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CNN Live Saturday

Suspected al Qaeda Member Is in U.S. Custody

Aired July 27, 2002 - 17:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: A suspected al Qaeda member who had reportedly met with Osama bin Laden in the past is also in U.S. custody. Sources say the man was involved in plans to bomb U.S. targets across South Asia. CNN's Maria Ressa reports on the man's al Qaeda connections and what the U.S. hopes to learn from him.

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MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He speaks fluent English. A Canadian national of Kuwaiti origin, according to this intelligence report, and he's only 20 years old. He's Mohamed Mansour Jabarah, known as Sammy by al Qaeda cell members in Southeast Asia.

Jabarah's links go to the top. Intelligence sources tell CNN he met with Osama bin Laden two months before he was sent to Southeast Asia by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a bin Laden lieutenant U.S. authorities say is the key planner of September 11.

This intelligence document obtained by CNN spells it out. "Jabarah, a personal choice of Osama bin Laden because of his mastery with the English language, was dispatched on September 10, 2001 by al Qaeda operation officer Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to assist in carrying out bombing activities in the Philippines and Singapore."

Jabarah planned and assessed al Qaeda's operations on the ground in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, he cased the U.S. and Israeli embassies with Indonesian Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi, code named "Mike." Intelligence sources tell CNN Jabarah decided the Philippine targets were too difficult and shifted their plans to Singapore.

There, Jabarah and Al-Ghozi helped local cell members make the surveillance videotape of potential Singapore targets, like the U.S. and Israeli embassies. A copy of this tape was found in Afghanistan in the home of Mohammed Atef, al Qaeda's former military chief.

That Singapore cell was largely dismantled after the arrest of 13 members last December. According to those arrested, Jabarah ordered them to buy 17 tons of explosives slated for Singapore. Last January, Fathur Al-Ghozi was arrested in the Philippines with more than a ton of TNT. But authorities are still searching for at least eight more tons of explosives missing in Southeast Asia. Four tons were purchased by Yazid Sufaat in Malaysia. Arrested last December, Sufaat is linked to another key figure, Zacarias Moussaoui, now on trial in the U.S. (on camera): U.S. authorities are interested in that link between Moussaoui and Jabarah, who was arrested about three months ago in Oman. He's been in U.S. custody about a month now, U.S. officials say, and he is cooperating.

Intelligence officials in Southeast Asia say they believe Jabarah could help authorities find the missing explosives, and help prevent future attacks.

Maria Ressa, CNN, Manila.

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