FBI clear on hijackers' identities

11/03/2001

By KAREN GULLO
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Robert Mueller said Friday investigators have established the true identities of all 19 of the Sept. 11 hijackers and have found places outside the United States where the plot was hatched.

But progress on the anthrax investigation has been slow, Mueller conceded as he appealed for Americans, especially those working in medical labs where anthrax is studied, to contact authorities about suspicious activities.

``It may well be that there is somebody in the United States who is manufacturing the anthrax,'' Mueller said.

FBI agents raided a Trenton, N.J., apartment Friday in the anthrax investigation and detained a man on immigration violations. It was unclear what role, if any, the man had in the anthrax cases.

The identities of some of the hijackers were in question for weeks after the attacks because investigators were not sure whether some were carrying false identification when they boarded planes in Washington and Boston.

``We at this point definitely know the 19 hijackers who were responsible,'' Mueller said.

The FBI has confirmed that the hijackers' names released in late September are the true identities of all 19 men, said a law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The names were those listed on the planes' passenger manifests and investigators were certain that those were the names the hijackers used when they entered the United States. But questions remained about whether they were the hijackers' true identities, partly because some of their names are common in the Arab world and some of the hijackers fraudulently obtained state identification cards before the hijackings.

Investigators now believe the names released on Sept. 28 are the hijackers' real names.

The Saudi Institute, an independent human rights watchdog group that has researched the hijackers' identities, said at least one of the hijackers identified by the FBI used stolen identification.

Abdulaziz Alomari was identified by the FBI one of the hijackers of an American Airlines plane that was crashed into the World Trade Center. Ali Al-Ahmed, the Saudi Institute's director, said Alomari used someone else's passport.

Investigators know some of the overseas locations where the hijacking plot was hatched and have identified overseas accomplices, Mueller said.

He did not name the places or others involved.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said last month that three of the leaders of the hijackers and three accomplices were part of a terrorist network that operated at least since 1999 in Hamburg, Germany, and in the United States.

European authorities have also found evidence the hijackers and their accomplices were in Spain and Great Britain. Officials in the Czech Republic said suspected ringleader Mohamed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence agent in Prague in April.

The anthrax investigation's focus remains closer to home and is centered on the area around Trenton, where three anthrax-laced letters were mailed, Mueller said.

The FBI searched a Trenton apartment Friday morning. ``The search was conducted based on information that was developed in the course of the anthrax investigation,'' said Sandra Carroll, FBI spokeswoman. She declined to identify the man who was detained.

The type of envelopes that held each of the three letters is particularly intriguing to investigators. The letters were sent in pre-stamped envelopes that are widely used by businesses and school districts and can be purchased at post offices.

The envelopes were withdrawn from sale to the general public as part of the investigation, the postal service said Friday.

Investigators believe the anthrax culprits could be highly-trained technicians with laboratory know-how. Mueller asked Americans for help in finding who sent the bacteria.

``You may be in the medical profession, you may be in some other profession that has something to do with anthrax,'' said Mueller.

``If you believe that persons are doing something with anthrax ... and is somewhat suspicious, we're asking you to let us know.''

In other developments:

— A Pakistani man with alleged links to at least two of the hijackers was indicted on unrelated vote fraud counts in North Carolina. Intiaz Ahmed Siddiqui, 31, was arrested in the Detroit area this week and indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Terbush said the government had information that linked Siddiqui to at least two of the hijackers, whom she didn't identify.

— In Washington, Attorney General John Aschroft said investigators don't think three men arrested in Michigan in connection with the hijacking investigation had knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks. Karim Koubriti, Ahmed Hannan and Farouk Ali-Haimoud were arrested on charges of possession of false documents. Koubriti and Hannan were indicted; charges against Ali-Haimoud were dismissed.