“Attorney General John Ashcroft disclosed for the first time today [October 31, 2001] that the government had apprehended suspects who were believed to have had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 hijackings. Mr. Ashcroft said that three Arab men who lived in Michigan had been found in possession of airport diagrams, as well as false immigration forms, a fraudulent American visa and a false alien identification card, and that they were ‘suspected of having knowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks.’ … [Mr. Ashcroft] did not name them, but other law enforcement officials have identified them as Karim Koubriti, 23; Ahmen Hannan, 33; and Youssef Hmimssa.”
– Philip Shenon and Don Van Natta Jr., “U.S. Says 3 Detainees May Be Tied to Hijackings,” The New York Times, Nov. 1, 2001