Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.
FBI agents have confirmed that five of the suspected hijackers responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington stayed in Las Vegas this summer.
Agents obtained evidence that Mohamed Atta, Marwan Al-Shehhi, Hani Hanjour, Nawaf Alhazmi and Ziad Samir Jarrah were in Las Vegas at various times from May to August, authorities said.
At least one man, and maybe the rogue pilots from each of the four hijacked jetliners that crashed, reportedly were among those visiting the city prior to the attacks.
Sources said Atta, Hanjour and Alhazmi were in town at the same time on at least one occasion in August.
Records show that Atta, believed to be one of the pilots, stayed at the Econo Lodge, 1150 Las Vegas Blvd. South, from Aug. 13-14.
He also stayed at the motel the weekend of June 29 to July 1. The 120-room Econo Lodge is a mile from the Stratosphere Tower, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Las Vegas.
All five suspected terrorists are believed to have died in the crashes of the four jetliners that killed thousands of people. Two aircraft slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon in Washington, and one in a field in western Pennsylvania.
Daron Borst, a spokesman for the Las Vegas FBI office, this morning declined comment on the local movements of the five men.
"We are forbidden from discussing the details of the investigation, but anyone who would have information that could aide the investigation should please contact the Las Vegas field office," Borst said.
That number is 385-1281.
Though authorities still don't know why the five men were in Las Vegas prior to the attacks in the East, Borst said the FBI does not believe that the city was a target of terrorists.
"There have been absolutely no credible threats to Las Vegas," he said.
Atta, 33, is believed by authorities to have been at the controls of American Airlines Flight 11, which took off Sept. 11 from Boston's Logan Airport and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
Al-Shehhi, 23, reported to be Atta's cousin or nephew, may have piloted United Airlines Flight 175 into the trade center's south tower. He was said to have visited Las Vegas in late May.
Hanjour and Alhazmi, who the FBI said spent time living in San Diego, are suspected of being on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon. Hanjour may have been the pilot.
The two men may have left Las Vegas on Aug. 14, the same day Atta checked out of the Econo Lodge, sources said.
Jarrah, who the FBI said had training as a pilot, visited Las Vegas in June. He was aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
The names of all five of the suspected hijackers who visited Las Vegas were on a list of six that federal agents showed to Las Vegas motels and hotels last week.
FBI agents in Las Vegas have been working feverishly in the past two weeks to track the movements of the suspected hijackers and some of their associates who are alive.
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