London – British and German authorities are investigating a potential link between an alleged plot to bomb U.S.- bound planes and a fugitive in the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said Tuesday.
The slim but intriguing lead emerged Tuesday, as British authorities announced an inquiry into the suspected diversion of charity funds to militant groups, made a new arrest and conducted 46 searches in connection with the alleged airliner plot.
Investigators are examining possible contacts between an unidentified suspect arrested in London last week and Said Bahaji, an accused Moroccan- German member of the Hamburg cell who fled to Pakistan days before the hijackers struck, authorities said.
One of the 23 suspects held here, who are predominantly British Pakistanis with alleged ties to a militant network in Pakistan, may have tried to communicate with Bahaji through e-mails to the Moroccan’s wife, Nese, who lives in Hamburg, authorities said.
The e-mail contacts apparently took place in 2004 and 2005, they said.
If there was a relationship between the British plotter and Bahaji, it could suggest that Bahaji remains active and prominent in the al-Qaeda network, which has found refuge in Pakistan and may have played a role in the airplane plot.
“It could be that to the extent that the big fish have fallen, you have little fish who rise,” said a European counterterrorism official. “The movement has not lost much force.”
Wanted on charges of murder in connection with Sept. 11, Bahaji is one of the few members of the Hamburg cell who have not died or been imprisoned or prosecuted.
He was a roommate in Hamburg of Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker, and Ramzi Binalshib, an imprisoned coordinator of the group, and allegedly provided logistical support.
On Sept. 4, 2001, Bahaji flew to Pakistan’s port city of Karachi with three Algerian extremists, joining an exodus of operatives involved in the impending attacks.
He then reportedly made his way to an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan. His trail ended there, but he remained in touch with his wife via e-mail, according to trial evidence presented in Germany last year.
An FBI official said U.S. authorities had no specific knowledge of the suspected contact between the accused British extremist and Bahaji.
But the official said that the FBI and the CIA are still hunting for Bahaji and believe he is being sheltered in Pakistan by al-Qaeda operatives.
