Omar al-Bayoumi

Omar al-Bayoumi (Arabic: عمر البيومي, romanized: ʿUmar al-Bayyūmī; is a Saudi national with alleged links to two of the 9/11 hijackers in the United States. Files of the U.S. FBI, dating to before the attacks, demonstrate that he was a Saudi Arabian intelligence agent. An FBI report, declassified in September 2021, lays out evidence that al-Bayoumi had links to known terrorists, provided significant support to 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar upon their arrival in the U.S., and communicated with a key logistics facilitator for Osama bin Laden, each time immediately following significant logistics support to al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar.[1][2][3]

An FBI report, declassified in March 2022, states that "there is a 50/50 chance [al-Bayoumi] had advanced knowledge the 9/11 attacks were to occur." Al-Bayoumi had befriended and assisted hijackers al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar find housing in San Diego.[4]

Saudi Arabia claims that al-Bayoumi is not its agent.[2] According to previously-classified memoranda released by the National Archives in May 2016, as of 6 June 2003, the FBI "believes it is possible that he was an agent of the Saudi Government and that he may have been reporting on the local [Saudi] community to the Saudi Government officials. In addition, during its investigation, the FBI discovered that al-Bayoumi has ties to terrorist elements as well."[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FBI-EncoreReport2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Mathis-Lilley, Ben (April 11, 2016). "Your Guide to the 28 Classified Pages About Saudi Arabia and 9/11 That Obama Might Release". Slate. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  3. ^ "FBI begins declassifying documents into Saudi 9/11 links". BBC News. 2021-09-12. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  4. ^ Kelly, Mike (2022-03-13). "Exclusive: New FBI documents link Saudi spy in California to 9/11 attacks - Mike Kelly". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  5. ^ "Memos on Alleged Saudi-Affiliated Support of the 9/11 Attacks". The New York Times. 2016-05-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-20.