SAN DIEGO -- Authorities are investigating whether an ex-San Diego resident served as an advance man for the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and at the Pentagon, it was reported Thursday.

Federal authorities told The San Diego Union-Tribune that investigators are attempting to determine if Omar al-Bayoumi arrived in San Diego as early as 1996 to make plans for the hijackers and prepare for their deadly mission.

Al-Bayoumi, 44, lived with his wife and children in several Clairemont apartments, including one where two of the suspected terrorists lived, before moving to England several months ago, the newspaper reported.

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Man May Have Welcomed Terrorists Into San Diego

FBI sources told the Union-Tribune that al-Bayoumi helped the San Diego-based terrorists financially by paying rent at the Parkwood Apartments for Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid al-Midhar.

Al-Midhar and Alhazmi have been identified as hijackers aboard the jet that crashed into the Pentagon.

Al-Bayoumi was a prominent member of San Diego's Muslim community and socialized almost exclusively with fellow Saudis at mosques in Clairemont, La Mesa and El Cajon, the newspaper reported.

In early 2000, al-Bayoumi hosted a party at the Parkwood complex to introduce newcomers Alhazmi and al-Midhar to his friends, according to The Union-Tribune.

Al-Bayoumi was a member of the Al-Madina Al-Munawara mosque on Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon, the newspaper reported, quoting a San Diego Muslim leader who asked not to be identified for fear of being associated with the terrorists.

Although he was apparently unemployed while living in San Diego, al-Bayoumi maintained an office at the El Cajon mosque, where he acted as a building manager, according to 10News.

Members of the mosque were also afraid to speak on camera about al-Bayoumi, but told 10News that the man lived a modest lifestyle with his wife and four children.

A month ago, FBI agents searched al-Bayoumi's former office looking for evidence linking him to the terrorists, sources in the Muslim community told the newspaper. They "left with a lot of stuff," said a source.

Al-Bayoumi moved out of the Parkwood complex and went to Birmingham, England, according to his former neighbors at the apartment. They were not sure of the timing of his departure.

According to press reports in England, al-Bayoumi arrived there about a year ago and was joined by his family in a rented home about six months later.

On Sept. 22 he was arrested by British authorities and held for a week without being charged with any crime, the newspaper reported. British police searched his home and removed several bags of possessions and his silver BMW.

While in custody, al-Bayoumi denied any connection with the terrorists, the newspaper reported.

The Union-Tribune quoted a report in the Oct. 19 edition of The Times of London indicating that intelligence officials in England are frustrated with the FBI for failing to give them information that would have enabled them to keep a man believed to be al-Bayoumi in custody longer then the seven days allowed under British anti-terrorism laws.

The paper reported that British officials will come to San Diego to meet with senior FBI officials regarding three men alleged to have been lieutenants in Osama bin Laden's organization.

The Times of London report referred to a man who was unnamed but matches al-Bayoumi's description as being a "major figure suspected of involvement in planning the suicide hijacks in America."

The other two suspected bin Laden lieutenants were identified as Lofti Raisi, 27 and Zacarias Moussaoui, 33.

Raisi is an Algerian pilot who was arrested Sept. 21 near Heathrow Airport and is suspected of providing flight instructions to four of the hijackers -- at least one of whom has San Diego ties.

Moussaoui is believed to have been planning to participate in the Sept. 11 hijackings. He lived in Brixton, South London before traveling to the United States in February to take flying lessons.

He was arrested before the Sept. 11 attacks when flight instructors became suspicious after he demanded to learn only how to turn and not how to take off or land a plane, The Union-Tribune reported. The French-Moroccan is being held in New York.

Al-Bayoumi's name is on an FBI list of people with connections to the hijackers. The list includes those suspected of being material witnesses and people who may have known the hijackers. Al-Bayoumi has not been charged with any crime.