Eleven hijackers may have planned attacks while in Britain

2:15 pm

Eleven of the nineteen hijackers alleged to be behind the September 11 atrocities, may have spent time in Britain before leaving for their suicide missions in the United States, The Times has reported.

The London newspaper said that, according to information given to Scotland Yard by the FBI, the hijackers may have been in Britain for a "vital planning meeting".

The FBI has given anti-terrorist officers the names of the 11 hijackers who arrived in the United States from British airports.

Five of the 11 hijackers left London in June this year. The other six left Britain some time between January and June, the report said.

London police were also investigating whether the other eight terrorists involved in the attacks and their support crews were in Britain in the month before September 11.

The FBI is reported to have asked British authorities to trace more than 100 other people, some of whom are suspected of being involved in planning and financing the assaults.

The FBI has sent Scotland Yard details of bank accounts, telephone numbers and cloned credit cards thought to have been used by the 11 while in Britain.

The Times reported that the 11 hijackers were spread throughout the four flights involved in the attacks.

Three were aboard each of the two planes that struck the World Trade Center. Another three were aboard the plane that crashed in countryside near Pittsburgh and two were on the flight that crashed into the Pentagon.

Some of the hijackers made repeated trips to Britain in the months before the attacks, suggesting, The Times report said, that a British-based terrorist cell may have played a central role in planning the attacks, raising fears Britain could be the next target.

At least four of the 11 are thought to have fought in Chechnya where Muslim rebels fighting for independence from Russia, are known to train in camps operated by the bin Laden network.

Inquiries have been hampered by the hijackers' use of multiple names and stolen identities.

Some of the 11 entered Britain using the fake passports and false identities they kept for the terror attacks.

- HERALD ONLINE STAFF, - INDEPENDENT

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