1998 Congressional Hearings
Intelligence and Security

Statement By

J. Gilmore Childers, Esq.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
New York City, New York

and

Henry J. DePippo, Esq.
Nixon Hargrave Devans & Doyle
Rochester, New York.

Before the

Senate Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information

Hearing on

"Foreign Terrorists in America: Five Years After the World Trade
Center"

February 24, 1998

INTRODUCTION

As you know, we are here to discuss the trial of the terrorists
who bombed the World Trade Center. The trial of four of the
conspirators began approximately six months after the bombing.
After a six-month jury trial, each defendant was found guilty on
all counts. Last fall, Ramzi Yousef, who was a fugitive during
the first trial, was also tried and convicted for the World Trade
Center bombing. Each defendant was sentenced to a total of 240
years' imprisonment.

The defendants' respective roles in the terrorist plot - and
their participation in the World Trade Center bombing - were
reconstructed using over 1,000 exhibits and the testimony of more
than 200 witnesses. In the end, the evidence overwhelmingly
established that Ramzi Yousef, Mohammed Salameh, Nidal Ayyad,
Mahmud Abouhalima, Ahmad Ajaj and Abdul Rahman Yasin conspired to
bomb targets in the United States and that, as part of their
terrorist scheme, they participated in the February 26, 1993
bombing of the World Trade Center.

1. September 9, 1991 Through September 2, 1992; Ajaj Enters The
United States, Leaves To Obtain Explosives Training, And Plots
With Yousef To Bomb Targets In The United States.

Ahmad Ajaj first entered the United States on September 9, 1991.
He settled in Houston, Texas, and filed a petition for political
asylum, claiming that the Israeli government had imprisoned and
tortured him in retaliation for his peaceful opposition to the
Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Ajaj never appeared for an INS hearing on his asylum claim.
Instead, Ajaj relinquished his Houston apartment and, in April
1992, hastily left the country under an assumed name to attend a
terrorist training camp on the border of Afghanistan and
Pakistan.

After arriving in Pakistan, Ajaj traveled to Dubai and then to
Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, Ajaj obtained a letter of
introduction to "Camp Khaldan," a terrorist training camp located
just across the border from Peshawar, Pakistan, in Afghanistan.
The letter of introduction stated that the bearer, Ajaj, had come
to the "land of jihad" for training, and asked the leader of the
camp to provide Ajaj with training in weapons and explosives.

With the letter in hand, Ajaj traveled to the Afghanistan border
to attend Camp Khaldan. While at the terrorist training camp,
Ajaj studied the construction of a number of explosive devices.

Also while in Pakistan, Ajaj made contact with Ramzi Yousef. 
Together, Ajaj and Yousef plotted to apply their collective
explosives training and experience to bomb targets in the United
States. With this objective, Ajaj and Yousef studied the
voluminous materials amassed by Ajaj, including a series of
printed bombmaking manuals with blue covers. Those blue books,
like Ajaj's handwritten notes, contained formulae for various
explosives later used by the conspirators to make the World Trade
Center bomb.

Specifically, in assimilating their knowledge of explosives for
use in the United States, Yousef and Ajaj appear to have focused
on those portions of Ajaj's terrorist materials that explain how
to make a bomb using the explosive compound urea nitrate as the
primary explosive - the same compound later used as the main
charge of the World Trade Center bomb. Formula and instructions
for making a number of other explosives later used as boosters in
the World Trade Center bomb such as nitroglycerin and lead azide
- were contained in Ajaj's blue books as well. In addition, the
blue books set forth formulae and instructions concerning the use
of explosives such as ammonium nitrate dynamite, which can be
made with nitroglycerin. The conspirators were guided by these
teachings when they produced the ammonium nitrate dynamite that
served as a detonator for the World Trade Center bomb.

The materials Ajaj gathered during his terrorist course of study
also included instructions on making and using false
identification. Following those instructions, Ajaj and Yousef,
while overseas in 1992, collected materials such as photographs,
identification cards, bank records, education records, and
medical records to create the false identifies they would - use
to travel to the United States to carry out the terrorist plot.
Additionally, his materials recommended that a ground floor
location be selected as the base of operations for an urban
terrorist organization in order to facilitate an escape if
necessary.

