New videos reveal links between 9/11 suspect and extremists, Saudi state
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New videos of man in 9/11 lawsuit reveal extremist links
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Figure caption: Watch: Did the FBI bury evidence of alleged Saudi agent’s role in 9/11?
By Jane McMullen
BBC Panorama and Radio 4
Published 7 September 2026, 06:00 BST
Updated 06:31 BST
Newly obtained videos expose the extensive connections of a man at the center of a $1 trillion lawsuit brought by 9/11 families, revealing he had links to Saudi government officials and went paintballing with a future al-Qaeda leader.
The footage, which the FBI held within days of the 2001 attacks, contradicts Omar al-Bayoumi’s 25 years of denials that he was an extremist and a Saudi spy.
Al-Bayoumi, who claimed to be a student during his time in the United States, is seen embracing Anwar al-Awlaki, who later led al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in one clip. In another, Bayoumi and Awlaki are paintballing near San Diego with an official from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
These videos form part of the 9/11 families’ lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, never previously seen publicly.
The lawsuit alleges 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, including a diagram of a plane with a flight descent equation.
Despite this, Bayoumi was never prosecuted. The Saudi government and Bayoumi both deny any involvement or prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.
After a judge ruled the lawsuit could proceed in 2018, thousands of documents, videos, and photographs have been released to the court and declassified by former President Joe Biden.
BBC Panorama and Radio 4 have analyzed these documents, interviewed special agents, and investigators to uncover why this evidence was not fully pursued over 25 years.
Our investigation reveals:
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The plane diagram was sent to the FBI’s New York office for analysis, according to an FBI source. However, a US Department of Justice official told the BBC he was never shown any proposal to prosecute Bayoumi based on this evidence, despite stating they have convicted people for less.
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FBI agents in San Diego, where Bayoumi lived, repeatedly requested copies of evidence but were denied most of it.
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Both the San Diego and Los Angeles FBI offices were blocked from interviewing Bayoumi’s Saudi government contacts.
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Staff on the 9/11 Commission objected to the conclusion that Bayoumi was "unlikely" to have been involved with extremism.
