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CNN Live At Daybreak

America Under Attack: Investigation Update This Morning

Aired September 14, 2001 - 08:23   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now we're going to head back to Washington where Eileen O'Connor is standing by with the very latest on the very broad investigation going on. What can you tell us, Eileen? I know you have been working the phones and you seem to have something new just about every 10 minutes. What's going on?

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do know that some of the people that were detained in New York last night have actually been released. They have been cleared. They've been released from questioning.

Also we do know that the Coast Guard has greeted a Carnival Cruiseline ship in Miami at 5:00 a.m. They detained two people onboard.

With alleged hijacking history in the past a lot of people being questioned, a lot of precautions being taken but they are - some of these people - being cleared.

Now the investigation into who perpetrated these - this act and their associates is critical. The arrest in New York last night - one man arrested. Now we know the others were released.

One man arrested still detained because he was arrested by local authorities - we're being told by the Department of Justice. And what we know is that at least eight people were detained last night for questioning at two New York airports.

Our sources say that four of those people had been at the airport - seen at the airport - trying to board a flight on Tuesday. They were confronted and sources say they had left.

Now because of a watch list that's been distributed to airport personnel these same people were picked up again when they came again. Now one of the total group picked up, according to sources, had false identification as a pilot. Again, most of this group has been released.

One of the people seen as a lynch pin in all of this investigation as to who may have perpetrated this is Mohamed Otta. Now he was listed on Flight 11 according to federal law enforcement sources.

He and another associated, Mawan Al Sherri, attending two different flight schools in Florida. A third man - possibly a cousin of Al Sherri named Reletta Sherri was listed as well on Flight 11 from new York according to official documents. That's the first plane that flew into the World Trade Center. That cousin attended a different flight school in Florida.

Now by tracing Otta's path that led German authorities in Hamburg to arrest an airport worker and bring in another woman for questioning. They search apartments where Otta Al Sherri and the other man, Mawan Al Sherri, lived for a time before coming to the United States.

It's also, as I said, House authorities generate that watch list which they are using precautionary measures bringing in some people for questioning. Some of those people we know though are being cleared and released. Paula?

ZAHN: Eileen, this may be a tough one to sort of determine but given now that Secretary of State Colin Powell has said on the record - has said publicly for the first time - that Osama Bin Laden is a prime suspect. How has that either changed the investigation or re- enforced it?

O'CONNOR: Well, it has re-enforced it and also - it has re- enforced it because they know that he has a very wide network and also a very sophisticated network. And also another thing is that with Osama Bin Laden some of these networks can be very loosely arranged, which can make them more difficult to detect.

Also, though, it has also led to some leads. They're looking obviously for known associates of Osama Bin Laden and they're matching that against associates of, say, Mohamed Otta, and trying to put those pieces of the puzzle together. Paula?

ZAHN: All right, Eileen, we'll be checking in with you throughout the morning. Thanks for that latest information.

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