CBS 5 - KPHO Terror trail leads to Arizona

Tucson, AZ could not be further from the horrifying images that filled television screens across the country 10 years ago. But during the 1980s and 90s this southwestern city and its Islamic center were home to faces that would become notorious in the world of terrorism.

Wa'el Hamzah Jelaidan was the president of the Islamic Center of Tucson. Investigators believe he later co-founded Al Qaeda.

Wadih el-Hage was a member of the Islamic center. He became Osama bin Laden's personal secretary.

Hani Hanjour also attended the center while studying at the University of Arizona. He is believed to have piloted flight 77 into the Pentagon.

In the 10 years since the attacks of Sept. 11, investigators have learned a lot about al Qaeda. But one thing that remains a mystery is why so many figures connected to that terrorist organization came through Arizona.

"There's no particular draw to the state that would have caused them to come here, except for the number of hijackers that came through and did pilot training," said James Turgal, the special agent in charge of the Phoenix FBI office.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Turgal was assigned to the FBI's Domestic Terrorism Operations section in Washington, DC.

"It was chaotic. It was very somber," said Turgal.

Now back in his home state of Arizona, Turgal said the FBI's focus has changed dramatically. "We've now gone from a reactive agency to a true national security and law enforcement agency and that's a real distinct point there."

In the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, one Phoenix FBI agent was investigating what he saw as a pattern of Arab flight students training to be pilots at Arizona aviation schools.

His now famous memo dated July 10, 2001 warned of the "possibility of a coordinated effort by Osama bin Laden to send students to the United States to attend civil aviation universities and colleges."

In fact, Hani Hanjour and other hijackers had been attending flight schools in Arizona. But the memo did not attract much attention within the FBI.

Turgal said the Phoenix office is working to make sure any notorious terrorists of the future don't come through Arizona unnoticed. "I want our agents to not only look at what piece of intelligence comes in, but ask the next logical question: why? What does that mean? How could it be a threat? That's the difference now, 10 years later."

Arizona's connection to Islamic extremism does not end there. A Pima County courtroom will soon see an unusual trial. The defendant is accused of murdering an Imam in Tucson back in 1990. Terrorism experts believe that murder was the work of the same group that killed Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and trained accused shoe bomber Richard Reid.

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