Ajaj's terrorist studies abroad also encompassed instructional
videotapes. The videos not only demonstrated how to make
explosives, but also advocated a specific bombing target: the
United States. For example, the opening scene in one of the
videos, obviously intended to be inspirational, shows a van
crashing into the front of a United States embassy. Once inside
the embassy, the suicidal driver of the van detonates a bomb,
which destroys the embassy. Following that introduction, the
video demonstrates how to make a number of explosives.

Having assimilated his explosives training and gathered his kit
of terrorist materials, Ajaj and Yousef made plans illegally to
enter the United States, and to bring with them Ajaj's terrorist
kit. In August 1992, Ajaj and Yousef made reservations together
through a travel agency to fly from Peshawar, Pakistan to New
York City under assumed names. Both Ajaj and Yousef had entire
identities created to support their assumed names, including
passports, identification cards, bank records, education records,
and medical records.

On August 31, 1992, Ajaj and Yousef boarded a flight from
Peshawar to Karachi. On that flight, which constituted the first
leg of their journey to New York, Ajaj and Yousef occupied
adjacent seats in the first class section. When they changed
planes in Karachi for the second leg of their trip to New York,
however, Ajaj and Yousef split up in order to disguise the fact
that they were traveling together. They checked in separately and
sat apart from each other in the first class section of the
flight.

Yousef, who was dressed in a multi-colored, three-piece silk
outfit, left Pakistan using a British passport under an assumed
name. Ajaj, who was dressed in a conservative suit and tie,
carried a valid Swedish passport. That passport had been altered
by affixing Ajaj's photograph on top of the original photograph.
Evidently expecting to pass unchallenged through the INS
inspection area at New York's Kennedy Airport - since an
individual bearing a valid Swedish passport does not even need a
visa to enter the United States - it was Ajaj who carried the
kit of terrorist materials.

Specifically, Ajaj carried, among other things: two notebooks
handwritten notes on explosives, six printed bomb-making manuals
with blue covers; two instructional videotapes on making
explosives; anti-American and anti-Israeli materials; and
documents relating to false identifies.

Once Ajaj and Yousef arrived at the INS inspection area at
Kennedy Airport September 1, 1992, however, things did not go as
planned. The first INS on Inspector that Ajaj encountered
determined that Ajaj's Swedish passport was suspicious, and
directed Ajaj to the secondary inspection area. The Inspector
examined the passport and, upon discovering that it had been
altered, opened Ajaj's luggage and found the terrorist kit. Ajaj
was detained as a danger to the United States, and was later
charged with passport fraud in the for using the fake passport.
Ultimately, Ajaj entered a plea of guilty to that charge and was
sentenced to six months, imprisonment.

Meanwhile, at Kennedy Airport on September 1, 1992, Yousef - who
did not have a visa - was sent directly to the secondary
inspection area. Yousef abandoned his British identity upon
reaching the United States, opting instead to use an Iraqi
passport and claim political asylum. When Yousef was interviewed
at the secondary inspection area, he was arrested for entering
the country without a visa.

Yousef asserted, in a sworn statement to INS officials, that he
had succeeded in boarding the flight to New York by bribing an
official in Pakistan. Additionally, rather than divulge that he
was traveling with Ajaj - who was carrying their terrorist kit -
Yousef claimed to be traveling alone. Ajaj also claimed to be
traveling alone. Ajaj's lie, together with the fact that the
terrorist materials were carried by Ajaj rather than by Yousef,
resulted in Yousef being released on his own recognizance. Thus,
although Ajaj was detained and the terrorist material seized,
Yousef succeeded in entering the country to carry out the
bomb plot.

2. September Through December 1992: The Conspirators Obtain
Money, Chemicals, A Storage Locker, And Other Items For The Bomb
Plot.

