In this episode of the Shawn Ryan Show, guest Blerim Skoro shares his experiences as both a CIA and FBI asset who infiltrated terrorist organizations. Skoro discusses his early life during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, where he served as a conscript in the Yugoslav army, and describes how he later became involved with the CIA following the events of 9/11.
The conversation covers Skoro's work establishing and infiltrating an Al-Qaeda cell in the Balkans, his involvement in weapons trafficking operations, and his role in gathering intelligence on terrorist networks. Skoro also details his relationship with the CIA, including his training in weapons and explosives, and describes how this relationship changed after an assassination attempt in 2010 and subsequent events leading to 2020.
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Blerim Skoro shares his harrowing experiences as a conscript in the Yugoslav army during the early 1990s Balkan Wars. At age 19, he witnessed brutal violence perpetrated by Chetnik paramilitaries, including civilian killings and ethnic cleansing. While guarding his military base, Skoro shot at entering Chetnik paramilitaries, leading to potential severe punishment. He eventually managed to escape with help from Captain Kablinowicz-Wajau, though his family initially believed him dead after his arrest.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Skoro became a valuable CIA asset while in prison, where he served as a muezzin and gained access to terrorist networks. The CIA provided him with extensive training in weapons, explosives, and communication. His deep involvement led to offers of leadership positions within ISIS and Al-Qaeda, enabling him to gather intelligence and disrupt terrorist activities.
To fund his family's escape from Kosovo, Skoro engaged in smuggling operations, developing connections with the Albanian mafia. Working with CIA oversight, he participated in weapons trafficking and uranium interception operations. The CIA strictly monitored his activities, particularly regarding uranium intended for Al-Qaeda, warning him against direct handling of nuclear materials.
While initially supporting Skoro with payments and training, the CIA's relationship with him deteriorated after a 2010 assassination attempt. Skoro reports being abandoned during the attack and subsequently cut off from support. Despite his service, the CIA refused to assist with his 2016 immigration case, advising him to maintain a low profile after 2020.
Under CIA direction, Skoro established an Al-Qaeda cell in the Balkans, using his connections and aviation skills to recruit members. His role involved identifying radical individuals at Muslim community events while providing intelligence to the CIA. His activities drew attention from Pakistani intelligence, leading to his interrogation as a suspected spy or Al-Qaeda member.
1-Page Summary
Blerim Skoro served in the Yugoslav army during the Balkan Wars and has shared harrowing details of the violence and ethnic conflicts he witnessed, followed by his attempted desertion and subsequent flight to avoid severe punishment.
During the early 1990s, Blerim Skoro was conscripted into the Yugoslav army, a period he describes as witnessing the worst war in the Balkans. Throughout his service, Skoro was exposed to horrific violence, including the beheadings of civilians, rapes, and merciless killings by paramilitary groups like those led by the war criminal known as Arkon.
At the age of 19, Skoro began witnessing these atrocities. On his 20th birthday, he saw his first beheading. He recounts incidents where Chetnik paramilitaries, Serbian nationalists likened to radical Islamic groups, like Al Qaeda, carried out brutal acts against civilians, including Croats and even their own people. Skoro recalls an incident when a baby was murdered in front of soldiers, its mother raped and subsequently killed, and another where Chetniks executed a former soldier and his father.
There was also a case where Chetniks threw grenades into a basement, killing the women and children hiding inside. Skoro and a Bosnian officer discovered their bodies. He also remembers trying to help an injured elderly woman, who succumbed to shrapnel wounds, marking his grim acclimatization to war.
Despite these horrors, Skoro emphasizes that he and his comrades never targeted innocent civilians and felt more empathy towards Croats. He describes the Chetniks as Serbian fanatics who targeted Croats and later waged war against Albanians in Kosovo.
Skoro witnessed the collapse of the Croatian city of Vukovar and labeled the conflict he experienced as "very ruthless" and equivalent to "clear genocide." He felt powerless to intervene in the atrocities he witnessed, due to threats against his family posed by the paramilitaries. If an Albanian harmed a Serb or Chetnik, retaliation was a certainty.
Stationed as a guard at the military base, Skoro was recognized as a skilled soldier. He was responsible for preventing unauthorized entry, notably by the violent and criminal Chetnik volunteers. During an incid ...
Blerim's Experiences During Balkan Wars and Witnessing Atrocities
Blerim Skoro’s recruitment by the CIA showcases his intricate dual life infiltrating terrorist organizations.
Embarking on a journey with the CIA was Blerim's avenue to unite with his family and lower his prison sentence, as he sought to clear his slate with the Americans.
