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Link between wanted Saudi man and 'dirty bomb' suspect?Wanted man described as 'serious player'
From Kelli Arena and Kevin Bohn
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal authorities are investigating a possible link between a Saudi man sought in connection with possible al Qaeda terrorist activity and "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla, government sources told CNN Friday. The FBI Thursday issued a worldwide alert for Saudi-born Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, 27. He is wanted on an immigration violation, but in a news release, the FBI said El Shukrijumah may be involved with the al Qaeda terror network and, if true, "poses a serious threat to U.S. citizens and interests worldwide." One source described Shukrijumah as a "serious player." El Shukrijumah lived in Pembroke Pines, Florida, at the same time as Padilla, 31, an American citizen accused of being an al Qaeda operative who plotted to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" inside the United States, according to the sources, who said investigators are checking other leads. Documents suggest the two men may have know each other, but Padilla is not talking and has not been cooperative in this investigation, sources said. Padilla, an American Muslim convert, was arrested in May in Chicago after flying from Pakistan to the United States via Switzerland. The government has labeled him an enemy combatant and transferred him to military custody. El Shukrijumah's name first arose in connection with documents retrieved after Ramzi Binalshibh -- fingered as a planner in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- was arrested last September, government sources said. Sources said El Shukrijumah's name again came up in documents seized earlier this month when alleged al Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested. Those documents refer to him as someone who would carry out a suicide attack, the sources said. Mohammed identified El Shukrijumah as one of his deputies, the sources added. Government sources describe El Shukrijumah as a field organizer and strategic planner for al Qaeda and liken his role to that of September 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta. Sources also said El Shukrijumah has a connection to the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma, where Zacarias Moussaoui, an accused September 11 co-conspirator, took classes. Atta visited the school but did not take lessons there. The possible connection to the school was not immediately clear. The FBI has no information that Shukrijumah is a pilot or ever took flight training in the United States. A spokeswoman for the school emphatically denied that El Shukrijumah attended the school, saying it has no record of a student with that name. She added that she did not believe El Shukrijumah has any connection to the school. But the FBI said he is "awfully good with aliases" so is continuing investigations along those lines. Shukrijumah, though born in Saudi Arabia, is believed to be a citizen of Yemen. His ethnic heritage is part Yemeni, part Guyanese. He has some family in Guyana and is believed to have a passport from Guyana. He may also have a Saudi, Canadian or Trinidad passport, the release said. El Shukrijumah is described as 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5, weighing 132 pounds or more, with a Mediterranean complexion, black hair, black eyes and, at times, a beard. His aliases include: Adnan G. El Shukri Jumah, Abu Arif, Ja'far Al-Tayar, Jaffar Al-Tayyar, Jafar Tayar and Jaafar Al-Tayyar, the FBI said. In Florida, El Shukrijumah's arrest record dates back to 1996 and includes four minor traffic violations. Records from police in the South Florida town of Miramar indicate El Shukrijumah was arrested in 1997 on charges of battery and child abuse.
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