-king-abdul-aziz-university?_s=PM:WORLD
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