After the 9/11 attacks, Blerim became an indispensable CIA asset, providing intelligence on terrorists within US prisons. Blerim distinguished himself as a muezzin in prison, a leadership role that facilitated his access to terrorist networks like Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Al-Qaeda. This allowed him to vet new prisoners' affiliations with terror groups, discerning between real threats and potential innocents, while dutifully reporting to the CIA.
The CIA equipped Blerim with extensive training in weapons, explosives, communications, and network building. This training played a vital role in Blerim's infiltration efforts, as he successfully established himself among the most dangerous terrorist groups, not just at a superficial level, but in significant capacities.
Blerim's recruitment by the CIA coincided with his dedication to disrupting terrorist activities. His deep involvement in the intricate web of terrorist networks was recognized by high-ranking members, offering him significant positions within ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
He was offered a leadership role within ISIS and tested on his Islamic knowledge by Al-Qaeda's high-ranking members. This was ...
Blerim's Recruitment as a CIA Asset in Terrorist Infiltration
Blerim Skoro's journey into criminal and weapons/uranium smuggling activities is a tale of one man's efforts to fund his family's escape from Kosovo and the repercussions that followed.
Blerim Skoro skillfully used a fake passport to leave Yugoslavia and reach Switzerland, a journey that displayed his street smarts and that he claims led to recruitment by the CIA. Traveling through Macedonia, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, and France, mainly by local buses to keep costs down, he spent approximately 2300 marks ($2300). Skoro managed the smuggling operation himself, leveraging his connections and innate courage.
Blerim supported his family back in Kosovo by sending money from the United States, enduring hardships to sustain approximately 10 to 15 unemployed family members.
Without questioning the Albanian mafia's methods, Skoro learned their ways of conducting criminal activities due to the risk of raising government suspicions. He became close to the Albanian mafia, known for their ruthlessness and quick use of lethal force, often taken very seriously by the Italian mafia. Although he had friends in the Italian mafia, his work did not cross over into their sphere of operations.
Skoro developed his criminal network through drug running, beginning with trips to Albania and then expanding to Italy. In the criminal underworld of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, Skoro became respected due to his military background and experience in war. Acquaintances respected him, aware of his knowledge of and proximity to acts of violence.
Blerim Skoro engaged in the smuggling of uranium from Russia to Al-Qaeda, with the uranium traveling through Germany and Italy. He emphasized the need for professionalism in dealing with uranium due to its dangerous nature.
Blerim's Involvement in Criminal and Weapons/Uranium Smuggling Activities
Blerim's story outlines his tumultuous relationship with the CIA, highlighting instances of perceived support followed by betrayal and abandonment.
Blerim started working with the CIA and received payments ranging from 400 to 2,500 euros a month, as well as being promised safety. His CIA training included how to communicate effectively with people, language skills, and how to handle weapons deals, particularly when dealing with Al Qaeda. He also learned to handle various explosives, and he personally loaded these explosives onto trucks for the CIA to destroy.
Blerim survived an assassination attempt in 2010, during which he was serving as a CIA informant. He implies that CIA agents abandoned him after this encounter, and feeling betrayed, he describes being abandoned "like a dog." During the attack, a colleague named Chris called for a rescue, but the local and secret police nearly clashed, and after being taken to the hospital, Blerim was left without further support. Following the incident, he found two tracking devices on his car, which indicated that he was left to fend for himself without direct support from the CIA.
Blerim Skoro expresses frustration over the CIA abandoning him and suggests the agency tried to discredit him by spreading rumors. He also hints that the CIA might use the fact that he's speaking out against them to further justify their actions related to abandoning him.
Cia's Treatment of Blerim, Assassination Attempt, and Abandonment
Blerim Skoro, operating under CIA direction, has been involved in the formation of an al-Qaeda cell in the Balkans with the objective of infiltrating and monitoring the terrorist network's activities.
Blerim's role involved establishing a terrorist cell under the guise of an al-Qaeda operation. The CIA allocated funds to Blerim for his mission in the Balkans, masking the CIA’s involvement by making it appear as though the backing came from al-Qaeda itself. Blerim leveraged his Caucasian appearance and aviation skills to gain the trust of potential recruits, positioning himself as an efficient leader capable of effectively reinforcing al-Qaeda’s presence in the region.
Skoro tapped into his network to recruit members for the al-Qaeda cell, targeting individuals who were eager to join the cause. He sought out the most fanatical individuals at Muslim community events, those who expressed a determined intent to attack Americans. Blerim's unique profile made him a highly valuable asset and even led to speculations that he might eventually meet with Osama bin Laden due to the strategic importance of nurturing a leadership role in the Balkans.
While advancing in his assignment, Blerim provided the CIA with updates on his activities which involved trips that caught the attention of Pakistani intelligence — an encounter tha ...
Blerim's New Al-qaeda Cell in the Balkans for the Cia
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