FBI Has New 9/11 Hijacking Suspect

bmurphyfl · Nov 5, 2003

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-11-04-hijacker-usat_x.htm

WASHINGTON — The FBI has identified an al-Qaeda operative who agents believe tried as late as August 2001 to join the 9/11 terrorist plot as the "20th hijacker," a top federal law enforcement official said Tuesday.
"We are fairly confident we know who No. 20 is," said the official, who is involved in the 9/11 probe and asked not to be identified. The official said the unidentified al-Qaeda operative got into the USA but "had to leave" the country shortly before 19 hijackers carried out the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people. The official would not say why the operative left, whether he is alive or whether he is in U.S. custody.

A top Justice Department official confirmed that FBI agents believe they have identified the 20th hijacker. Both officials said the FBI does not believe the would-be terrorist was accused al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui or Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, an alleged 9/11 paymaster who tried to get into the USA at least four times before the attacks.
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I imagine this will cause problems for Moussaoui's prosecutors.

Murf

Garcia · Nov 5, 2003

I think the govt is looking for an excuse to let him walk. They don't seem to have much of a case, especially when they pissed the judge off.

It seems more of a concept rather than an actual person, but with leaks and unnamed sources, [gump]it's like a box of chocolates...you never know what your gonna get.[/gump]

These sources were cautious in their description of the theory, noting that such a person has not been identified. The theory is uncorroborated, sources said, and information about the theory did not come from any senior al Qaeda detainees.
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/11/05/911.suspect/index.html