9/11 attacks: Video showing Saudi man raises questions whether Riyadh provided assistance to hijackers

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11, 2001, whenhijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. For more than 20 years, the US position has been that the terror group Al Qaeda acted alone on that day.

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However, American media reports on Thursday (June 20) said that a newly released video has raised questions about whether Saudi Arabia providedcrucial assistance to the hijackers during the attacks. All the hijackers were from, or had links to, Saudi Arabia.

The video was unsealed in federal court earlier this week, and obtained by60 Minutes, a report by CBS News said.

The 1999 video

The video was shot in the summer of 1999, three months beforeAl Qaeda decided to carry out the attacks. The video featuresOmar al-Bayoumi, whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described asan operative of the Saudi intelligence service with close ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers.

Retired FBI agent Richard Lambert, who had ledthe initial 9/11 investigation in San Diego, said, "It is another very large brick in a massive wall of evidence that at this point indicates the Saudi government was complicit in the 9/11 attacks."

The contents of the video

The video showed Bayoumi filming the footage over several days. It showedentrances and exits of the USCapitol along with security posts and a model of the building.

At one point, the man could be seen pointing out theWashington Monument, and saying he would go thereand "report to you in detail what is there."

Lambert told CBS News that the knowledge ofwhere the Washington Monument was in relation to other DC landmarks could help guide people toward intended targets. The retired FBI agent is now a consultant on the case filed by the families of 9/11 victims to hold Saudi Arabia responsible for the attacks.

Federal investigators believe that hijackers on Flight 93, which crashed nearShanksville, had the Capitol as their likely target.

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Speaking to 60 Minutes, lawyers of the affected families and former intelligenceanalystsbelieved portions of the video showed Bayoumi surveilling the Capitol as part of that plan.

"I think he's talking to the al Qaeda planners who tasked him to take the pre-operational surveillance video of the intended target," Lambert said.

Why was the video made public after so long?

The 1999 video was found by the British Police when they carried out a raid onBayoumi's apartment in the UK just days after the attacks. When Bayoumi recorded this video,he was often with two Saudi diplomats who the FBI said had ties to Al Qaeda. Riyadh has disputed this finding.

It is believed that the British Policeturned over the video to the FBI shortly after 9/11, and this has raised questions about why was the footage surfacing after two decades.

"If that was missed then shame on us for missing it. If it wasn't missed, then I would have to ask the question: What was done with it?" said retired FBI agentKen Williams who led the investigation in Phoenix.

Both Bayoumi and Saudi Arabia have denied any involvement in the attacks. Lawyers for the Saudi governmentfiled a motion to dismiss the case, and oralarguments are scheduled in the near future.

(With inputs from agencies)