The Sept. 11 commission will investigate a claim that U.S. defense intelligence officials identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers as a likely part of an al-Qaida cell more than a year before the hijackings but didn't forward the information to law enforcement.

  ¡¡BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- A US military team identified four Sept. 11 hijackers, including ringleader Mohammed Atta, as a likely part of an al-Qaida cell over a year before the 2001 attacks, a former team member said on Tuesday.

    Rep. Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican who is vice chairman of both the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said the information have been provided to the staff of the Sept. 11 commission.

    According to Weldon, the team named "Able Danger" identified Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Khalid al-Mihdar and Nawaf al-Hazmi as members of a cell the unit code-named "Brooklyn" because of some loose connections to New York City.

    Sept. 11 commission co-chairman Lee Hamilton said Tuesday that Weldon's information, which the congressman said came from multiple intelligence sources, warrants a review. He said he hoped the panel could issue a statement on its findings by the end of the week. 

    "The 9/11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohammed Atta or of his cell," said Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. "Had we learned of it obviously it would've been a major focus of our investigation."

    The Sept. 11 commission's final report, issued last year, recounted numerous government mistakes that allowed the hijackers to succeed. Among them was a failure to share intelligence within and among agencies.

    The issue resurfaced Monday in a story by the bimonthly Government Security News, which covers national security matters.

    Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he was unaware of the intelligence until the latest reports surfaced. Enditem

    (Agencies)