Qaida chief's nephew says he sent hijacker money

Miami: The nephew of confessed September 11 mastermind admitted to sending more than $100,000 to one of the hijackers, according to a classified Pentagon transcript.

Ammar Al Baluchi, however, told a military panel at Guantanamo Bay that he was unaware of the terror attacks on New York or that Marwan Al Shehi had Al Qaida links.

"When Marwan al Shehhi approached me, he never declared himself as 'hijacker Marwan al Shehhi,'" the transcript released on Thursday quoted Al Baluchi as saying.

He said his uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had introduced them to each other. The US military said Al Baluchi was a lieutenant for his uncle and handled money transfers and travel arrangements for Al Qaida.

Al Baluchi was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and was one of 14 "high-value" prisoners moved to the Guantanamo base in Cuba from secret CIA prisons.