Three to five hijackers per plane says US

US investigators believe the hijackers were trained pilots and that three to five hijackers were aboard each of four airliners that crashed in the worst terrorist attack.

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It appears from what we know that the hijackers were skilled pilots.
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Justice Department spokeswoman Ms Mindy Tucker

Justice Department spokeswoman Ms Mindy Tucker said: "It appears from what we know that the hijackers were skilled pilots,"

She declined to comment on evidence linking the attacks to Saudi exile Osama bin Laden or whether authorities have executed search warrants.

Lawmakers believe bin Laden may have been behind the attacks. "I don't think everyone in Congress has enough information to make those assumptions," said Ms Tucker.

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She said investigators are following all credible leads, but declined to comment on whether the government is close to arresting anyone.

The Justice Department's terrorism, violent crimes, office of intelligence and violent crime divisions are involved in the investigation, she said.

From broken bits of hijacked aircraft to intelligence intercepts, the FBI is collecting evidence in its search for those responsible for yesterday's terrorist attacks.

At the Pentagon and World Trade Centre, agents sifted through the rubble - searching for the all important black box information systems.

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Everything is pointing in the direction of Osama bin Laden.
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Pentagon, Fairfax County chief Mr Michael Tamillow

"The FBI evidence recovery team has found parts of the fuselage outside" the Pentagon, Fairfax County chief Mr Michael Tamillow said today.

"As we go in we're now identifying smaller parts of the plane. Everyone is looking for the black box recorders." Those recorders could contain conversations from the cockpits of the doomed planes.

"Everything is pointing in the direction of Osama bin Laden," said Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A flight manifest from one of the ill-fated flights included the name of a suspected bin Laden supporter, Mr Hatch and several law enforcement officials confirmed. And US intelligence intercepted communications between bin Laden supporters discussing the attacks, Mr Hatch told reporters.