FBI declassified secret document on possible Saudi government involvement in 9/11 attacks

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declassified previously secret document which was part of its investigations into the possible involvement of the Saudi government in the September 11 attacks, after strong pressure from the families of the victims.

The document, which dates from 2016, describes the contacts the terrorists had with Saudis in the United States, but does not provide clear evidence of possible Saudi Arabia government involvement in the plan of attack of the country.

The 16-page report with several censored sections, declassified as part of an order from US President Joe Biden to release previously secret documents about the investigation conducted by the FBI regarding the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

This survey focused on alleged logistical support that an employee of the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles may have provided to terrorists (California), Fahad al Thumairy, and a suspected Arab intelligence agent in the same city, Omar al Bayumi.

The newly declassified document claims Al Bayumi provided “travel assistance, accommodation and funding” to two of the terrorists Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mihdhar involved in the September 11 attacks.

Other declassified reports in recent years had already detailed these contacts. and the assistance of Al Bayumi, who was arrested in the UK after the attacks and was one of the focal points of the official 9/11 investigation by a congressional committee.

This commission found no official evidence that the Saudi government was involved in funding Al Qaeda or the attacks, and the question since then has been what Riyadh knew about the activities of some of its citizens, like Al Bayumi.

This alleged Saudi spy had contact with Al Thumairy, then a diplomat at the Saudi consulate and made phone calls with at least two future detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to the document.

Al Bayumi, who was officially a student, he was also in contact with Oussama Bassnan, a Saudi citizen whose alleged connection to September 11 had already been revealed and who spoke with “enthusiasm” from the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden.

The report describes Al Bayumi as someone “treated with great respect within the Saudi consulate, well regarded by consulate staff and enjoyed a “very high status” upon entering the building. “

Although censored parts of the report preclude confirming whether that means it had Saudi government approval, The Association of Relatives of 9/11 United Victims celebrated its publication and viewed it as further evidence Riyadh’s probable links with the attacks.

“Now the secrets of the Saudis are exposed and it is time for the kingdom to recognize the role of its officials in the murder of thousands of people on American soil ”, Terry Strada, of the aforementioned association, said in a statement.

In August, Hundreds of survivors and relatives of the victims of the attacks have asked Biden not to attend the events on the twentieth anniversary, Unless your government releases new files on Saudi Arabia’s alleged role in what happened.

Last week, Biden ordered the Justice Department to declassify new documents over the next six months, This convinced the families, who accepted that the president finally attends the events of this Saturday.

(With information from EFE)

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