"The first day they came here, they said they want to fly Boeings," said Fred Sorbi of Sorbi's Flying Club. The French-Algerian man detained in Minnesota, Zacarias Moussaoui, was reported to have initially given his address as Brixton, south London, when he enrolled at a flying school in Oklahoma. He left abruptly in May before earning his pilot's licence and then enrolled at the Pan-Am International Flight Academy in Eagan, Minnesota. His instructors then became suspicious when he asked to use a Northwest Airlines flight simulator, something far beyond his skills. Mr Moussaoui was detained by immigration authorities in August and spent four weeks in a Sherburne County jail holding cell.

On the morning of 11 September, he was watching television when the first two hijackers struck. A jail supervisor told the LA Times: "As soon as he saw it, he stood up, cheered, walked to his cell and closed the door. On that same day, federal agents called and asked us to isolate him from the other inmates."Mr Moussaoui has since been transferred to New York.. General Joseph Ralston, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe has said that American casualties would be "unavoidable" in the retaliation for the terror attack on America. General Joseph Ralston, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe has said that American casualties would be "unavoidable" in the retaliation for the terror attack on America. He said: "We must all recognise that this is not a risk-free operation that we are embarking upon There will be casualties. That is a necessary part of any military operation.""We cannot be in the mindset of a zero-casualty operation That's not what we are about We have to get the mission done. We will take all prudent measures to protect our people as best we can.

But the mission will go on and we will accomplish the mission."General Ralston added that he was happy with the level of support that America had received from its allies.He said: "I have absolutely nothing but praise for the members of the alliance and other members of the European Community who have come forward with very substantial support.". The threat of war loomed large as up to 25,000 Afghan fighters armed with Scud missiles began massing only miles from the Pakistan border after efforts to secure the extradition of the terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden appeared to have failed.As President George Bush declared that he wanted Mr bin Laden "dead or alive" and warned that America would suffer further casualties in its war against the terrorists, Taliban forces began a tense stand-off with Pakistan soldiers at the Khyber Pass. Today in Afghanistan, the Taliban religious leadership will decide on Mr bin Laden's fate in the face of a Pakistani ultimatum to hand him over or face massive American retaliation. Meanwhile, Tony Blair is to hold talks with President George Bush in Washington on Thursday and will then travel to New York on Friday to see the scenes of devastation, where up to 250 Britons are among the more than 5,000 feared dead. Mr Bush invited Mr Blair for a meeting at the White House to discuss the military response to the attacks, including the possible involvement of British forces.But with the focus of last week's terror attacks abruptly shifting to the adopted home of the Saudi-born Mr bin Laden, Pakistan was preparing yesterday for possible military action inside its border – and for the destruction that Scud missiles could inflict on Islamabad.