Bin Laden denies role in Tuesday's attacks

Bush, bin Laden

(CNN) -- The man U.S. leaders call the prime suspect in Tuesday's massive attacks on New York and Washington issued a statement denying responsibility for the crimes Sunday.

The statement from Islamic militant leader Osama bin Laden came as sources told CNN that Pakistan would urge Afghanistan's ruling Taliban to hand over bin Laden within three days.

In a statement issued to the Qatar-based satellite television network Al Jazeera, bin Laden said the attacks -- which may have killed more than 5,000 in New York -- "seem to have been planned by people for personal reasons." (Full story)

"I have been living in the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan and following its leaders' rules. The current leader does not allow me to exercise such operations," bin Laden's statement said.

President Bush has characterized bin Laden as the "prime suspect" in Tuesday's hijacking attacks that toppled the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon.

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On Sunday, Bush urged Americans to return to work on Monday and to "work hard like you always have." (Full story)

"This war on terrorism is going to take a while, and the American people must be patient. I am going to be patient. But I can assure the American people that I am determined -- I am not going to be distracted," Bush said. Meanwhile, he said, "Our nation was horrified, but it's not going to be terrorized."

CNN has learned that Pakistan will threaten Afghanistan with massive, U.S.-led military action unless Kabul hands over bin Laden. The head of Pakistan's intelligence service is likely to travel to Afghanistan in the next 24 hours carrying this message to the Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. (Full story)

Top officials warned that any American retaliation would be sustained and multifaceted.

"It will take a broad sustained effort that will have to use our diplomatic, our political, our economic, our financial strength, as well as our military strength and unquestionably, unconventional techniques, and it will take time," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."

Meanwhile, the Justice Department issued two new arrest warrants for material witnesses in connection with the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, sources told CNN on Sunday.

The warrants were sealed and no details were made public. The people sought were not named, nor was there any information available on what their connection might be to the attacks.

Two other material witnesses are already in custody after being detained earlier for questioning in the investigation. In addition, two persons taken off an Amtrak train en route to San Antonio, Texas, are being questioned but have not been charged.

Latest developments:

• On Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney told NBC that Bush authorized the military to shoot down any unauthorized civilian aircraft heading toward the White House or the Capitol once it became apparent the United States was under attack. Bush said Sunday that "I wasn't concerned about my decision. I was more concerned about the lives of innocent Americans." (Full story)

• Investigators searched an apartment Sunday in Delray Beach, Florida -- the reported home of Saeed Alghamdi, one of the suspected hijackers of the airliner that hit the World Trade Center's south tower. No details of the search were immediately available.

• In New York, several blocks from the ruins of the World Trade Center, a passport authorities said belonged to one of the hijackers was discovered a few days ago, according to city Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. That has prompted the FBI and police to widen the search area beyond the immediate crash site. A second person whom authorities were seeking as a material witness in the attacks was arrested Saturday and held in FBI custody in New York, a Justice Department official said. (Full story)

• New York again adjusted its count of those killed or missing, to 4,957 people. Among the 190 confirmed dead were 37 firefighters, police officers and paramedics. The death toll in the attack on the Pentagon stood at 188.

• Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday the Bush administration has not ruled out rescinding a 1976 executive order that bans the United States from involvement in assassinations around the world. "We're examining everything," Powell told CNN. (Full story)

• The Federal Aviation Administration alerted the national military air defense command that a hijacked jet was hurtling toward the Pentagon 12 minutes before the plane hit, but apparently no one relayed that message to Pentagon security, so they did not evacuate building. Senior Defense Department officials told CNN that other government buildings, including the White House and the Capitol, were evacuated only after the 9:38 a.m. impact into the side of the Pentagon. (Full story)

• U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called on Congress to amend federal laws so that people convicted of helping terrorists would receive sentences similar to convicted spies. (Full story)

• Sources close to the government said up to 10,000 Afghans may have entered Iran in the past few days as fears grew of an imminent U.S. attack against targets in the country. Iran is already home to at least 2 million Afghan refugees who fled warfare in their country over the past 22 years. (Full story)

• British Prime Minister Tony Blair told CNN that the international community gives its full backing to the fight "between the civilized world and fanaticism." (Full story)

• Russian troops of the 201st Division deployed in Tajikistan have been placed on higher alert, according to Interfax news agency. The Russian foreign minister could not confirm the report, which quoted Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. The order was given, according to the report, "taking into account the developing situation in the region."

• As Americans attended worship services on Sunday, Pope John Paul II offered prayers to the United States and urged those affected by the terrorist attacks to show restraint and commit themselves to peace. (Full story)

• The 34th Ryder Cup, a biennial golf competition between teams of U.S. and European players has been postponed for one year because of the terrorist attacks, the European Ryder Cup board said on Sunday. (Full story)

• In a suspected racially motivated act of violence, a man was questioned by police in Mesa, Arizona, Sunday morning in connection with the Saturday shooting death of an Indian immigrant. (Full story)