Hijacker Leader Stayed in N.Y.C.

Mohamed Atta, suspected ringleader of the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings, rented rooms in New York City in the spring of 2000 with another hijacker, a federal investigator said.

Authorities learned of their stay in New York while retracing the hijackers’ steps prior to the attacks, according to the investigator, who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Investigators confirmed that Atta and the second man rented rooms in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and they are trying to identify anyone who might have aided them.

Atta’s trail in Brooklyn began with a parking ticket issued to a rental car he was driving, said a senior Justice Department official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Neither official would elaborate on Atta’s activities in New York or identify the hijacker who accompanied him.