9/11 Probe: Suspect’s Al-Qaida, Saudi Links Surface After 25 Years; FBI Never Investigated

New evidence has shed fresh light on a man once investigated by the FBI over suspected links to two of the 9/11 hijackers, revealing his extensive connections to Saudi officials and his association with future al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki.

Omar al-Bayoumi, who has long denied being an extremist or a Saudi intelligence operative, appears in previously unseen footage obtained by the BBC. The footage shows him embracing Awlaki and participating in military-style paintball sessions with him near San Diego.

Another participant was reportedly an official from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The footage, filmed in 1997 or early 1998, was among evidence obtained by the FBI shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It has now emerged as part of evidence released in a $1 trillion lawsuit filed by 9/11 victims’ families against Saudi Arabia.

The families allege that Bayoumi assisted two of the 19 hijackers. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

Bayoumi’s links to Awlaki

Bayoumi arrived in San Diego from Saudi Arabia in 1994, saying he had come to study English. Court records later indicated that he spent much of his time organising religious activities rather than pursuing his studies.

BBC footage shows Bayoumi and Awlaki taking part in paintball combat alongside other men, with some participants wearing military-style clothing. According to the BBC, FBI investigators were later told that some of the sessions were used as a form of jihadist training.

Awlaki had already developed connections with al-Qaida figures before becoming one of the group’s most prominent propagandists and recruiters.

A separate clip shows Bayoumi embracing Awlaki in January 1998, while other material documents Bayoumi’s contacts with Saudi officials and religious figures associated with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Plane diagram found after 9/11

Bayoumi became an early FBI suspect after his name appeared on an apartment rental agreement signed by Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, two of the hijackers who later participated in the Pentagon attack.

After relocating to Birmingham, England, Bayoumi was arrested by British police on September 21, 2001. Investigators searching his properties recovered thousands of documents, photographs and at least 80 videotapes.

Among the material was a notebook page containing a drawing of an aircraft along with mathematical calculations related to its height and distance from a target.

Jodi Westbrook Flowers, a member of the 9/11 families’ legal team, told the BBC that the calculations appeared to relate to the crash and described the document as the evidence the families had been seeking.

According to the BBC investigation, copies of the diagram reached FBI agents in London, but British detectives questioning Bayoumi were not informed about it. The material was also not shared with some FBI investigators in San Diego or the 9/11 Commission.

A federal judge later ruled that the document, on its face, “connects Bayoumi with knowledge of the 9/11 Attacks”.

Why was Bayoumi never charged?

The BBC investigation found that FBI agents in San Diego repeatedly sought evidence seized from Bayoumi in Britain but received little of it, despite much of the material being held nearby at a London police station.

Rick Lambert, who led the San Diego investigation, said receiving and analysing the evidence could potentially have allowed investigators to connect the pieces of the case much sooner.

FBI agents also sought to interview Saudi officials who had links to Bayoumi, but according to Lambert, permission was denied.

Former FBI investigator Steve Moore described the situation as a major obstacle that prevented investigators from progressing the case.

Jeffrey Breinholt, who oversaw 9/11 prosecutors at the US Department of Justice, said Bayoumi had been regarded as one of the strongest possibilities for prosecution. He said the aircraft diagram could have been significant evidence.

Breinholt also described the paintball footage as “very telling”, particularly because of Awlaki’s presence.

Despite the evidence gathered during the investigation, Bayoumi was never charged. He has consistently denied involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

The September 11 attacks killed 2,976 people, according to the FBI. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly rejected allegations that it or its officials played any role in the attacks, calling such claims categorically false. The FBI declined to comment to the BBC on the latest revelations.