9/11 suspect's al-Qaida, Saudi links: FBI ‘failed to pursue’ evidence, claims report

Newly released videos show Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national investigated by the FBI after the September 11, 2001 attacks, embracing future al Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki and taking part in paintball exercises with him, according to a BBC investigation.The footage, obtained by BBC Panorama and Radio 4, was among evidence gathered by investigators after the attacks but has never previously been made public. It forms part of a $1 trillion lawsuit filed by 9/11 families alleging Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks.One video, filmed near San Diego in 1997 or early 1998, shows Bayoumi and Awlaki participating in paintball exercises alongside an official from Saudi Arabia's ministry of Islamic affairs. Participants, some wearing military-style clothing, engage in mock urban combat and target practice, with some heard shouting "Allahu Akbar".According to the BBC, FBI investigators were later told that some participants used paintball sessions to train for jihad.