US: FBI releases selective declassified documents on 9/11 attacks, accuses Saudi Arabia

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Wednesday presented newly declassified documents about the September 11 attacks, also commonly referred to as the 9/11 attacks, reported news agency the Associated Press. Like earlier, this time too, the investigative agency accused the Saudi Arabia government of providing aid to the attackers. Though in the earlier revelation, the agency failed to establish the connection of Riyadh with the attackers, this time, the agency has claimed they got some "concrete evidence" that could establish the wires with the Saudi Embassy officials in Washington.

The agency, in its 700-pages document, said three of the Saudi nationals, including a Saudi Embassy official in Washington, had advanced knowledge of the attacks. However, this time too, the agency failed to proffer evidence in order to charge any of the three with illegally supporting the hijackers. The FBI noted in the memo that al-Qaida compartmentalized the roles within its major attacks and "did not make the attack plans known in advance to others" for fear of word getting out. "Specifically, in relation to the 9/11 attacks, the hijackers knew there was a martyrdom operation, but did not know about the nature of the operation until shortly before the attack for operational security reasons," the FBI memo states.

According to one of the documents, the FBI studied whether al-Qaida operatives had infiltrated the ministry unbeknownst to the Saudi government or whether there was a collaboration of AQ operatives and certain radical elements within the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for mutually beneficial goals. The FBI memo said they had scrutinized a Southern California halal restaurant and its connection with two of the key accused al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar and a Saudi national named Omar al-Bayoumi. The memo claimed Bayoumi helped them lease an apartment in San Diego. 

Documents will be made public after Biden's consent

It also said al-Bayoumi was in contact with Musaed al-Jarrah, who served as director of Islamic affairs at the Saudi Embassy in Washington. FBI believe Jarrah tried to bring extremists into the US using his embassy position. In its investigation, the federal investigative agency described al-Jarrah as a controlling, guiding, and directing influence on all aspects of Sunni extremist activity in Southern California. However, Riyadh maintained its position and denied its involvement in the attack against the United States. According to FBI officials, the latest document would be made public after getting executive order from US President Joe Biden.

Victims' families urge the US to sue Saudi Arabia

Earlier, in September, the FBI released documents after which the relatives of the victims urged the US government to sue the Saudi government. Like earlier, the FBI memo says the bureau has not identified additional groups or individuals responsible for the attack other than those currently charged. Meanwhile, Andrew Maloney, a lead lawyer for the victims’ families, said the FBI has "now released a substantial amount of very incriminating documents regarding the Saudi government’s role in helping al-Qaida and these two hijackers in particular." 

The September 11 attacks

Known as 9/11, the September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of four interrelated attacks committed by 19 militants altogether. The Wahhabi Islamist Group Al-Qaeda claimed the strike against the World Trade Center and Pentagon in Washington DC, US Capitol Building, and Shanksville in Pennsylvania. About 2900 civilians lost their lives on that day. On September 11, 2021, the U.S marked the 20th anniversary of the devastating attack.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP