New videos of man at centre of 9/11 lawsuit reveal links to extremists and Saudi state

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: New videos of man in 9/11 lawsuit reveal extremist links Figure caption, Watch: Did the FBI bury evidence of alleged Saudi agent’s role in 9/11? ByJane McMullenBBC Panorama and Radio 4Published7 September 2026, 06:00 BSTUpdated 6 minutes agoThe man at the heart of a $1 trillion (£733bn) lawsuit brought by 9/11 families had extensive links to Saudi government officials and went paintballing with one of al-Qaeda's future leaders, video obtained by the reveals. The footage, which the FBI had within days of the 2001 attacks, stands in stark contrast to Omar al-Bayoumi's 25 years of denials that he was an extremist and a Saudi spy.

Bayoumi, who claimed to be a student when he was in the United States, is seen in one clip embracing Anwar al-Awlaki, who would go on to lead al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In another, Bayoumi and Awlaki are paintballing near San Diego with an official from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The videos form part of the 9/11 families' lawsuit against Saudi Arabia and have never been shown publicly before.

The Details

The lawsuit argues Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks and that Bayoumi aided two of the 19 hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon - with another crashing in Pennsylvania. Bayoumi was arrested in the UK by the Metropolitan Police days after the attacks and the videos were found among his possessions, along with other crucial evidence. This included a diagram of a plane with a flight descent equation written alongside.

Multiple FBI agents received copies of the diagram, but it was never shared with the British interrogators, even though it had been couriered to the police station where Bayoumi was being held in custody. The diagram was also kept from some FBI agents investigating Bayoumi, as well as from the 9/11 Commission - the independent inquiry into the largest mass murder in US history, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. Bayoumi was never prosecuted.

He and the Saudi government did not respond to the 's requests for comment, but both have always denied any involvement in, or prior knowledge of, the attacks. The FBI declined to comment. After a judge ruled the lawsuit could go ahead in 2018, thousands of documents, as well as videos and photographs, have been released to the court and also declassified through an executive order made by former President Joe Biden.

Panorama and Radio 4 have examined these documents, and spoken to dozens of special agents and investigators, to trace the evidence the FBI gathered about Bayoumi and Saudi Arabia's alleged involvement in 9/11 - and to understand why it was never fully pursued over 25 years. Our investigation also found:The plane diagram was sent to the FBI's New York office and was analysed, according to an FBI source.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.