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Sept 11 funding traced to accounts in Pakistan
Washington, Aug 01: Investigators have traced the funding for the September 11 attacks to al-Qaeda accounts in Pakistan, a top FBI counter-terrorism official told a Senate panel. Officials did little to clarify the Saudi role in the funding.
Washington, Aug 01: Investigators have traced the funding for the September 11 attacks to al-Qaeda accounts in Pakistan, a top FBI counter-terrorism official told a Senate panel. Officials did little to clarify the Saudi role in the funding.
John S Pistole, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counter-terrorism division, said yesterday that investigators have "traced the origin of the funding of 9/11 back to financial accounts in Pakistan, where high-ranking and well-known al-Qaeda operatives played a major role in moving the money forward, eventually into the hands of the hijackers located in the US."
Pistole did not specify in his testimony to the Senate governmental affairs committee how those accounts in Pakistan were funded.
The FBI has estimated the September 11 attacks cost between USD 175,000 and USD 250,000. That money, which paid for flight training, travel and other expenses, flowed to the hijackers through associates in Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Those associates reported to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who managed much of the planning for the attacks from Pakistan, US officials said.
Pistole did not discuss reports that some support for the September 11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the hijackers were Saudis.
Senators sought details on the Bush administration's efforts to crack down on Saudi charities accused of terrorism ties.
Richard Newcomb, director of the treasury department's office of foreign assets control, said that some Saudi organisations provide considerable support for terrorism.
"The extent to which that takes place is not completely clear, but I would characterise it as considerable," he said.
Newcomb's office is one that recommends freezing foreign bank accounts tied to terrorists. Under questioning, Newcomb said other federal agencies had at times quashed his office's recommendations to freeze funding for certain organisations. He would not name those organisations.
Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said he worried that Saudi Arabia "was being shielded for foreign policy reasons."
The hearing came against the backdrop of questions about Saudi connections to terror, particularly to the September 11 attacks.
Some are calling for the declassification of 28 secret pages in the recent September 11 report that officials say describe a web of connections between prominent businessmen, members of the Saudi royal family and the Islamic charities they support.
Bureau Report
Pistole did not specify in his testimony to the Senate governmental affairs committee how those accounts in Pakistan were funded.
The FBI has estimated the September 11 attacks cost between USD 175,000 and USD 250,000. That money, which paid for flight training, travel and other expenses, flowed to the hijackers through associates in Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Those associates reported to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who managed much of the planning for the attacks from Pakistan, US officials said.
Pistole did not discuss reports that some support for the September 11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the hijackers were Saudis.
Senators sought details on the Bush administration's efforts to crack down on Saudi charities accused of terrorism ties.
Richard Newcomb, director of the treasury department's office of foreign assets control, said that some Saudi organisations provide considerable support for terrorism.
"The extent to which that takes place is not completely clear, but I would characterise it as considerable," he said.
Newcomb's office is one that recommends freezing foreign bank accounts tied to terrorists. Under questioning, Newcomb said other federal agencies had at times quashed his office's recommendations to freeze funding for certain organisations. He would not name those organisations.
Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said he worried that Saudi Arabia "was being shielded for foreign policy reasons."
The hearing came against the backdrop of questions about Saudi connections to terror, particularly to the September 11 attacks.
Some are calling for the declassification of 28 secret pages in the recent September 11 report that officials say describe a web of connections between prominent businessmen, members of the Saudi royal family and the Islamic charities they support.
Bureau Report