Washington — Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft on Thursday released snippets of "martyrdom messages" videotaped by five al-Qaida members, asking for help in apprehending men who could be poised to commit terrorist attacks.
"Because the statements on the tapes suggest future terrorist acts, specifically suicide attacks, we are asking for the public's assistance in further identifying and locating the individuals on the tapes," Ashcroft said at a news conference with FBI Director Robert Mueller.
U.S. special forces discovered the five videotapes in the bombed-out Afghan residence of al-Qaida's chief of military operations, Mohammed Atef. Officials say Atef, a top lieutenant for Osama bin Laden, was killed during a U.S. bombing raid near Kabul in November.
Outtakes from videos showing three of the five men were played without sound at the news conference. The tapes "depict young men delivering what appear to be martyrdom messages from suicide terrorists," Ashcroft said, adding that investigators are continuing to analyze and translate the tapes.
The other two videos were not played because of technical problems, Justice officials said.
Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the five men tentatively identified by U.S. authorities, already is the subject of a global manhunt. Described as a key al-Qaida financier who helped plan the Sept. 11 attacks, Binalshibh is being sought by German authorities.
A friend of Mohamed Atta and several other hijackers who plotted from their base in Hamburg, Binalshibh tried unsuccessfully on four occasions in 2000 to enter the United States. Shortly before Sept. 11, the Yemen native flew to Spain and has not been seen since. German authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him on Sept. 21.
U.S. authorities have tentatively identified three of the others on the tapes as Abd Al-Rahim, Muhammad Sa'id Ali Hasan and Khalid ibn Muhammad Al-Juhani. The identity of the fifth man is not known.
Hasan and Al-Rahim were recorded against spare backdrops. Hasan appeared to be reading from a statement, not lifting his eyes. Al-Rahim was more animated and frequently gestured with his hands.
The third man, Al-Juhani, was shown seated in front of a colorful curtain, taking off his headscarf and then burying his head in his arms. He repeatedly hugged a rifle with a strap bearing an Arabic inscription, then placed his lips on the barrel and broke into a wide smile.
Ashcroft said officials had few details about the men other than Binalshibh, who has been named by the U.S. government as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Sept. 11 attacks. The men, whose nationalities were not disclosed, "could be anywhere in the world," he said, adding that it cannot be ruled out that some might have been killed in military operations in Afghanistan.
Photos of the men and other identifying information have been shared with law enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide. "Investigators are extremely interested in identifying and locating these individuals as soon as possible," Ashcroft said.
The FBI has solicited public help on a number of occasions since Sept. 11, receiving hundreds of thousands of tips in the early days after the terrorist attacks and establishing a "Most Wanted Terrorists" list.
To highlight the success of their public outreach campaign, the attorney general and Mueller once again praised the flight crew and passengers who subdued Richard Reid, indicted Wednesday on charges of attempting to destroy the American Airlines plane with explosive sneakers.
"We in the FBI are grateful to those who are risking their lives to bring us this valuable information, and we are grateful to a public, in this case a global public, willing to remain alert and to help in the fight against terrorism," Mueller said. "Every piece of information is potentially valuable. We hope that no one hesitates to surface anything that could be of interest to us."
Anyone with information about the suspected al-Qaida members is asked to contact the FBI or U.S. embassy and consular officials abroad.
Ashcroft declined to speculate about whether the martyrdom messages were recorded before or after Sept. 11, or about the timing of new terrorist attacks.
"Whether or not the attack would be imminent or not is something we can't determine," he said. "But we know that the right time to release these is in advance of any attack, if there is to be an attack, not subsequent to an attack."
The videos are among a "trove" of al-Qaida information uncovered in Afghanistan, the FBI director said. Investigators combing through evidence have uncovered valuable information about the global terrorist network, leading authorities in Singapore to break up a cell there and foil plans to attack U.S. targets.
Progress is being made in combating terrorism, Ashcroft said.
"We're further down the road then we were before, but this is no time for us to take our foot off the accelerator," he said.
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