Al Qaida agent lived high life in Philippines
An al Qaida agent suspected of masterminding the September 11 attacks was in the Philippines in the mid-1990s, plotting terror and chasing women, Manila police said.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed led a luxurious life, visiting nightclubs, scuba diving and renting a helicopter to impress a prospective girlfriend.
Kuwaiti-born Mohammed - one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists - spent much of 1994-5 in Manila with his nephew, convicted terrorist Ramzi Yousef.
"Many of the things he is suspected of plotting may have been planned here," said Rodolfo Mendoza, a police official who supervised operations against suspected al Qaida agents in the Philippines.
Much of the detail about the 37-year-old’s activities in the Philippines was provided by Abdul Hakim al Hashim Murad, a Pakistani arrested in Manila in 1995 for, among other charges, allegedly plotting to kill Pope John Paul.
In December 1994, Mohammed and Yousef went to Puerto Galera beach resort to take a scuba diving course, Murad said.
In the same month, Mohammed and Yousef rented a helicopter for an hour to impress a dentist whom Mohammed was courting.
The woman challenged Mohammed, who flew the helicopter himself, "to rent an aircraft and fly over her clinic while talking to her through his mobile phone and waving," Mendoza said.
US officials regard Mohammed as a key al Qaida lieutenant and organiser of the September 11 hijackings.
But he has yet to be indicted in connection with the attacks.
He has been charged in connection with a 1995 plot to bomb or hijack 11 US-bound flights originating in Asian countries, including the Philippines.
US officials also allege that he worked with Yousef on the 1993 bombing of World Trade Centre in New York .
The US government is offering up to £17m (€17.49m) for information leading to Mohammed’s arrest, the same amount offered for Osama bin Laden.
Mohammed is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.
