A senior leader of Al Qaeda captured early this month in Pakistan has told interrogators that Osama bin Laden personally selected the targets for the Sept. 11 attacks and rejected plans for an even broader assault on prominent American buildings, officials said today. A classified government analysis circulated this week among counterterrorism officials said Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the captured Qaeda leader, has told interrogators that Mr. bin Laden gave Mohammed Atta, the leader of the Sept. 11 hijackers, “a list of targets.” The document said it included the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the United States Capitol, the White House, the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Sears Tower in Chicago. Officials are trying to determine if the statements by Mr. Mohammed are true. In some interrogations, officials said, Qaeda detainees have purposely spread disinformation. If verified Mr. Mohammed’s assertions would suggest that Mr. bin Laden played a more hands-on role in planning the attacks than previously realized, and his statements could significantly expand the United States’ understanding of how Al Qaeda works and what sites it might select as its next targets. Full Story
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