According to a declassified CIA intelligence report from January 27, 1997, “Usama (Bin Ladin)’s Islamic Army [al Qaeda] issued a series of fatwas, most of them against the United States. …One fatwa stated that it was legal under Islamic law for the Islamic Army to fight U.S. forces anywhere in the world. …Another declared that the Islamic Army could attack U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia. This fatwa is based on passages from the Koran which state ‘fight all of them as they fight all of you.’ …Another stated that the Islamic Army could attack forces in Somalia. [Redacted] It was not a violation of Islamic law if noncombatant U.S. citizens were killed pursuant to Islamic Army attacks on U.S. forces.
– CIA, “[Title Excised] Usama Bin Ladin’s Islamic Army Issued a Series of Fatwas, Most of the Against the United States,” (CIA Intelligence Report), The Central Intelligence Agency’s 9/11 File:, The National Security Archive, Jan. 27, 1997