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Investigation: Authorities focus on attack origins

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SUMMARY:

Authorities believe the September 11 terrorist attacks were funded, developed and conceived in England, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, government sources told CNN.

Meanwhile, copies of a letter written in Arabic that gave instructions to the alleged hijackers were found at three different sites, including in a bag and a vehicle of suspected hijackers, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday.

In Europe, an Algerian pilot arrested in London instructed four of the hijackers involved in the attacks on New York and Washington, prosecutors said at an extradition hearing on Friday.

And six Algerians arrested this week in Spain, whom authorities link to Osama bin Laden, were taken Friday to the National Court in Madrid, which handles cases of terrorism.

Also on Friday, federal agents arrested the last two of the 20 Middle Eastern men wanted for fraudulently obtaining licenses to truck hazardous materials.

UPDATE:

Investigators are closing in on a small circle of men with links to al Qaeda, the network headed by suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the sources said. But those sources said they are not yet ready to name any one person for indictment.


  •  Summary

  •  Update

  •  Key questions

  •  Who's who

  •  Impact

Unlike other terrorist operations, intelligence sources said they are almost 100 percent certain that no high level person was ever in the United States to help lead the attacks. Government sources said this is a change in tactic and makes it harder for U.S. law enforcement to do its job. One source described the suspected hijackers as "foot soldiers." (Full story)

The copies of the Arabic letter were found in a bag belonging to suspected hijacker Mohammed Atta that was recovered by the FBI in Boston, in a vehicle used by suspected hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi at Dulles International Airport, and at the crash site in Pennsylvania. Ashcroft said the letter is "clear evidence" linking all the hijackers. (Full story)

In London, Lotfi Raissi, 27, was detained last week following the attacks in New York and Washington. He was re-arrested on Friday on an international arrest warrant originated in the United States. Prosecutor Arvinda Sambir told Bow Street Magistrates Court: "He was a lead instructor of four of the pilots that were responsible for the hijackings. The one that we are concerned about is the one that went into the Pentagon." (Full story)

Earlier this week, the government said the six belong to an Algerian Islamic terrorist cell called the Salafist Group for Call and Combat. That group is on the list of 27 terror-related entities whose assets were frozen by the Bush administration this week. The men are suspected of helping to prepare attacks on U.S. targets in Europe, the Spanish government said. (Full story)

In their pursuit of fraudulently obtained licenses to carry hazardous materials, authorities have arrested Fadhil Al-Khaledy, 32, of Detroit at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago as he arrived on a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight from Shannon, Ireland. Al-Khaledy was scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Chicago Friday afternoon.

Authorities also arrested Raad Al-Malfky in Tennessee, but details were not immediately available. Both Al-Khaledy and Al-Malfky were among 20 men whom authorities said had falsely obtained the hazardous material transportation certificates in Pennsylvania. Authorities located the 20 men in seven different states during a three-day period.

KEY QUESTIONS:

How viable are fears about more terrorist attacks? Click here for more.

How will the expansion of law enforcement powers affect Americans' civil liberties? Click here for more.

How are people identified as terrorists communicating with each other? Click here for more.

How are law enforcement authorities using technology such as encryption tools to hunt terrorists? Click here for more.

What groups are U.S. investigators focusing on, and what are their aims? Click here for more.

How would law enforcement authorities go after financial assets of people identified as terrorists? Click here for more.

How did the September 11 attackers evade U.S. intelligence? Click here for more.

WHO'S WHO:

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Colin Powell: U.S. secretary of state Click here for more

Condoleezza Rice: National security adviser Click here for more

John Ashcroft: U.S. attorney general

Robert Mueller: FBI director Click here for more

George Tenet: CIA director. Click here for more

Osama bin Laden: U.S. authorities have named bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi exile living in Afghanistan, as the prime suspect in masterminding the September 11 attacks. Click here for more

IMPACT:

Information gained from the investigation could lead to fundamental changes in U.S. security and intelligence systems, as well as surveillance laws.



 
 
 
 



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