In the wake of the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Centre twin towers , it was alleged that one of Osama bin-Laden 's brothers-in-law ( Mohammed Jamal Khalifa who was subsequently murdered in Madagascar in 2007 ) utilised the IIRO Philippines and Indonesian Branches to work with terrorist organizations in the Philippines , Indonesia and elsewhere . Khalifa came to the Philippines in 1987 or 1988 as the first head of the Philippine branch of IIRO . He was also the IIRO 's Southeast Asia regional director . According to researcher Zachary Abuza , Khalifa established several charities and Islamic organizations in the Philippines ostensibly for charity and religious work but which channeled money to extremist groups . According to the Philippines National Security Advisor , Roilo Golez , Khalifa " built up the good will of the community through charity and then turned segments of the population into agents . " Amongst other organizations , Khalifa established the " International Relations and Information Center " , which served as the " primary funding mechanism " for the " Bojinka plan " of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Yousef to assassinate Pope John Paul II and blow up eleven American jetliners ( killing some 4000 passengers and bringing air travel to a standstill ) in early 1995 . ( The plan was aborted after a chemical fire drew the Philippine National Police 's ( PNP ) attention on January 6 – 7 , 1995 . ) A Philippines intelligence report claimed that while the IIRO " claims to be a relief institution " it " is being utilized by foreign extremists as a pipeline through which funding for the local extremists " travels . A defector from the Abu Sayyaf terror group told authorities , " the IIRO was behind the construction of mosques , school buildings and other livelihood projects " , but only " in areas penetrated , highly influenced and controlled by the Abu Sayyaf . " According to the defector , " only 10 to 30 % of the foreign funding goes to the legitimate relief and livelihood projects and the rest go to terrorist operations . " According to Abuza , while Philippine government claimed to have shut down all the charities run by Khalifa to finance Abu Sayyaf , a senior Philippine intelligence official complained to him that , " we could not touch the IIRO . " The IIRO stayed open until it was taken over by another Islamic charity , the Islamic Wisdom Worldwide Mission in 1995 . According to Abuza , " intense diplomatic pressure " from Saudi Arabia kept the charity open . " Their most important source of leverage was the visas and jobs for several hundred thousand Filipino guest workers . " On August 3 , 2006 , the U.S. Treasury Department designated the Philippines and Indonesian branch offices of IIRO as terrorist entities . Consequently , in August 2006 the United Nations Security Council listed IIRO 's branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines as belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda – and then after a petition had been made to the UN Ombudsperson , delisted them in 2014 . Subsequently , the Philippines and Indonesian branch offices of IIRO were delisted by the US Treasury Department on the 16 August 2016
Bojinka plan
Bojinka plot
International Islamic Relief Organization