Feds count several al-Qaida Sept. 11 leaders still at large

WASHINGTON -- Many of the terrorist organizers whom the U.S. government has identified as players in the Sept. 11 attacks remain beyond the reach of the worldwide effort to hunt al-Qaida.

Some still at large are top lieutenants of Osama bin Laden. Others are midlevel financiers who paid for the hijackers' movements and training. Others are thought to be low-level logistical aides who may hold key information about how the attacks were put together.

Many had contacts with the 19 suicide hijackers, particularly with the cell based in Hamburg, Germany, that included Mohamed Atta and two of the other hijacker pilots. Only a few are dead or in custody.

Whether they could regroup to pull off another massive attack is not known. U.S. counterterrorism officials say al-Qaida has been heavily disrupted by the war on terrorism, but acknowledge that numerous senior al-Qaida figures, and many of their followers, remain at large.

"You're dealing with individuals in a worldwide conspiracy, where individuals can hide within various societies," said Daniel Mulvenna, a former Canadian domestic intelligence officer and terrorism expert. "I think you have to say on balance, (U.S. counterterrorism agencies) have done rather well. Did they get into every nook and cranny and get every individual who provided logistical support? No. Are they getting there? Yes."

Some key players in the attacks identified by the U.S. and German governments:

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed: Still at large is the man U.S. authorities have pinpointed as the mastermind of the attacks. Since Sept. 11, he has risen to be al-Qaida's top operational planner, U.S. officials say. A Kuwaiti with Pakistani roots, Mohammed is thought to be in Pakistan.

Ramzi Binalshibh: A would-be hijacker who couldn't get into the United States, he became an aide to Mohammed and a key moneyman for the attacks. He was captured in Karachi on Sept. 11 this year.

Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi: A key financier of the attacks, who remains at large, he was last reported in Pakistan. Investigations of financial activity in the United Arab Emirates, where al-Hisawi was based, connected him to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Binalshibh and at least three hijackers, including Mohamed Atta, all in mid-2001. He isn't thought to be a senior al-Qaida leader.

Al-Hisawi previously had been reported to be an al-Qaida figure known as Shaikh Saiid al-Sharif, whom counterterrorism officials now say is probably three different people: Al-Hisawi; Shaikh Saiid al-Masri, al-Qaida's finance chief, and Saad al-Sharif, bin Laden's brother-in-law and a midlevel al-Qaida financier.

Ali Abdul Aziz Ali: Another financier, he sent money to Atta and two other hijackers in 2000. He is at large.

Mohammed Atef: Atef was bin Laden's top operations man until he was killed by a joint military and CIA airstrike in Kabul in November 2001. The CIA says he hand-picked many of the hijackers in late 1999.

Tawfiq Attash Khallad: Another top bin Laden lieutenant and a key planner in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, Khallad met with two eventual hijackers in Malaysia in 2000. He is suspected of helping plan the Sept. 11 attacks. He is at large.

Abu Zubaydah: Officials say they think al-Qaida's top coordinator of terrorist cells was involved in the attacks, but they have never laid out his precise role. He has given interrogators information that contradicts statements by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, particularly about the target of the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Mohammed and Binalshibh said it was the Capitol; Zubaydah said it was the White House. U.S. officials said they're not sure what to believe.

Zacarias Moussaoui: Binalshibh told interrogators that Moussaoui was an untrusted backup pilot for Sept. 11. Moussaoui, arrested by the FBI before Sept. 11, says he is an al-Qaida member but was not part of the Sept. 11 plot. He is believed to have met Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Afghanistan, and had financial ties to Binalshibh.

Zakariya Essabar and Said Bahaji: Both men are believed to be members of the Hamburg cell. They fled Germany and remain at large. Essabar also may have intended to be a hijacker, but was unable to enter the United States.

Mounir El Motassadeq, Abdelghani Mzoudi, Mamound Darkazanli, Mohammed Haydar Zammar: Other associates of Hamburg cell members, El Motassadeq and Mzoudi are in German custody; Darkazanli is free and maintains his innocence, and Zammar is in Syrian custody.

Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri: Al-Qaida's terrorist-in-chief admitted foreknowledge of the attacks with his deputy and doctor by his side. Both have recently issued audio statements that convinced American officials they are alive and at large.