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.