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Ashcroft retracts statement on knowledge of attacks

From Terry Frieden
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General John Ashcroft on Friday retracted a claim he made during a news conference Wednesday that three men arrested in Detroit had knowledge of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"At this time the Department of Justice does not take the position that the three Michigan men had knowledge of the September 11 events," said the one-line statement issued by Ashcroft's press office.

During the Justice Department news conference Wednesday, the attorney general said, "Three Michigan men suspected of having knowledge of the September 11 attacks were arrested on charges of possessing false documents."

The comment came as Ashcroft was emphasizing the government's determination to lodge any possible charges against potential terrorists or their supporters.

It marked the first time a top official had indicated any of the individuals in custody were tied to the attacks.

The men Ashcroft referred to are Ahmed Hannan, Karim Koubriti and Youssef Hmimssa. Hannan and Koubriti were taken into custody when authorities searched a Detroit apartment looking for Nabil Al-Marabh, a suspected associate of some of the hijackers. Authorities say they found false documents and other suspicious materials in the apartment, including identification cards with the name and photo of Hmimssa. He was later arrested in Iowa.

Al-Marabh, who had lived at the raided apartment but was not there at the time, was later arrested near Chicago.