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Amtrak Detainees Terror Ties Doubted

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK, December 12, 2001, (AP) - Federal investigators no longer believe that two men detained after they were found on a train in Texas with boxcutters and hair dye were involved in any terrorist plots, a law enforcement source said Wednesday.

Ayub Ali Khan and Mohammed Jaweed Azmath have been held on material witness warrants since their arrest Sept. 12 on an Amtrak train in Fort Worth, Texas. Until now, officials familiar with the terrorism probe repeatedly identified the pair as being of particular interest.

A law enforcement source, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said investigators have checked out Khan and Azmath and don't think they were involved in the Sept. 11 attacks or any other terrorist plot.

Kahn's lawyer, Lawrence Feitell, said investigators spent 40 hours interrogating his 33-year-old client but could not link him to terrorism. He said Kahn was expected to appear in federal court Thursday to face a credit card fraud charge.

``This guy is not a terrorist,'' Feitell said of Khan, who lived in Jersey City, N.J., until just before the attacks. ``He explained everything to them.''

Marvin Smilon, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, declined to discuss the case and no criminal complaint has been made public.

Khan and his roommate, Mohammed Jaweed Azmath, left Newark, N.J., on a flight bound for San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 11. The flight was diverted to St. Louis after the attacks.

From there, the men boarded the train and they were arrested Sept. 12 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Investigators said the men had two boxcutters, hair dye, a knife and $5,500 in cash. They also said the men had shaved hair from their bodies, as some of the suicidal hijackers may have been instructed to do.

Feitell said Khan was not supposed to be on the Sept. 11 flight, saying the ticket was for Sept. 12 but didn't notice the date until he arrived at the airport. The lawyer said the two men each paid $50 to change the ticket and leave a day early.

Feitell also said a boxcutter was standard equipment for men who work at newsstands, as Khan did until he lost his job at the Newark train station Sept. 1.

The lawyer said he did not know whether his client had shaved some body hair. He said the dye was simply to cover up gray hair.

Like Khan, Azmath remains jailed in New York.

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