Malaysian among militants involved in 2002 terror plot

A Malaysian recruited by al-Qaida to become a pilot for a second wave of September 11-style attacks on the United States pulled out of the plan after he witnessed the carnage of the first assaults, officials said today.

US President George Bush yesterday outlined some of the details of an alleged plot to hijack an airliner and fly it into a skyscraper in Los Angeles, and said co-operation between Washington and several Asian countries helped expose it.

The plan never appeared close to the stage where it could be put into execution. And scores of arrests in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks severely curtailed the ability of al-Qaida and it’s south-east Asia affiliate, Jemmah Islamiyah, to operate.

Adding details to Bush’s outline, security officials and terrorism experts in south-east Asia on Friday said Malaysian engineer Zaini Zakarai was among three men al-Qaida preparing to take part in an attack on the US west coast.