9/11 mastermind: Plot hatched in 1996

Over time, bin Laden scrapped various parts of the September 11 plan, including attacks on both coasts and hijacking or bombing some planes in East Asia, Mohammed is quoted as saying in reports that shed new light on the origins and evolution of the plot of September 11, 2001.

Mohammed also said he never heard of a Saudi man named Omar Al-Bayoumi who provided some rent money and assistance to two hijackers when they arrived in California. Congressional investigators have suggested Bayoumi could have aided the hijackers or been a Saudi intelligence agent, charges the Saudi government vehemently deny.

In fact, Mohammed claims he did not arrange for anyone on US soil to assist hijackers Khalid Al-Mihdhar and Nawaf Al-Hazmi when they arrived in California. He portrays those two hijackers as central to the plot, and even more important than Mohammed Atta, initially identified by Americans as the likely hijacking ringleader. Mohammed said he communicated with Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar while they were in the US by using Internet chat software, the reports states.

Mohammed told his interrogators the hijacking teams were originally made up of members from different countries where Al Qaeda had recruited, but in the final stages bin Laden chose to use a large group of young Saudi men. As the plot came closer to fruition, Mohammed learned 8216;8216;there was a large group of Saudi operatives that would be available to participate as the muscle in the plot to hijack planes in the US,8217;8217; one report says Mohammed told his captors.