News and Document archive source
copyrighted material disclaimer at bottom of page

NewsMine9-11 — Viewing Item


911 gas theory

Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
   http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021210/ts_nm/attack_germany_trial_dc_2

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021210/ts_nm/attack_germany_trial_dc_2

Top Stories - Reuters

FBI Agent: Sept. 11 Hijackers Probably Used Gas
Tue Dec 10, 1:48 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Adam Tanner

HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - The Sept. 11 hijackers probably used gas or spray such as mace against passengers and crew on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center, an FBI (news - web sites) agent told a German court Tuesday.

FBI special agent Matthew Walsh, giving evidence at the trial of Mounir El Motassadeq, the first suspected conspirator to stand trial, said a stewardess on board had said in a telephone conversation that she was having trouble breathing.

Walsh told the court in Hamburg the American Airlines stewardess said a number of people had been stabbed.

"She also stated it was very hard to breathe, so we assume that mace or another gas was used," he said. "Mace is an irritant spray commonly used to ward off assailants.

Official U.S. reports on the attacks have been sparing on detail and Walsh's remarks appeared to shed some new light on what happened.

In cautious testimony, he told the court the stewardess called in details of the hijack shortly before the crash, the first of four that killed a total of about 3,000 people.

"On the telephone she said she saw these people stabbing a passenger as well as other flight crew," he said. "The passenger in 10B had stabbed the passenger in front of him. She thought the passenger was already dead.

"I believe he had his throat cut," he said.

Walsh, 33, gave a broad overview of the vast U.S. investigation into the attacks for the trial of Motassadeq.

Despite the efforts of thousands of officials, elements leading up to the attacks still puzzled investigators, including two visits to Las Vegas by plot leader Mohamed Atta.

"As far as Las Vegas goes, we're not sure," Walsh said. "We don't know what they were doing every day at each of these locations."

MONEY TRANSFERS

Atta, the ringleader, and two other pilots lived in the port city of Hamburg during the 1990s. Moroccan student Motassadeq is charged with serving as the paymaster of the al Qaeda cell based in Hamburg which is accused of masterminding the attacks.

Walsh told the court that the pilot of the second plane which crashed into the World Trade Center, Marwan Al Shehhi, received more than $10,000 in transfers from Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, a former Hamburg resident accused of playing a major role and who is in U.S. custody.

Washington has barred bin al-Shaibah, known in the West as Binalshibh, from testifying in the Hamburg case, prompting Motassadeq to ask Walsh. "I have one question: can you tell me why Ramzi bin al-Shaibah should not testify?" the defendant asked in accented German.

"That is beyond the scope of what I am allowed to talk about," Walsh replied in English.

Walsh told the court of an extensive law enforcement effort. The FBI contacted every flight school in the United States and researched all passengers on the plane to seek common links.

"On the whole all the hijackers as (flight) students were reserved and kept to themselves," he said. "They were not widely known, at least these four, as being good pilots."

After gaining pilot licenses, they trained on a flight simulator, Walsh said. "Instructors who taught those sessions said they were only interested in turns and approaches."

During the testimony, Motassadeq mostly listened quietly, taking some notes.

Walsh told the court the plotters had funds left over after training, even after Atta and two others visited Las Vegas a few weeks before the attacks.

"In the days leading up to September 11 it seems that the hijackers were returning the money they no longer needed," Walsh said of a wire transfer to the United Arab Emirates.





binladen
doubts-official-story
epa-air-quality
flight-schools
flight11-aa-wtc
flight77-aa-pentagon
flight93-ua
forewarned
inquiry
insurance-scam
investigation-pre911
lawsuits
norad-faa-response
not-focused-on-terror
pakistan
questions
saudis
suspects
sympathy-for-attacks
taliban
wtc-collapse
105 terrorists visas
9 11 commision { May 23 2003 }
9 11 terror attack binladen
911 flight controller handled egypt air flight 990
911 gas theory
911 suspect related wtc93 plotter { June 5 2002 }
911 widow ellen mariani letter to bush { December 1 2003 }
Air traffic controllers recall events { September 11 2002 }
Bush attends 911 memorial then fundraiser
Bush reaction { December 4 2001 }
Car bomb explodes outside state department on september 11
Cheney recalls taking charge from bunker { September 11 2001 }
Congress to investigating 911 loan abuses { September 9 2005 }
Day of the attack
Debunking conspiracy theorists
Deception
Evidence shows 911 attacks were delayed
Fbi grabs ap fedex document { May 8 2003 }
Fbi john oneill gets his own mini series { May 2 2005 }
Federal protective services deny car bomb occured
From the cockpits
Goss refuses to discipline cia officials for 911 lapse { October 5 2005 }
Government denies access to 911 tapes and transcripts { February 9 2005 }
Investigating the hijackings { July 23 2004 }
John oneill { September 12 2001 }
Man claims living wife died on 911 { February 5 2004 }
Nearly half newyork dead not identified
Need new pearl harbor { September 11 2001 }
New 911 cia report finds fault with cia officials { August 26 2005 }
Non arabic { September 19 2002 }
Number of rny dead 2000 less tally { October 26 2001 }
Ny fd releases 911 oral histories transmissions { August 12 2005 }
Palestinians candy
Pilots of hijacked flights on 911
Port authority releases 911 transcipts { August 29 2003 }
Pre attack { September 26 2001 }
Rare tape of wtc attacks surfaces
Reichstag fire { September 13 2002 }
Six years later bush consistently cites 911
Sora friedman
Sound recorded { August 7 2002 }
Springsteen sings { July 30 2002 }
Tumbling woman art [jpg]
Tumbling woman art { September 18 2002 }
Two white suspects in bin laden probe
Wash post offers free ads for 911 pentagon event { August 16 2005 }
Wtc_devil [jpg]

Files Listed: 47



Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security
Archives
Support one-state solution for Israel and Palestine Tea Party bumper stickers JFK for Dummies, The Assassination made simple