FBI, Germans Hunt Three Suspects
W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 23 -- The nation's top lawman says the FBI has extra agents on the ground in Germany as part of an international manhunt for three men suspected of conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers.
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Attorney General John Ashcroft said a dozen agents have been dispatched to Germany, where the three fugitives and three hijackers are believed to have lived together in Hamburg and plotted attacks since at least 1999.
"It is clear that Hamburg served as a central base of operations for these six individuals andtheir part in the planning of the September 11 attacks," Ashcroft said today at a news conference with Germany's Interior Minister Otto Schily.
German officials have issued arrest warrants for Zakariya Essabar, Said Bahaji, Ramzi Binalshibh, all believed to have been part of the Hamburg terrorist cell that was headed up by Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta.
Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi, also a member of the Hamburg cell, are believed to have piloted jets into the World Trade Center towers. Another, Ziad Jarrah, was a hijacker on the plane that crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside.
"Bahaji, Binalshibh and Essabar are sought for planning and carrying out the attacks," Ashcroft said. "Their connections to the hijackers are extensive."
The FBI agents join hundreds of German police in the hunt for three suspects, all of whom appear to have left Germany.
The Suspects
Zakariya Essabar• Moroccan citizen• Age, 24• Made arrangements to travel to Florida in February• Last known to be in Germany on Sept. 6
Said Bahaji
• German citizen• Age, 26 • Studied at Hamburg Technical University with Atta• Left Germany on Sept. 3
Ramzi Binalshibh• Yemeni citizen• Age, 29• Left Germany on Sept. 5• Hijacker Jarrah tried to enroll him in a Venice, Fla. flight school
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