Hijacker may have stayed on Strip

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001 | 10:50 a.m.

Ziad Samir Jarrah, one of the suspected hijackers in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, visited Las Vegas in June and may have stayed at a Strip resort, car rental records show.

Jarrah, believed to be the pilot of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, rented a mid-sized vehicle from the Payless car rental agency at McCarran International Airport from June 7 to 10, the Sun learned Monday.

According to Payless, on his rental agreement Jarrah said he was staying at Circus Circus, but hotel officials refused to confirm this morning that he had checked into the resort.

Though the FBI has identified Jarrah as having been in Las Vegas, the rental agreement provides the first details of his visit.

FBI agents, who believe Jarrah was one of five suspected hijackers to visit Las Vegas before the attacks in New York and Washington, were notified by Payless Monday of the just-discovered dealings after the Sun's inquiry.

Agents putting together a timeline of the Las Vegas visits of the hijacking suspects requested a copy of his signed agreement with the car rental agency. This morning the FBI said it previously had obtained a copy.

"Any date that puts (Jarrah) in town helps give us the scope of what their activities entailed while they were here," Las Vegas FBI spokesman Daron Borst said this morning. "We're getting an idea why they were here."

Borst declined to elaborate.

But investigators close to the case suggested the suspects were here as part of their efforts to map out the attacks in New York and Washington and were not targeting Las Vegas.

"This is an international city, and it would be easy for them to get around without raising an eyebrow," one investigator said.

On his Payless rental agreement, Jarrah described himself as a private pilot who could be contacted at his room at Circus Circus, which is owned by the Mandalay Resort Group.

John Marz, a senior vice president and chief spokesman for Mandalay, refused to comment this morning on whether Jarrah stayed at the resort.

"It's our policy not to discuss the guests in our hotels," Marz said.

If the car rental agreement naming Circus Circus is accurate, Jarrah would be the first of the five suspected terrorists known to have registered for a room at a Strip hotel. The group generally stayed in low-budget motels and apartments around the country and in Europe, as it allegedly planned the attacks on the United States.

News reports have described the 26-year-old Jarrah, who studied in Germany with other suspected hijackers, as the pampered son of a wealthy Lebanese family. He lived on a $2,000-a-month allowance.

Jarrah, who died in the Pennsylvania crash, provided Payless with a Florida driver's license that listed a residence in Hollywood, Fla. Several of the 19 suspected hijackers lived in South Florida prior to the attacks.

He rented the mid-sized car for $32.95-a-day at 3 p.m. on June 7 and returned it at 3 p.m. on June 10, the rental agreement said. He paid in cash and drove the car a total of 200 miles.

Confirmation of Jarrah's visit places him in Las Vegas about two weeks after Marwan Al-Shehhi, who FBI agents have confirmed was here the last week in May in the first of the known visits by the suspected hijackers. Al-Shehhi, 23, is reported to have piloted United Airlines Flight 175 into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

Late last week British prosecutors disclosed that a sixth man linked to the terrorist plot, Algerian pilot Lofti Raissi, was here on June 23. Prosecutors alleged Raissi, under arrest in London, may have helped train the four pilots who commandeered the American jetliners.

Raissi reportedly was in Las Vegas June 23 with Hani Hanjour, who FBI agents suspect piloted American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon.

A week later on June 29, Mohamed Atta, who is believed to have commandeered American Airlines Flight 11 into the north tower of the World Trade Center, checked into the Econo Lodge, 1150 S. Las Vegas Blvd. He checked out two days later on July first and then returned to the motel for two more days on Aug. 13.

Hanjour and another suspected hijacker, Nawaf Alhazmi, who is believed to have been on Flight 77 with Hanjour, also were in Las Vegas on Aug. 13.

FBI agents have been tracking the Las Vegas movements of the suspected terrorists and some of their associates who still are alive for the past two weeks.

Lists of names and photos of the men have been circulated by agents at motels and hotels along the Strip and downtown.