Syrian Intelligence Linked to Al-Qaida Cell in Hamburg

According to reports in the German weeklies Der Spiegel and Focus last month, German investigators have discovered multiple links between Syrian intelligence and the Al-Qaida cell in Hamburg involved in the September 11 hijackings.

The connection is centered around a textile company called Tatex Trading GmbH in Rethwisch, Germany. The director of the company, Abdel Matin Tatari, was a member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and one of its principal shareholders is Mohammed Majid Said, the former director of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate from 1987 to 1994.

Tatari's 27-year old son, Mohammed Hady Tatari, frequently visited the apartment in Hamburg used by the terrorists and personally knew the pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, Marwan al-Shehhi. Mohammed also attended the wedding of Mounir El Motassadek, a Moroccan who has been indicted in Germany with 1,316 counts of being an accomplice to the September 11 attacks.

In addition, investigators discovered that Mohammed Haydar Zammar, a Syrian-born German national who recruited Mohammed Atta, the ringleader of the September 11 attacks, worked at Tatex. Zammar left Germany shortly after September 11 and was arrested in Morocco, then extradited to Syria. Syrian officials have refused to allow either US or German investigators to directly interrogate Zammar.

The German authorities insist that Syria must have been spying on the Hamburg cell, not coordinating with it, but are at a loss to explain why Damascus will not allow access to Zammar.

Jordan Demands Release of Detainees in Syria

During a meeting of the Jordanian-Syrian Higher Committee on September 28, Jordanian officials raised the issue of Jordanian nationals illegally held in Syrian prisons. "Jordan asked Syria to release Jordanians held in Syrian prisons," said Jordanian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shahir Bak in remarks published by the London-based daily Al-Zaman on October 1. According to Imad al-Sharqawi, head of the committee of families of Jordanian detainees in Syria, 120 Jordanians are held in Syrian prisons for political reasons. The Syrian authorities once denied holding the prisoners, but since the ascension of President Bashar Assad in 2000 have permitted representatives of the Jordanian embassy in Damascus to periodically visit them.

CIA Concerned about Syrian Nuclear "Intentions"

Early last month, CIA strategic and nuclear programs officer Robert Walpole stated that the CIA is "concerned about Syria's intentions regarding nuclear weapons" at a hearing of the International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services Subcommittee of the Senate Government Affairs Committee. He also noted that Damascus maintains a stockpile of chemical warheads for Scud missiles and has an offensive biological weapons program