FBI questions man who lived with hijackers

WASHINGTON -- A Jordanian citizen who said he was a roommate of two Sept. 11 hijackers is being held on charges he overstayed his visa and is under questioning about his ties to the men, officials said Wednesday.

Ramsi Al-Shannaq is being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said Susan Dryden, a Justice Department spokeswoman.

He was taken into custody during a raid Monday on his Baltimore home and charged the same day.

Investigators want to know what Al-Shannaq knew about the hijackers and any possible plans they might have discussed, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official would not say where Al-Shannaq was being held. The men he lived with in the Washington suburbs -- Hani Hanjour and Nawaq Al-Hazmi -- are suspected of hijacking American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon. Al-Shannaq acknowledged living with the hijackers, the official said.

The official said initial questioning indicated Al-Shannaq was not involved in any plot.

The FBI is still searching for other men believed to have had close contact or lived with the hijackers, the official said.

Al-Shannaq was taken into custody after the State Department's diplomatic security service and the FBI raided a house in Baltimore, the official said.

Dryden said a court date was not set. Al-Shannaq is entitled to a hearing, and an administrative law judge will decide whether he should be released on bond, Dryden said.

The official said the government's interest in Al-Shannaq may never lead to charges, but investigators want to know if he might have heard something that would lead to other possible terrorist plans.

The government has argued that it may hold immigration violators without releasing information if their arrest is related to a terrorism investigation.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department said 73 people were being held in federal custody on criminal charges or violations related to the government's investigation of Sept. 11. In addition, 74 others were being held on immigration-related charges and were in INS custody. Some of those held for immigration violations do not have lawyers.