German police hold US hijack suspect

Al-Shehhi's plane was the second to hit the twin towers

A man suspected of direct links with the 11 September hijackers has been arrested in Germany, authorities in Berlin have announced.

Federal prosecutors have identified him only as Mounir El M, a 27-year-old Moroccan said to have run a bank account which paid for at least one hijacker's pilot training.

Al-Shehhi paid for flight training from Hamburg account, say prosecutors

He has been arrested on suspicion of supporting a "terrorist" group.

Reports say he operated a Hamburg bank account also used by one of the US attackers, Marwan Al-Shehhi, who was based in Hamburg before travelling to the US.

A statement said the account had been in Al-Shehhi's name, but had been operated by the man now being held.

Hamburg cell

The account was used, prosecutors believe, to finance Al-Shehhi and two other Hamburg-based hijackers, Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah.

The account was used to fund the pilot's training which Al-Shehhi underwent in Florida, and for other living expenses, say prosecutors.

"Large sums of money" were regularly paid into the account from May 2000 until November 2000, they said, and the detained man had had "intensive contacts" with the terrorists.