Upon entering the United States, Yousef quickly began to work
with other trusted co-conspirators on the bomb plot. Within two
days of his arrival, Yousef had made contact with defendants
Mohammed Salameh and Abdul Rahman Yasin, who both lived in Jersey
City, New Jersey. Yousef began living with Salameh and became
known to his coconspirators as "Rashed.".

a. Ajaj Continues to Assist With The Bomb Plot While
 Incarcerated.

Ajaj was incarcerated from September 2, 1992, when he was
detained by INS officials at Kennedy Airport. Nevertheless, Ajaj
remained in contact with Yousef and other co-conspirators and
continued to be involved in the bomb plot during this period.
During his time in federal custody, Ajaj never contacted Yousef
directly. Rather, Ajaj used a friend in Dallas as an
intermediary. Specifically, Ajaj would call Dallas from prison,
and his friend would then either relay messages to Yousef or
patch three-way calls through to Yousef, thereby rendering law
enforcement efforts to detect contact between Ajaj and Yousef far
more difficult.

During one of those calls, Ajaj told his friend to stay in touch
with Yousef. Referring to the kit of terrorist materials seized
at Kennedy airport, Ajaj told his friend that Yousef might
"pursue my papers ... one of these days."

b. Salameh And Ayyad Provide Money For The Bomb Plot;
   The Conspirators Look For The Chemicals Called For In
   Ajaj's Terrorist Manuals.

Meanwhile, the other coonspirators proceeded with the plot. In
mid October, Salameh opened a joint bank account with co-
defendant Nidal Ayyad, who worked as a chemical engineer.
Together they deposited approximately $8,500 into the joint
account to fund the bomb plot. A week later, Salameh and Ayyad
withdrew the money from their joint account and transferred the
cash to an individual bank account opened by Salameh that same
day.

By mid November, Salameh and Yousef began to call a series of
chemical companies to obtain what Ajaj's blue books described as
the raw materials for urea nitrate: commercially manufactured
urea (often used for fertilizer) and nitric acid. After they
succeeded in obtaining urea and nitric acid for the "main charge"
of the World Trade Center bomb, the conspirators began to build
"boosters" and detonators for that bomb, again following the
formulae described in Ajaj's blue books and handwritten
materials.

C. Salameh Rents A Shed To Store Bomb Components; Yousef Orders
Chemicals For Explosives For Delivery To The Shed; And Abouhalima
Buys Smokeless Powder To Make Boosters.

Specifically, Yousef went to City Chemical Corporation, where, he
purchased 1,000 pounds of technical grade urea and 105 gallons of
nitric acid to make urea nitrate for the bomb's main charge, as
prescribed in Ajaj's materials. Yousef also purchased: 60 gallons
of sulfuric acid, packaged in 15-gallon carboys, to make
nitroglycerin for boosters; one gallon of ethyl alcohol to
stabilize nitroglycerin so that it could later be transported;
and a 25-pound bag of sodium carbonate to neutralize acids during
the mixing process. In mid December, Abouhalima, who was in daily
contact with Salameh and Yousef, purchased a 16-ounce can of
smokeless powder to make detonators for the World Trade Center
bomb.

As the conspirators began to assemble the chemicals necessary to
carry out the plot, Salameh rented a storage shed at the Space
Station Storage Company in Jersey City. All of the bomb making
materials were delivered to the conspirators' shed.

By the end of January, Yousef had placed two more orders with
City Chemical for delivery to the Shed. The purchases included
(i) additional quantities of urea and nitric acid to make more
urea nitrate for the World Trade Center bomb's "main charge";
(ii) five pounds of potassium nitrate, which can be converted
easily into gunpowder; (iii) two gallons of Methyl alcohol for
stabilizing nitroglycerin; and (iv) 100 pounds of aluminum metal
powder, 25 pounds of magnesium metal powder, and 65 pounds of
ferric oxide to be added to the urea nitrate mixture to enhance
the bomb's destructive impact as recommended by Ajaj's manuals.

In all, the conspirators ordered and had delivered to the Shed a
total of enhance the bomb's 1,500 pounds of urea and
approximately 1,672 pounds of nitric acid. They used 1,200 pounds
of urea and almost all of the nitric acid to make the World Trade 
Center bomb.

d. Yousef Speaks To Ajaj About Obtaining The Terrorist Kit.

