FBI list of terror suspects circulated at motels

Jeff German and Keith Paul

Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2001 | 11:05 a.m.

FBI agents have circulated a list at motels on the Strip of a half-dozen suspected terrorists and associates to determine whether they stayed in Las Vegas prior to the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

The Sun has obtained a copy of the list, which includes the names of Mohamed Atta, Marwan Al-Shehhi and Hani Hanjour, three men agents believe commandeered jetliners that slammed into the twin World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.

The names of three other men -- Rohit Agrawal, Anand Shah and Nawaf Alhazmi -- appear on an FBI watch list of 155 people who may have information about the terrorists hijackings.

That list, distributed last week to local law enforcement agencies and security departments at casinos along the Strip, also was obtained by the Sun.

Motels and casinos along the Strip and downtown have been asked to check registration records to see if the six men stayed in Las Vegas before the attacks.

But so far agents only have been able to confirm that Atta was here.

Atta, who is believed to have slammed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, visited Las Vegas in June and August. He stayed at the Econo Lodge, 1150 Las Vegas Blvd. South, in the shadow of the Stratosphere Tower, one of the most recognizable Las Vegas landmarks.

Al-Shehhi, a relative of Atta's, is reported to have crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

And agents suspect Hanjour, who lived in Phoenix and San Diego in recent years, piloted American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon.

FBI spokesman Daron Borst declined to comment Tuesday on any aspect of the attempts to trace the movements here of those reportedly tied to the hijackings.

And Sheriff Jerry Keller sent down an order barring Metro officers from commenting on the FBI-led efforts.

"The FBI is the lead agency in the investigation and they should be the single point of contact for the media," Undersheriff Richard Winget said. "It's a matter of too many people in too many places releasing information that, while it's under the best of intentions, may be incorrect."

The order came as several Metro intelligence detectives and the deputy chief in charge of special operations were being deputized federally while they assist the FBI in the investigation, Winget said.