US officials said Wednesday that some of the suspected terrorists who hijacked and crashed four airliners had been identified, but authorities were not prepared to "make an attribution of specific responsibility."
Speaking at a press conference with Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller said officials had "identified many of the hijackers on each of the four flights that went down."
Although he did not identify the individuals, Ashcroft said some "were trained as pilots in the United States."
"We're not in a position to make an attribution of specific responsibility at this time," Ashcroft said. "We're still pursuing a number of leads -- over 2,000 of them. And when we have an appropriate assemblage of evidence and we feel like an announcement should be made, we will make it then."
He said the four planes -- two originating from Boston and one each from Newark, New Jersey and Washington Dulles International Airport -- were taken over by between three and six individuals per plane, "using knives and box cutters, and in some cases making bomb threats."
Mueller said investigators also had identified "a number of individuals who we believe had something to do with the hijackings, and we have pursued those leads aggressively."
"We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to find those responsible," he said.
He denied reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had made any arrests, instead saying that in the process of investigating, the agency had found people "out of status" who had been detained on immigration charges.
"We've been able to mobilize quite a group of investigators, about 4,000 special agents of the FBI, 3,000 support personnel," Ashcroft said. "We have specially trained individuals, scientists, lab technicians and the like, (and) an additional 1,000 that are available."
Mueller said the FBI had found evidence of "the presence at some point in time of either the hijackers themselves or their associates" in Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Miami, Florida.
Ashcroft called the investigation "perhaps the most massive and intensive investigation ever conducted in America."
Investigators fanned out across the United States, methodically hunting for clues.
One of the most promising leads may be found at Boston's Logan International Airport, from which the FBI and local police had seized a Virginia-registered car in which they found Arabic-language pilot instruction manuals, according to an airport official.
The Boston Herald reported that state police have identified at least five Middle Eastern suspects, including two brothers whose passports were traced to the United Arab Emirates. One of the men was trained as a pilot, according to the paper.
The paper also reported that at least two other suspects flew to Logan Tuesday from Portland, Maine, where authorities believe they had traveled after entering the United States from Canada.
Abu Dhabi public television reported Wednesday that two suspects traced to Boston's Logan airport were Wa'el Mohammad al-Shihri and Ahmad Ibrahim Ali al-Hazzouni. The network said the pair carried Saudi passports, with UAE-issued international driver's licenses.
The FBI refused to comment on press reports that investigators were looking for two cars which were rented in Boca Raton, Florida, by a suspect identified as Mohammed Atta.
Another Florida lead involves the car of a former student at an aviation school, in which pilot manuals and a picture of Saudi-born suspected terror mastermind Osama bin Laden were found, according to CBS television.
US intelligence officials, particularly at the Central Intelligence Agency, see bin Laden as the "main suspect" for these terrorist attacks, but so far there has been no proof of his involvement.
US authorities believe bin Laden, who is said to be hiding in Afghanistan, was behind the deadly terror attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
"We've made a really good start, and we're going to keep working on this, and we're going to do everything possible," Ashcroft said. "No more significant or substantial investigation has ever been launched in this country."
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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