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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2001

Although authorities on Thursday arrested two groups of travelers at New York airpots, none have been charged in what appears to be turning out to be a case of mistaken identity and sheer coincidence.

ABC News and Reuters this morning are reporting that authorities have corroborated the stories of the 10 men, arrested at LaGuardia International Aiport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Armed police stormed two airplanes and the airports were then closed to air travel.

Despite an seemingly incredible set of similarities to the hijackers responsible for Tuesday's attacks, the men appear not to be connected. Open-ended tickets to the West Coast originally schedule for Tuesday and the use of one false identification card tied the men to the hijackers, said authorities yesterday.

But according to sources and Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the links are coincidental. Biden added that reports of the men carrying weapons are untrue.

The arrested men are reported to be of Middle Eastern descent.

Get the Story:
Senator Says Arrests at New York Airports Not Linked to Attacks (Reuters 9/14)
Plot Foiled? 10 Detained at N.Y. Airports; Bin Laden Connection Grows (ABC News 9/14)
Armed Groups Caught Boarding N.Y. Flights; U.S. Readies for War (The Washington Post 9/14)
10 Held at Kennedy Airport and La Guardia, Closing Both (The New York Times 9/14)
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