WASHINGTON,
August 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Federal authorities issued
an unusual and urgent worldwide alert late Tuesday, August 20, for a
twenty-year-old Saudi national they claim is allegedly suspected of ties
with those who conducted the September 11 attacks.
Saud
al-Rasheed, who has not been charged with a crime, is to be considered
armed and dangerous, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said
in a statement. The statement said authorities do not know where he
might be found, and though they do not believe he is in the U.S.,
authorities claimed Al-Rasheed might be actively attempting to enter the
country, reports USA Today.
It
was not clear what role, if any, Al-Rasheed might have played in the
September 11 attacks. FBI officials state only that they want him for
questioning, reports CNN.
"Law
enforcement agencies are requested to stop and detain Al-Rasheed and to
contact their local FBI office. He is considered armed and
dangerous," the bureau said, describing him as an alleged
"suspected associate of the September 11 hijackers."
Police
worldwide, including Interpol, the international police organization,
were notified and urged to contact a U.S. embassy or consulate if they
receive information about his location, according to the FBI bulletin.
The
FBI also released a passport photo showing Rasheed, 21, wearing a
traditional red-and-white checkered headdress common in Saudi Arabia.
Identified
nearly a year after the 9/11 attacks, the Bureau is seeking Al-Rasheed
based on recent analysis of evidence previously collected which
contained an image of his passport, issued in Riyadh, his birthplace, in
May 2000.
"On
August 15, 2002, materials previously recovered during the war on
terrorism were found to be related to several of the September 11th
hijackers," the FBI said.
A
spokesman for the FBI declined to say what the materials were or where
they were found, reports news agencies. Nor was the FBI bulletin
specific about the nature of Al-Rasheed's ties to the hijackers.
However,
two senior law enforcement officials, speaking only on condition of
anonymity, said Tuesday night that Al-Rasheed's picture was found among
pictures of several hijackers in materials included on a computer CD-ROM
obtained overseas some time ago, news agencies reported.
But
an unnamed senior administration official, who said the bulletin was
issued out of an abundance of caution, told news agencies that from
information reviewed by the FBI last week, "they were able to take
this piece of information and it showed clear signals or lines that he
was connected to 9/11," reports USA Today.
Al-Rasheed
is the 15th person sought in connection with the attacks with hijacked
airliners in which 3,000 people were killed.
Fifteen
of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. All had entered the country legally,
although three had overstayed their visas.
The
FBI has previously urged law enforcement agencies worldwide to stop or
detain Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national born in Saudi Arabia in
1979 who has a number of aliases, as well as 16 of his known associates
.