In December 1992, when the conspirators were acquiring urea and
nitric acid for the bomb's main charge of urea nitrate and
looking for chemicals to make boosters and detonators in the
mariner specified by Ajaj's manuals, Yousef began to reach out
for Ajaj. Beginning on December 4, 1992, a few days after Yousef
ordered the first shipment from City Chemical, Yousef placed a
series of calls to Ajaj's lawyer in New York and to Ajaj's friend
in Texas. On December 29, 1992, after Salameh and Yousef had
spent two days calling myriad chemical companies looking for
chemicals to make boosters, Yousef again reached out for Ajaj.

Later that same day, a call from Ajaj was transferred to Yousef,
permitting the two to speak directly. In the conversation, Ajaj
immediately brought up the terrorist kit informing Yousef that
the Court had ordered the Government to return Ajaj's belongings.
When Yousef asked if he could take possession of Ajaj's things,
Ajaj readily agreed at first. He then said that it was not a good
idea for Yousef personally to obtain the materials from the
Government because it might jeopardize Yousef's "business,"
which, Ajaj said, would be "a pity!" As Ajaj well knew, Yousef's
only "business" in the United States was to pursue the bomb plot
the two conspirators had hatched together overseas earlier that
year. Ajaj then suggested that Yousef send someone else to pick
up the materials.

3. January And February 1993: The Conspirators Mix Bomb
Components At 40 Pamrapo.

Mindful of the admonition in Ajaj's materials that, in order to
facilitate escape, terrorist operations should be conducted out
of ground floor apartments, Abouhalima helped Salameh and Yousef
find a ground floor apartment in late December 1992 at 40 Pamrapo
Avenue in Jersey City. After Salameh and Yousef moved into the 40
Pamrapo apartment, the conspirators used that apartment in
January and February 1993 to mix the chemicals they had obtained
from City Chemical and stored at the shed to create explosives
for the World Trade Center bomb, including urea nitrate,
nitroglycerin, ammonium nitrate dynamite, lead azide,
and others. They mixed these chemical concoctions in a manner
consistent with the formulae and other specifications in Ajaj's
materials. The conspirators also prepared explosive mixtures
containing smokeless powder at 40 Pamrapa. Once the explosives
were mixed, the conspirators transported them to the shed, to be 
stored until needed.

While the conspirators mixed explosives at 40 Pamrapo, they also
attempted to calculate the size and type of bomb they would need
in order to achieve the desired destructive impact on the World
Trade Center. For these calculations, Abouhalima, who frequently
joined his co-conspirators at 40 Parmapo after finishing work for
the day as a livery car driver for various companies, studied a
book - identical to one of Ajaj's - titled "Rapid Destruction And
Demolition." That book contained a formula not the destruction of
buildings.

In the course of the mixing process, the conspirators spilled
chemicals on the floors and walls of 40 Pamrapo, on their
clothing, as well as on other items, thereby leaving telltale
traces of their illegal activities. In the back bedroom of 40
Pamrapo, the conspirators mixed large quantities of urea nitrate
for the main charge of the World Trade Center bomb, using
technical grade urea and nitric acid in a roughly one-to-one
ratio as prescribed by Ajaj's blue books. When mixing the urea
nitrate, the conspirators first dissolved the urea in water and
then added the nitric acid. This process created harsh chemical
fumes, which required the conspirators to wear surgical masks
during the mixing process, caused some of the paint on the walls
to change from white to blue, and resulted in corrosion on the
inside of the back bedroom's doorknob and door-hinges.

