Manhunters close in on terrorists

As many as 50 people could have been in the United States to plan and execute the unprecedented terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Officials confirmed yesterday that between 12 and 24 conspirators were on the four commercial aircraft hijacked late on Tuesday (NZT), three of which crashed into high-profile targets.

But last night, sources said the total number thought to be involved could be as high as 50.

The FBI has declared its investigation the biggest manhunt in history. And enforcement agencies believe that terrorist threats remain.

A huge dragnet involving 4000 agents and 3000 support staff has fanned out across the United States, raiding a Boston hotel, a Rhode Island train and Miami houses searching for evidence of a conspiracy by Muslim militants.

At least five people are being held in custody for questioning as the FBI follows more than 2000 leads.

US officials now believe that President George W. Bush was the target of the attack.

They say they have "credible evidence" that the White House and the presidential jet Air Force One faced threats.

Investigators believe some terrorists entered America from Canada, possibly by ferry, and flew from Maine to Boston before boarding two of the hijacked aircraft.

Others had taken flying lessons in Florida last year.

An Arabic flying manual, a pilot-training video, a Koran and a photo of Muslim militant leader Osama bin Laden have reportedly been found in searches of properties, a car and unclaimed luggage.

A Boston TV channel said suspected hijackers arrived late at the city's Logan airport, and bought their one-way tickets with cash - acts which should have triggered security flags.

Two of the suspects were named by CNN as Saudi Arabian brothers Adnan and Ameer Abbas Bukhari.

A French radio network reported yesterday that last month, the FBI arrested an Islamic militant in Boston and received French intelligence reports linking him to bin Laden, but apparently did not act.

The man had several passports, Boeing aircraft technical information and flight manuals.

The death toll at the World Trade Center in New York, its twin towers hit and demolished by two planes, is impossible to calculate but New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani estimated "a few thousand" fatalities in each block.

New York City has asked for 6000 body-bags from federal agencies.

About 40,000 people worked in the huge high-rises.

The dead include hundreds of firefighters and police officers who rushed to help after the attack.

At the Pentagon in Washington, the toll is now thought to be less than 200.

Another 266 people on the four aircraft died in the smashes, the last of which was into rural land in Pennsylvania. It was the one plane not to hit its target.

Mr Bush visited the Pentagon yesterday, committing the country to a "monumental struggle of good versus evil".

He worked through the day to build a global coalition against terrorism, and was boosted with an emphatic move by Nato, which invoked its mutual defence clause for the first time in its 52-year history.

That opens the way for a possible collective military response.

Russia, China, Jordan and Saudi Arabia provided strong additional backing yesterday for the US.

Pakistan, pressured by America earlier in the day into declaring support, last night offered "fullest cooperation".

All early signs from the hunt for the terrorists' associates and masterminds point to Afghanistan-based Osama bin Laden.

Yesterday, moderate Arab leaders and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat moved quickly to distance themselves from the assaults. Mr Arafat publicly donated blood to be flown to America to help the injured.

But the US readied its forces in the Persian Gulf, and Secretary of State Colin Powell warned states harbouring terrorists that "we have a very large hammer that can be brought to bear in a number of ways at any time. That's not a threat, it's a fact."

Western diplomats left the Afghan capital of Kabul, and there were reports of Arab nationals following suit and militants fleeing their Afghan bases in fear of attack.

Across the Western world there were reports of followers of Islam feeling a backlash against the carnage in America.

Mr Giuliani and, in New Zealand, Acting Prime Minister Jim Anderton were among public figures urging calm and tolerance.

The first estimate of the direct financial cost of the attacks came from the global insurance industry yesterday, which put a possible payout at close to $NZ100 billion.

The US Congress approved an emergency $NZ50 billion recovery package sought by the White House.

Financial markets in the US remained closed for the third day. Airlines are still grounded, except for a relaxation allowing some planes diverted early on Wednesday (NZT) to complete interrupted journeys.

In tandem with the manhunt is a search and rescue operation on a daunting scale.

In Washington, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld revealed that it could be several days before workers moved into the blackened rubble at the Pentagon - 16,000 tons of it, according to the Federal Emergency Management.

A fire chief said: "It's like a game of pick-up sticks. If you pull out the wrong one, they could all come crashing down. That's exactly what we're trying to prevent."

Rescuers using sniffer dogs and heavy machinery sifted through the smouldering rubble of the World Trade Center in an attempt to find survivors in what is feared to be a mass tomb for thousands.

The monumental efforts of hundreds of emergency workers uncovered only three people alive yesterday in a scene that looked like a war zone.

Full coverage: Terror in America

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Emergency telephone numbers for friends and family of victims and survivors

These numbers are valid for calls from within New Zealand, but may be overloaded at the moment.

United Airlines: 0168 1800 932 8555

American Airlines: 0168 1800 245 0999

NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: 0800 872 111

US Embassy in Wellington (recorded info): 04 472 2068

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Air NZ flight information: 0800 737-000.