New video evidence links alleged Saudi agent to al-Qaeda ahead of 9/11
Video footage obtained by the BBC shows that Omar al-Bayoumi, accused of aiding two of the 9/11 hijackers, had close ties to Saudi officials and once went paintballing with a future al-Qaeda leader, evidence now central to a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.
The BBC has obtained video footage that sheds new light on the role played by Omar al-Bayoumi in the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The material is now part of a lawsuit brought against Saudi Arabia by families of the victims.
According to the BBC, the footage shows that al-Bayoumi maintained extensive contacts with Saudi government officials and at one point went paintballing with a man who would later become a leader of al-Qaeda. The revelations challenge al-Bayoumi's 25-year-long denials that he was either an extremist or an agent of Saudi intelligence.
Lawsuit against Saudi Arabia
The lawsuit centres on claims that the Saudi state was complicit in the attacks and that al-Bayoumi assisted two of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 plot. The newly surfaced videos are considered part of the body of evidence supporting these allegations.
Neither al-Bayoumi nor the Saudi government responded to the BBC's requests for comment on the material. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also declined to comment on the case.