To enhance the urea nitrate mixture and increase the World Trade
Center bomb's destructive impact, the conspirators added aluminum
powder and other metals, as recommended by Ajaj's bomb-making
manuals. During the mixing process, the urea nitrate overheated
and bubbled, splattering the walls and hitting the ceiling of the
back bedroom. The conspirators flushed some of the excess
chemicals down the toilet, spilling urea nitrate in the bathroom
in the process.
Another explosive mixed in the 40 Pamrapo apartment was
nitroglycerin, which the conspirators used to make boosters for
the World Trade Center bomb. As recommended by Ajaj's manuals,
the conspirators used ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol to
stabilize the nitroglycerin for transport, and sodium carbonate
to neutralize acids as they mixed. Some of the nitroglycerin was
used by the conspirators to make sticks of ammonium nitrate
dynamite, which were wrapped in duct tape and added to the bomb
as boosters. During the mixing process, the conspirators spilled
nitroglycerin in the apartment and on their clothing, again
leaving revealing traces of the explosive.

4. February 1993: The Conspirators Survey The World Trade
   Center Complex And Finalize Their Preparations.

The target of the bomb plot was the World Trade Center Complex, a
sixteen-acre site located in lower Manhattan. Although mostly
known for the Twin Towers, which are 110 stories tall and 1,550
feet high, the World Trade Center consists of seven buildings,
including the Vista Hotel. Present in the World Trade Center
Complex on any given day are roughly 20,000 employees of the
various businesses located in the Complex, as well as
approximately 80,000 additional people who are either visitors to
the Complex or commuters traveling through it.

In February 1993, Ayyad obtained additional chemicals to make
boosters for the World Trade Center bomb. To obtain the
chemicals, Ayyad used his status as a chemical company employee,
and even faxed a purchase order on his company's letterhead.
Ayyad also procured hydrogen gas in an effort to enhance the
power of the World Trade Center bomb. Gas enhancement involves
the addition of a gas, such as hydrogen, to a bomb in order to
heighten its destructive force.

Initially, Ayyad sought to obtain the hydrogen gas directly from
his employer. When he was refused, Ayyad called a number of
compressed gas companies from his office telephone, including AGL
Welding Supply Co. with whom he ultimately placed an order.

a. Ayyad and Salameh Rent Vehicles And The Conspirators Scout out
The World Trade Center Complex.

In mid February, Ayyad rented an automobile, and listed Salameh
as an additional driver. Salameh drove that rental car to inspect
the B-2 level of the World Trade Center Complex, where the
conspirators would later place the bomb. As it names suggests,
the B-2 level is the second underground level in the Complex, and
at that time was used primarily for parking. The B-2 level also 
contained.a section leased by the United States Secret Service
for parking, fenced off from the larger public parking area.

One week later, Ayyad exchanged the automobile for another, and,
again, listed Salameh as an additional driver. Two days before
the bombing, the conspirators used that rental car to survey the
B-2 level of the World Trade Center Complex one more time.
On February 23, 1993, Salameh rented a yellow Ryder Ford
Econoline cargo van. At the time, he said that he would need the
van until at least February 29, 1993.

b. Ayyad Orders A Shipment of Hydrogen Gas, Which Is Received By
Salameh At The Shed.

The day after Salameh obtained the Ryder van to house the bomb,
Ayyad contacted AGL Welding and ordered three tanks of standard
hydrogen to enhance the power of the bomb. Ayyad requested that
the hydrogen be delivered to the storage shed, and said that he
would not be returning the tanks. 

The next day, February 25, 1993, AGL Welding delivered the three 
hydrogen tanks ordered by Ayyad the previous day. Salameh
accepted delivery. The AGL truck driver tried to bring the tanks
into the storage facility but was stopped by a employee, who
initially would not allow the tanks inside the facility because
of their potential to explode. Only when Salameh advised that a
van was coming to pick up the hydrogen tanks within minutes did
the employee permit the tanks to be brought into the facility. A
short while later, Salameh helped load the hydrogen'tanks into
the Ryder van he had rented on February 23, and then left the
storage facility.

C. The Conspirators Begin To Build A Defense: Salameh
   Reports The Ryder Van Stolen.

The night before the bombing in order to distance himself from
the Ryder van, Salameh falsely reported to the police that it had
been stolen. In making this false report, Salameh proffered a
handwritten piece of paper which incorrectly represented the
license number of the van. Without the correct information, the
police could not register a stolen vehicle report for the van.

