Moussaoui not part of 9/11 plot

2006-03-28 21:00

Alexandria - Two more high-ranking al-Qaeda captives asserted Zacarias Moussaoui had no role in the 9/11 attacks, one portraying him as a misfit who refused to follow orders, according to testimony on Tuesday in his death-penalty trial.

In both cases, for security reasons, their testimony was read to the jury because the government did not want them to appear in court.

Waleed bin Attash, often known simply as Khallad, is considered the mastermind of the 2000 suicide attack on the warship USS Cole and an early planner of the 9/11 plot.

He said he knew of no part Moussaoui was to have played in the September 11 attacks.

Another captured terrorist, identified as Sayf al-Adl, a senior member of al-Qaeda's military committee, told US interrogators that Moussaoui, a French citizen, was "a confirmed jihadist, but was absolutely not going to take part in the September 11 2001, mission".

The defence introduced an array of written testimony from these captives that was read to the jurors in an effort to undercut Moussaoui's dramatic testimony Monday that he was to hijack a fifth plane on 9/11 and fly it into the White House.

Khallad portrayed Moussaoui as something of a loose cannon during a trip to Malaysia in 2000, where he met members of a radical group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Khallad said Moussaoui breached security measures and al-Qaeda protocol.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, chief organiser of the 9/11 attacks, said in testimony heard on Monday that Moussaoui had nothing to do with the plot, but was to have been used for a second wave of attacks distinct from September 11.

Moussaoui's testimony on Monday that he was part of the 9/11 plot along with would-be shoe-bomber Richard Reid flew in the face of his previous denials that he had any role in the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3 000 people.

Because Moussaoui has already pleaded, the jury must only determine his sentence: death or life in prison.

To obtain the death penalty, prosecutors must prove that Moussaoui's actions resulted in at least one death on 9/11.

Even prosecutors are not alleging a direct role for Moussaoui in the 9/11 plot.

Instead, they argue that Moussaoui allowed the 9/11 plot to go forward by lying about his al-Qaeda membership and his true plans when federal agents arrested him in August 2001.

- AP