Atta ‘did not lead attack on September 11’

MOHAMMED ATTA, the man believed to have led the terror cell that plotted and executed the September 11 attacks, was no more than second in command in the group, a German magazine has claimed.

Atta’s face became a symbol of Islamic fundamentalist terror after his picture was published following the September 11 attacks. He is believed to have piloted the first jet which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

But the German news weekly Focus claims a German investigation has revealed Atta was no more than a lieutenant in the Hamburg terror cell alleged to have been behind the attacks.

Instead, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, captured a year ago in Pakistan, led the group, the magazine says.

Germany’s federal intelligence coordinator, Ernst Uhrlau, told Focus magazine: “Bin al-Shibh is the most important figure in the Hamburg terrorist cell and was above Atta in the hierarchy.”

He added that the conclusion had been based on transcripts of an interrogation of Bin al-Shibh, a Yemeni, who was taken into custody in Karachi, Pakistan on September 11, 2002.

The whereabouts of Bin al-Shibh has not been disclosed by US officials, but it is thought the CIA are still holding him for interrogation.

The US earlier this year rejected a request by German judges to hear Bin al-Shibh as a witness at the trial of Mounir al-Motassadeq, a Moroccan subsequently jailed for 15 years for being a member of the Hamburg cell.

Another Moroccan, Abdel-Ghani Mzoudi, is on trial in Hamburg facing a number of charges related to his alleged involvement in the cell, including more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder. He is accused of providing logistical support for Atta.