5. The February 26, 1993 Bombing of The World Trade Center     
   Complex.

The day before the bombing the conspirators loaded the bomb into
the cargo area of the Ryder van. The completed bomb contained a
urea nitrate main charge laced with aluminum powder, magnesium
powder and ferric oxide for extra potency; ammonium nitrate
dynamite and lead azide boosters; a smokeless powder booster; and
hobby fuse inside rubber-tubing to prevent early detonation.
Further to enhance the bomb's destructive impact, the
conspirators also placed the AGL hydrogen tanks inside the cargo
area of the Ryder van. 

The conspirators then drove the van and its deadly cargo from
Jersey City to Manhattan, eventually making their way into the
red parking lot on the B-2 level of the World Trade Center
Complex, where they parked the van. The conspirators
then exited the van, with the bomb set to explode in the middle
of a busy work day, and fled the World Trade Center Complex.

At approximately 12: 18 p.m., the bomb in the Ryder van exploded,
killing  the bomb in the Ryder van exploded, killing six people
inside the World Trade Center Complex. The violent blast injured
more than a thousand others, who suffered injuries ranging from
crushed limbs to smoke inhalation. 

The blast blew a huge crater in the B-2 level and destroyed
portions of the B-1 level above it. A steel beam weighing
approximately 3,000 pounds, that it was immediately adjacent to
the point of the explosion, was propelled 30 feet inside Tower
One, into to room were four people were killed. The Visit Hotel,
located directly above the blast area, was almost toppled. The
explosion so badly damaged the water system for the World Trade
Center Complex that two million gallons of water gushed from
severed pipes into the sub-grade levels. In addition, almost all
electricity to the World Trade Center was cut, and the remaining
lines had to be severed to avoid electrocution. Thus, as a of the
bombing, there was no lighting, heat, emergency power or running
water, and no way to communicate with the Complex's numerous
tenants. The explosion also caused approximately $300 million in
property damage to the World Trade Center Complex.

6. After The Explosion.

a. Remnants Of The Blast Are Pieced Together.

Contrary to what the conspirators had hoped, not all traces of
their bomb were destroyed by the blast or irretrievably buried
underneath tons of debris. Instead, critical pieces of the Ryder
van and its tires, as well as portions of the three AGL hydrogen
tanks, were recovered after the blast, providing devastating
proof of the conspirators' heinous crimes.

Specifically, an explosives expert concluded that each of the
pieces recovered from the crime scene that were later identified
by a Ford Motor Company expert as parts of a Ford Econoline cargo
van displayed unique damage that occurred to only one vehicle in
the sub-grade level of the World Trade Center Complex: the
vehicle that held the bomb. Two critical pieces of the Ryder van
that were recovered included sections of the frame rail which
contained a unique confidential VIN number. This information
identified the vehicle containing the bomb as the Ryder van
rented by Salameh.

Further, an expert from AGL was able to identify certain
fragments recovered from the sub-grade levels of the World Trade
Center Complex as pieces of three distinct AGL gas cylinders.
Each of those fragments displayed unique explosive damage,
indicating that the AGL hydrogen cylinders were part of the
World Trade Center bomb.

b. The Conspirators Proclaim Responsibility For The World Trade 
   Center Bombing And Threaten Future Terrorist Attacks.

On February 27, 1993, the day after the bombing, Ayyad called the
Daily News "tips line" to claim responsibility on behalf of the
"Liberation Army." Specifically, in his spoken message, which the
Daily News tape recorded, Ayyad proclaimed: 
This is the Liberation Army. We conducted the explosion at the
World Trade Center. You will get our demands by mail. This is the
Liberation Army.

Consistent with Ayyad's announcement to the Daily News that the
demands of the "Liberation Army" would be sent by mail, the
conspirators sent a letter to the New York Times. The
conspirators' letter stated that the World Trade Center was
bombed in retaliation for American support of Israel, demanded
changes in United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and
threatened that, if these demands were not met, more terrorist
"missions" would be carried out against military and civilian
targets in America and abroad. Specifically, the letter declared:

We are, the fifth battalion in the LIBERATION ARMY, declare our
responsibility for the explosion on the mentioned building. This
action was done in response for the American political,
economical, and military support to Israel the state of terrorism
and to the rest of the dictator countries in the region.

