Atta, other Sept. 11 terrorists hid as students, top German police official says

By John J. Lumpkin

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The top German police official said Mohammed Atta and other members of the al-Qaida cell in Hamburg entered the country as university students, blending in among others from Arab countries and North Africa.

Ulrich Kersten, president of the Bundeskriminalamt, the German equivalent of the FBI, said Friday through a translator that Atta, Marwan Al-Shehhi and Zaid Jarrah – believed to be the ringleaders of the suicide hijackings on Sept. 11 – “drew no attention to themselves, and didn’t break any laws.”

“In Germany, we have quite a number of university students coming from Arab countries or North Africa,” Kersten said in a small gathering with reporters. “They just come to Germany to do their studies. They lead normal lives that are completely inconspicuous.”

Their conduct matches that of the other 16 believed to have hijacked the four airplanes on Sept. 11. Hamburg is believed to be one of the major sites the terrorists used to prepare for the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Based on the identities and activities of the three, German and U.S. authorities are developing a profile they will use to try to identify potential terrorists in the future, Kersten said.

Kersten, in Washington this week to meet with his counterparts at the CIA and FBI, described the German effort into investigation the attacks, saying authorities have searched 49 apartments and offices and tapped 60 phone lines. They said they are investigating 28 suspects.

“Financial investigations are of critical importance,” he said in a statement. “Findings into the money flows and use of credit cards are enabling us to create a picture of the terrorists’ movements and contacts.”

Warrants have been issued for four people, and one of those has been arrested. Still at large are Said Bahaji, Ramsi Binalshibh and Zakariya Essabar. A fourth suspect, Mounir El Motassadeq, was arrested at his Hamburg apartment Nov. 28 on charges he controlled an account used to bankroll several of the hijackers. German prosecutors said he had “intensive contacts” with members of the Hamburg terrorist cell.

German authorities have not established who from al-Qaida’s senior leadership – most of whom were in Afghanistan on Sept. 11 – directed the attacks, Kersten said. Officials have named bin Laden financial chief Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi, also known as Shaykh Saiid, as having receiving money transfers from Atta.

Authorities believe there are more terrorists hiding in Germany. Police are conducting additional investigations in Weisbaden, Munich and the greater Ruhr valley, Kersten said.

“We also continue to expect more terrorist attacks, which are targeted primarily against U.S. facilities and America’s closest allies, as well as against Israeli and Jewish institutions,” Kersten said. “However, we do not have any concrete information about the planning of attacks.”