The US Federal Police, the FBI, have released the first document in connection with their investigation into the attacks of September 11, 2001 and alleged involvement of the Saudi Arabian government. The FBI followed on Saturday an instruction from American President Joe Biden, from whom relatives of the victims had requested this step. The partially blackened 16-page document outlines contacts between the kidnappers of the four passenger planes and Saudi Arabian officials. However, there is no evidence that the Riyadh government was involved in the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. The United States commemorated them on Saturday on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
Saudi Arabia had repeatedly stated that it played no role in the attacks. His embassy in Washington initially did not comment on the FBI publication. In a September 8 statement, it said Saudi Arabia had always advocated transparency regarding the events of September 11, 2001, and welcomed the United States' release of classified information in this context. Previous investigations have provided no evidence that the Saudi Arabian government or its employees were informed about the attacks in advance or were in any way involved.
15 of the 19 hijackers of the aircraft came from Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida terrorist network had committed itself to the attacks. This came from Saudi Arabia. A government commission in Washington found no evidence that Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the United States, provided direct financial support to al-Qaeda. It remained open, however, whether individual officials in the kingdom did this.
The relatives of around 2,500 of those killed and more than 20,000 injured, as well as a number of companies and insurers, have sued Saudi Arabia for billions of dollars. In a statement on behalf of the organization 9/11 Families United, Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was killed in the attacks, said the document released by the FBI removed all doubts about Saudi complicity. "Now the secrets of the Saudis are uncovered, and it is long time that the kingdom faced the role of its officials in the murder of thousands on American soil."