OUR DEMANDS ARE:

1 - Stop all military, economical, and
political aid to Israel.

2 - All diplomatic relations with Israel
must stop.

3 - Not to interfere with any of the
Middle East countries interior affairs.

IF our demands are not met, all of our functional groups in the
army will continue to execute our missions against the military
and civilian targets in and out the United States. For your own
information, our army has more than hundred and fifty suicidal
soldiers ready to go ahead. The terrorism that Israel practices
(Which is supported by America) must be faced with a similar one.
The dictatorship and terrorism also supported by America) that
some countries are practicing against their own people must also
be faced with terrorism.

The American people must know, that their civilians who got
killed are not better than those who are getting killed by the
American weapons and support.

The American people are responsible for the actions of their
government and they must question all of the  crimes that their
government is committing against other people. Or they -
Americans - will be the targets of our operations that could
diminish them.

LIBERATION ARMY
FIFTH
BATTALION

The conspirators also drafted a second letter, which was later
recovered from an erased file on a computer disk seized from
Ayyad's office. In this second letter, which the conspirators
apparently did not send, proclaimed that the World Trade Center
bomb did not do as much damage as had been intended, because
their "calculations were not very accurate this time." They
warned, however, that they would be more precise in the future
and would continue to target the World Trade Center if their
demands were not met. After his arrest Ramzi Yousef was more
specific. He said that the conspirators had intended for the bomb
to topple one of the towers and hoped that it would crash into
the other, bringing them both down, and killing one quarter of a
million people.

c. Salameh And Abouhalima Prepare Defenses; Yousef, Yasin And
Abouhalima Flee; Salameh Makes Plans To Flee But Is Arrested.

At the same time as the conspirators were taking credit for the
World Trade Center bombing in the name of the "Liberation Army,"
they also sought to avoid arrest by distancing themselves from
the crime and making escape plans.

On the night of February 26, Yousef fled on a Pakastani
International Airlines flight from Kennedy Airport to Karachi,
Pakistan. From Karachi, Yousef proceeded on to Quetta, Pakistan,
located at the Afghanistan border. It took nearly two years
before he would be apprehended in Pakistan.

Following Yousef's lead, Abouhalima hastily prepared to flee as
well. On February 27, 1993, Aboulialima booked a one-way ticket
on the first available flight to the Sudan. On March 2, 1993,
Abouhalima flew out of JFK to the Sudan via Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
on a one-way ticket, without his family and without any luggage.
Three weeks later, Abouhalima was brought back to the United
States after having been turned over to the FBI by Egyptian
authorities.

Yasin also purchased a ticket for a flight from JFK to Amman,
Jordan, and successfully fled the country. He remains a fugitive
to this day.

In the afternoon of February 26, 1993, Salameh - confident that
the Ryder van had been blown to pieces in the World Trade Center
Complex - returned to the rental agency and requested the return
of his $400 security deposit. He was told to fill out a police
report and return after he had done so.

Salameh also began making plans to flee the country. On March 1,
1992, Salameh purchased a ticket for a flight from New York to
Amsterdam and used the ticket to obtain a visa to the
Netherlands. Although he planned to flee, Salameh evidently hoped
to secure the return of his deposit for the Ryder van prior to
leaving the country. Accordingly, on March 4, 1993, Salameh
returned to the rental office to close out his contract and
retrieve his deposit.

Unbeknownst to Salameh, however, FBI agents, having traced the
Ryder van to the rental agency, and having been alerted that
Salameh was coming to claim his deposit, were waiting for him.
That day, Mohammed Salameh was arrested.

In the days that followed, agents obtained and executed a series
of search warrants for various locations linked to the
conspirators and their terrorist plot and ultimately arrested
Ayyad, Abouhalima and Ajaj. Through the evidence seized from
these searches and from the defendants at the time of their
arrest, law enforcement was able to piece together the terrorist
plot.