Hijackers Surveyed Other U.S. Landmarks -Paper

October 13, 2001 09:09 AM ET

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Sept. 11 hijackers and alleged colleagues surveyed several U.S. sites for possible attacks including the Sears Tower in Chicago, Florida's Walt Disney World and the largest U.S. shopping center, the Mall of America, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Saturday.

Citing unnamed Bush administration officials, the newspaper said three internal government reports show that groups linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network also evaluated Disneyland in California and unspecified sports facilities.

Possessions of hijackers and what were described as "their alleged colleagues" included sketches or reports describing the facilities, the newspaper said.

But the report said surveillance information gathered by authorities investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed nearly 5,400 people, did not suggest the sites had actually been chosen as targets.

The Inquirer quoted an FBI spokesman as saying the agency had no information about threats to those specific sites.

The newspaper report was published two days after the FBI warned of possible new attacks in the United States. On Friday, an anthrax scare in New York raised fears that the bacteria with germ warfare potential could threaten corporate mail rooms across the United States.

The Inquirer said security has been tightened at all the sites identified in the government reports since Sept. 11.

The Sears Tower is the tallest building in the United States. The sprawling Mall of America, outside Minneapolis, is the nation's largest shopping venue.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

Answers

OG,

Mom just heard on the news - a plane from Miami to ? diverted to Indy after a strange substance was found in the galley...

Also, two Middle Eastern men were detained by the FBI when they bought 2 one-way tickets from the U.S. to Amsterdam...

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

Yep, I'm waiting for the on-line info to appear on the Dutch thing. I'm checking three TV channels--MSNBC, Fox and CNN--from OG's Control Center (teehee), for as long as I can stay awake, so will put up what I can when I can.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

The NY FBI guy at Giuliani's press conference was asked about the one-way Dutch thing and he just said it was "ongoing."

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

I'm still worried about Mall of America. It's not just a shopping mall, it's a tourist attraction. They have hotels there and it's right near the airport. It actually gets more visitors a year than Disneyland.

The crowds at MOA on weekends are mind-boggling--there's probably 60 to 70 thousand people there at any one time.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

Saturday October 13, 2:57 pm Eastern Time US Airways plane diverted after powder found

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A US Airways (NYSE:U - news) flight from North Carolina to Denver made an unscheduled landing in Indianapolis on Saturday after an unidentified powder was discovered, but the powder was found to be non-toxic, an airline spokesman said.

US Airways Flight 121 from Charlotte was met in Indianapolis by hazardous materials experts, standard procedure in such cases, said company spokesman David Castelveter.

``The flight was diverted to Indianapolis as a precaution when one of the flight attendants came upon a powdery substance in a trash bag in the galley of the aircraft,'' Castelveter said by telephone.

He said in a later telephone interview that the the powder was determined not to be toxic.

The remainder of the flight was canceled and the 60 passengers were being flown to Denver aboard two United Airlines flights, Castelveter said. United is a unit of UAL Corp.(NYSE:UAL - news)

Four people in the United States have been exposed to anthrax, a potentially lethal bacteria, since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Concerns about anthrax exposure have frayed nerves already jittery after the FBI warned there could be further attacks in retaliation for the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban regime has harbored Islamic militant Osama bin Laden. Washington blames bin Laden and his followers for the Sept. 11 attacks.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said on Friday that bin Laden may also be linked to the anthrax cases.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

Saturday October 13 07:52 PM EDT

Delta Flight Detained, FBI Investigates

By ABCNEWS.com

FBI investigates men who purchased one-way tickets on New York flight.

A New York to Amsterdam flight was canceled when the airline alerted authorities about four men who purchased or attempted to purchase one-way tickets, prompting the FBI to investigate.

MORE INVESTIGATIVE NEWS:

• Arizona Man Indicted

• FBI Warns of Additional Attacks

• Terrorist Financial Assets Frozen

The Delta Air Lines flight was scheduled to depart from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday evening. Two men were detained before the flight and held by immigration by immigration authorities after questions arose about their travel documents, according to the Associated Press.

The FBI told the Associated Press that two of the men were detained before the flight Delta Air Lines flight's scheduled departure from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday evening, and held by immigration authorities after questions arose about their travel documents.

Suspicions were raised after two men bought one-way tickets from a New York City travel agency, paying with cash and leaving an apparently bogus phone number, ABCNEWS has learned. A short time later, two more men, described as Middle Eastern, arrived at the travel agency also seeking one-way tickets for that night's flight. When the travel agent became suspicious and started to make a phone call, the two men quickly left the building.

"I'm not going to get into any detail other than the fact that we were conducting an investigation," Barry Mawn, head of the FBI's New York office, said at a press conference today. "The joint terrorism task force, out at the airport, there were some individuals that, as far as their ticketing and their status, we were checking, and that is ongoing." • Arizona Man Indicted

The FBI has indicted an Arizona man in connection with the investigation into the Sept. 11 terror attacks. ABCNEWS has learned the man took flight lessons at a school in Arizona.

"The Department of Justice will bring the full weight of the law upon those who attempt to impede or hinder this investigation," Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday as he announced that Faisal Michael al Salmi had been indicted on charges of giving false statements to FBI agents.

