THE RECRUITER

THE WEEK speaks to Mohammed Haydar Zammar, the man who recruited the hijackers responsible for the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Once a key member of AI Qaeda and Islamic State, Zammar is now in a Syrian prison under Kurdish control. Kurdish authorities say he used to work with President Jolani

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

It is a rainy day, with temperature dropping to 4 degrees Celsius, as I set out for Hasakah, a well-known town in Rojava (Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria) to meet Mohammed Haydar Zammar, the man who recruited the hijackers who carried out the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001. As we near the prison holding Islamic State detainees, my fixer (translator and guide Ferhan Yusuf) receives a voice message.

Kurdish authorities instruct us to proceed to an undisclosed spot.

After I wait for some time in a small makeshift room there, a frail old man enters. Clad in a half-maroon prison uniform, the 64-year-old moves slowly. An officer unlocks his black handcuffs and lets him step forward. I insist on seeing his face as we speak. The officer responds in Arabic before removing the black shield covering his face. He is fair-skinned. His shaved head, light beard and stained, decayed teeth give him a worn, sickly appearance.

Zammar removes his thin, black, well-worn slippers, held together by several white knots. Looking at me, he says, "Salam Alaikum," before waiting for the officer's permission to take a seat on the blue sofa in the corner of the room.

"Can we talk in English?" I ask.

Zammar looks at me briefly before replying, "I know little English only."

The Kurdish authorities ask him, "Which language?" "Arabic," he responds.

Trained by AI Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Zammar played a crucial role in radicalising members of the infamous Hamburg cell in Germany who went on to perpetrate the 9/11 attacks. According to Kurdish authorities, he knew Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and worked with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who took over as Syria's interim president on January 30.

Once a staunch believer in violent jihad, Zammar has since mellowed.

His demands are now simple: he wants a Quran to read in prison and wishes to meet his family.