Saturday, 12:00 AM,
WASHINGTON - Military experts have isolated and handed the FBI the fragmented remains of nine Sept. 11 hijackers, spokesmen said yesterday. The remains were "turned over to [the FBI] as evidence at the end of 2001," Chris Kelly, spokesman for Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, told the Daily News.
"In general, the genetic profiles that we generated showed . . . Middle Eastern origin" for the hijackers, he said, adding that the findings were "not a sure thing.
"The institute also was able to identify remains for all 40 victims in the Shanksville, Pa., crash of United Airlines Flight 93 but was unable to find the remains of five of the victims in the fiery Pentagon crash - one who was on the plane and four who were in the building. Any remains from the Pentagon attack that have not been linked to a particular victim or a hijacker will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the military said yesterday.
"The institute also was able to identify remains for all 40 victims in the Shanksville, Pa., crash of United Airlines Flight 93 but was unable to find the remains of five of the victims in the fiery Pentagon crash - one who was on the plane and four who were in the building. Any remains from the Pentagon attack that have not been linked to a particular victim or a hijacker will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the military said yesterday.
Investigators used DNA and dental samples provided by family members to identify remains of the victims, but they had no such samples for the hijackers and identified them through a process of elimination. "What essentially happens is that we have nine separate samples for which we have unique genetic identifiers that don't match any reference specimens that we had submitted by family members," Kelly said. "We've never received any" samples for the hijackers. "DNA played a major role in the identification process because of the horrific nature of the injuries," he said. "The plane was fragmented, and everything in it was [also fragmented] - everyone, also."
"The FBI retains custody of those [hijackers' remains] at some location in Washington, I believe," said Special Agent Jeff Killeen of the FBI's Pittsburgh office. Spokesmen at the Justice Department and the FBI in Washington had no immediate comment. Killeen said a massive effort by investigators and Pennsylvania State Police, who stationed "hundreds of troopers" to guard the scene, led to the collection of the remains of all on board.
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