Sept. 11 Fugitive Is Now Part of Bomb Plot Probe

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 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. 



 "There are indications about contacts of some of the terror suspects to Germany," said Annette Ziesig, spokeswoman of the German ministry of the interior. "This is being checked at the moment. We have good and very close contacts with the British authorities. We cannot give more detailed information at the moment in order not to endanger the investigations." 



 If there was a relationship between the British plotter and Bahaji, it could suggest that Bahaji remains active and prominent in the Qaida network, which has found refuge in Pakistan and may have played 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 European counter-terror 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. Bahaji allegedly took advantage of his German citizenship to provide logistical support and cover as the conspiracy developed. 



 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 a Qaida 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. 



 In July, German police arrested a Moroccan extremist accused of having trained in explosives at an Algerian camp and recruiting militants for Iraq. They said the Moroccan had acted as a conduit for messages between Bahaji and his wife. 



 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-Qaida operatives. 



 The FBI official said Bahaji and other al-Qaida operatives who initially fled to Afghanistan, where U.S. military forces are now active, had shifted to Pakistan. 



 In another development involving Pakistan and Germany, British newspapers have reported that two suspects being held by Pakistani police in connection with the alleged airline plot had German contacts, and that one traveled to Germany in the past. 



 Also Tuesday, a British watchdog agency disclosed that it has opened an inquiry into reports that funds raised by a Muslim charity, Crescent Relief, were diverted by the plotters. The Charity Commission also confirmed that the charity, headquartered in the city of Ilford, has a direct connection to the family of Rashid Rauf of Birmingham, who is alleged to be a key figure in the case. Pakistani authorities have said Rauf's arrest in Pakistan spurred the round-up last week of the suspects here. Those suspects include Rauf's brother, Tayib. 



 The charity was incorporated in 2000 and its founding directors at the time included businessman Abdul Rauf, now 53, the father of the two suspects, according to documents provided by the Charity Commission. The founders stated that the goal of the charity was to help "refugees, epidemic and natural disaster victims" as well as the homeless and drug addicts, according to the documents. 



 Recent news reports in the Western and Pakistani media have asserted that charities collecting funds to help victims of last October's earthquake in Pakistan may have been used to funnel money to militant groups in Pakistan and to the plotters themselves. 



 Without providing specifics, a spokeswoman said the watchdog agency is examining those allegations. 



 "The Charity Commission takes the issue of allegations concerning charities and terrorism very seriously," said spokeswoman Grace Money. "We are aware of the speculation raised in newspapers over the weekend suggesting links between U.K. charities and the recent bomb plot. However, as the regulator for charities in England and Wales we use our legal powers on the basis of evidence. We are looking into the suggestions that have been made to decide what regulatory action may be required by the Commission." 



 In Washington, D.C., U.S. Treasury officials confirmed that they are helping British and Pakistani authorities trace money believed to have helped finance the plot to see if any of it came from charity groups and from Pakistani militant organizations such as the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba and its successor organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa. 



 The two groups were "quite active" in earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan while plotting to advance their terrorist agendas, Treasury officials said. A recent Treasury report expressed concern that militants were abusing charity relief amid "weak to nonexistent government regulation or oversight of the charitable sector." 



 Teams of British anti-terror police hit the streets again Tuesday in a follow-up operation to last week's raids. They searched 46 locations, including businesses and residences, along with 20 cars in the Thames Valley. The area is about 20 miles from the London suburb of High Wycombe, where several suspects lived. 



 The targets of the searches included two Internet cafes in Slough, a town with a large Muslim population, police said. Lengthy surveillance of the suspects revealed that they tried to avoid detection by communicating from Internet cafes rather than home computers, a British security official said. Police have identified computers that were used and are reviewing them for evidence, the official said. 



 The operation also involved the arrest of a suspect in the Thames Valley area, but police disclosed no details about the person detained. In recent days, officials have said the 23 men jailed here, along with as many as 17 in Pakistan, constituted the major suspects in the case.