Page "Khalid al-Masri" Paragraph 1

The 9 / 11 Commission Report stated: The available evidence indicates that in 1999, Atta, Binalshibh, Shehhi, and Jarrah decided to fight in Chechnya against the Russians.

According to Binalshibh, a chance meeting on a train in Germany caused the group to travel to Afghanistan instead.

An individual named Khalid al Masri approached Binalshibh and Shehhi ( because they were Arabs with beards, Binalshibh thinks ) and struck up a conversation about jihad in Chechnya.

When they later called Masri and expressed interest in going to Chechnya, he told them to contact Abu Musab in Duisburg, Germany.

Abu Musab turned out to be Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a significant al Qaeda operative who, even then, was well known to U. S. and German intelligence, though neither government apparently knew he was operating in Germany in late 1999.

When telephoned by Binalshibh and Shehhi, Slahi reportedly invited these promising recruits to come see him in Duisburg .< sup > 89 </ sup >