Malaysian pulled out of L.A. plot after 9/11, officials say

[applegrove]

Malaysian pulled out of L.A. plot after 9/11, officials say
SEAN YOONG AND EILEEN NG

Associated Press

Kuala Lumpur — "A Malaysian recruited by al-Qaeda to pilot a plane in a second wave of Sept. 11-style attacks against the United States pulled out after observing the carnage of the 2001 assaults, Southeast Asian officials said Friday.

U.S. President George W. Bush outlined details Thursday of an alleged plot to hijack an airliner and fly it into a skyscraper in Los Angeles. He said co-operation between Washington and several Asian countries helped expose it.

The plan never appeared close to the stage where it could be put into execution. Scores of arrests in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks severely curtailed al-Qaeda and its Southeast Asian affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah.

Security officials and terrorism experts in Southeast Asia said Friday that Malaysian engineer Zaini Zakaria was among three men al-Qaeda was preparing to take part in an attack on the U.S. West Coast.

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