ALSO ON FRIDAY, U.S. OFFICIALS SAID LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES HAD DETAINED SEVERAL AL QUEDA-TRAINED MEN NEAR BUFFALO, NEW YORK. THEY WOULD NOT GIVE FURTHER DETAILS OF THE ARREST BUT SAID THE MEN DID NOT APPEAR TO BE TOP-LEVEL MEMBERS OF AL QAEDA.
'VERY SENSITIVE MATTER'
IT WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHETHER BINALSHIBH HAD BEEN TURNED OVER TO U.S. AUTHORITIES. ONE U.S. OFFICIAL DECLINED TO SAY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT, ADDING, "IT'S A VERY SENSITIVE MATTER."
IN AN INTERVIEW AIRED ON CNN, PAKISTANI PRESTENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF DESCRIBED THE RAID THAT LED TO BINALSHIBH'S CAPTURE AS A VIOLENT ONE. "THE PLACE WAS RAIDED AND THERE WAS A SHOOTOUT," HE SAID, AND TWO AL QAEDA MEMBERS WERE KILLED AND 10 WERE ARRESTED. HE DESCRIBED THE DETAINEES AS ONE EGYPTIAN, ONE SAUDI ARABIAN AND EIGHT YEMENIS.
BINALSHIBH'S CAPTURE CAME JUST DAYS AFTER A JOURNALIST WITH AL-JAZEERA ARABIC SATELLITE TELEVISION SAID HE INTERVIEWED THE YEMENI IN OR AROUND PAKISTAN'S BIGGEST CITY, KARACHI. BINALSHIBH AND ANOTHER KEY AL QAEDA MEMBER REPORTEDLY AFFIRMED THAT OSAMA BIN LADEN WAS PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN PLANNING THE SEPT. 11 ATTACKS THAT KILLED MORE THAN 3,000 PEOPLE.
YOSRI FOUDA, THE AL-JAZEERA JOURNALIST WHO SAID HE INTERVIEWED BINALSHIBH, SAID THE YEMENI CLAIMED TO BE THE COORDINATOR OF THE SEPT. 11 ATTACKS.
BINALSHIBH SAID ATTA CALLED HIM ON AUG. 29 LAST YEAR AND TOLD HIM A RIDDLE TO SET THE DATE OF THE ATTACKS, FOUDA SAID.
ONE OF THE SUSPECTED HIJACKERS HAD TRIED TO ENROLL BINALSHIBH IN A FLIGHT SCHOOL IN FLORIDA. AFTER BINALSHIBH WAS UNABLE TO GET INTO THE UNITED STATES, THE LEADERS OF THE PLOT MAY HAVE TRIED TO FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE PART IN THE HIJACKING OF THE FOURTH PLANE, TOP FBI OFFICIALS HAVE SAID.
THE AIRPLANE THAT CRASHED INTO A PENNSYLVANIA FIELD ON SEPT. 11 HAD ONLY FOUR HIJACKERS. THE OTHER THREE AIRPLANES, WHICH SMASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER AND THE PENTAGON, EACH HAD FIVE HIJACKERS.
BINALSHIBH IS MENTIONED REPEATEDLY IN THE INDICTMENT OF ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, THE ONLY PERSON CHARGED IN THE UNITED STATES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SEPT. 11 ATTACKS.
THE INDICTMENT MENTIONS AT LEAST FOUR TIMES THAT BINALSHIBH APPLIED FOR, AND FAILED TO RECEIVE, A VISA TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES.
IT ALSO DETAILS VARIOUS MONEY TRANSFERS HE MADE TO THE HIJACKERS AND TO MOUSSAOUI. |