Ashcroft said al Salmi was in federal custody in New York — where many individuals have been brought for questioning by the FBI — and would be returned to Arizona to face charges.

The two-count indictment returned Thursday by a federal grand jury in Phoenix alleges al Salmi, 35, of Tempe, Ariz., was charged with lying to the FBI on Sept. 18 about his association with Hani Hanjour. Authorities believe Hanjour was one of the five terrorists who hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

Al Salmi claimed he did not know Hanjour, but investigators discovered the two spoke on several occasions, including at least once about their mutual interest in flying, according to the indictment. Hanjour, a Saudi Arabian national, received pilot training at a flight school in Scottsdale, Ariz., and eventually obtained a Federal Aviation Administration pilot's license.

Al Salmi is also licensed as a private pilot, and ABCNEWS has learned that he took flight lessons at Sunbird Flight School in Chandler, Ariz.

John Martin, general manager of the school, confirmed al Salmi took flight lessons at his school just before July. Al Salmi used a freelance flight instructor at first and then switched to the school's instructor, Martin said. Prior to July, al Salmi qualified for a private license to fly small aircraft.

Martin said he was able to give the FBI names of several other Middle Eastern people who were training around the same time. He did not know if al Salmi was connected to any of the other students.

An innocent man with a similar name turned up on the FBI watch list. Ali Salami said his name and phone number appeared on the watch list and the FBI called him three times before it became apparent that perhaps al Salmi had stolen his social security number. The FBI watch list still shows Ali Salami as an alias for al Salmi, which is apparently inaccurate.

Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said U.S. authorities have arrested or detained 698 individuals since Sept. 11 in connection with the terrorism investigation.

• Ashcroft Repeats FBI Warning

Attorney General John Ashcroft reminded Americans not to overlook the possibility of future terror attacks.

"Americans must be mindful of the threat of additional terrorist acts, and be mindful of the fact that such a threat is real," he said. "All possible measures are being taken to detect and prevent future attacks, to both incapacitate and deter would-be terrorists."

The attorney general's remarks came a day after the FBI issued a chilling, but vague, warning to the American public.

"Certain information, while not specific as to target, gives the government reason to believe that there may be additional terrorist attacks within the United States and against U.S. interests overseas over the next several days," the bureau said in a statement Thursday.

The FBI said today that they were "not aware of any specific or credible threat against theme parks."

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, U.S. officials have consistently maintained a high state of alert for possible future attacks. But this was the first formal warning issued to the public by federal authorities.

"The FBI has again alerted all local law enforcement to be on the highest alert and we call on all people to immediately notify the FBI and local law enforcement of any unusual or suspicious activity," the statement continued.

Ashcroft said the alert "should promote caution, not incite alarm."

• Stepping Up ‘Financial War’ Against Terrorism

Intensifying its effort to starve international terrorists of funding, the Bush administration moved Friday to freeze the financial assets of dozens of individuals and organizations with ties to known terror groups.

"This morning we took the next step in the financial war," Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said at a news conference in Washington, where officials named 39 groups and people believed to finance terrorist operations or to be terrorists themselves.

"We're determined to deny terrorists the resources to carry out their acts of evil," he said.

O'Neill said the list included businesses and charitable organizations that funnel money to al Qaeda, the global terrorist network of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, which authorities say is responsible for the Sept. 11 suicide hijacking attacks in New York and Washington.

"There is compelling, substantial and credible evidence to take immediate action," said David Aufhauser, general counsel for the Treasury Department. "We're interested in finding money that kills."

The half-dozen entities which will have their assets frozen by a blocking order issued today by the department include two honey producers and a bakery in the Middle East that are believed to surreptitiously funnel money to terrorists groups.

"We are putting the world on notice that those choosing to fund acts of terror can no longer hide behind legitimate business functions and expect to escape action by the United States," said Jimmy Gurule, treasury undersecretary for enforcement.

Among the 33 individuals named in the order are 18 of the 22 men identified Wednesday by the FBI as the world's "most wanted" terrorists. The assets of the other four had already been frozen under an executive order issued by President Bush on Sept. 23, authorizing the blocking of U.S. assets belonging to supporters of terrorism.

Bush has emphasized the financial effort as a crucial component of the campaign against terrorism.

"The first shot in the war was when we started cutting off their money because an al Qaeda organization can't function without money," the president said Thursday night during his first full news conference since the Sept. 11 attacks. "And we're continuing our efforts to reach out to willing nations to disrupt and seize assets of the al Qaeda organization."

According to the Treasury Department, the United States has frozen nearly $4 million in assets belonging to bin Laden, al Qaeda and the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan, not including the assets affected by today's order.

Officials said this morning that some 110 countries have pledged support for the effort and 66 have issued blocking orders similar to the one announced this morning by the Treasury Department.

"Today we add another brick to the international wall we are building against the funding of terrorist acts around the world," said Gurule. "We are using every tool at our disposal to cut off the various sources of funding for their atrocities."

Nations worldwide have so far frozen more than $24 million in assets since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Salim Jiwa contributed to this report

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001