Jordanian 'terror link' man detained

Al-Shannaq's family insist he knew nothing of the attacks

By Alex van Wel BBC correspondent in Washington DC

A Jordanian national suspected of being a former roommate of some of the 11 September hijackers has been arrested in the United States.

Hanjour is thought to have piloted Flight 77 into the Pentagon

Ramsi Al-Shannaq was detained on visa irregularities, but it is believed he is being questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with the attacks last September.

At this stage Mr Al-Shannaq is not being accused of involvement in the attacks on New York and Washington last September.

He was arrested in the US state of Maryland by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) and charged with overstaying his visa and possible visa fraud.

But the justice department has indicated it is investigating links between Mr Al-Shannaq and two of the 11 September hijackers.

Useful knowledge

An official said the department was not guiding people away from reports that they are questioning him about the attacks.

It is believed that for two months last year, the Jordanian shared an apartment in Virginia with Nawaq Al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour - two men whom the FBI says were on board American Airlines Flight 77 as it was flown into the Pentagon.

Hanjour is believed to have been the pilot as it crashed.

Mr Al-Shannaq's family are insistent he had nothing to do with the attacks, but experts here say that whatever the truth, any knowledge he may have about the hijackers would be extremely useful to investigators.