BBC video shows 9/11 suspect Bayoumi with al-Qaeda leader and Saudi official

September 7, 2026 at 10:00 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Newly obtained videos show Omar al-Bayoumi, the man at the center of a $1 trillion lawsuit by 9/11 families, embracing al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki and paintballing with a Saudi official. The footage was found by the FBI days after the 2001 attacks but never shown publicly until now. The videos contradict Bayoumi's 25 years of denials that he was an extremist or a Saudi spy.

Key Facts

The videos show Bayoumi embracing Anwar al-Awlaki, who later led al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Bayoumi and Awlaki are seen paintballing near San Diego with an official from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
The FBI had the footage within days of the 2001 attacks but never shared it with the 9/11 Commission or British interrogators.
The videos form part of the 9/11 families' $1 trillion lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.
Bayoumi was arrested in the UK days after the attacks and the videos were found among his possessions.

The Videos

The footage, obtained by the BBC, had been in FBI possession within days of the 2001 attacks. In one clip, Bayoumi embraces Anwar al-Awlaki, who would go on to lead al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Another clip shows Bayoumi and Awlaki paintballing near San Diego with an official from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The videos have never been shown publicly before and form part of the 9/11 families' lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.

FBI Handling of Evidence

Bayoumi was arrested in the UK by the Metropolitan Police days after the attacks, and the videos were found among his possessions. Also found was 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 held. The diagram was also kept from some FBI agents investigating Bayoumi and from the 9/11 Commission, the independent inquiry into the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. Bayoumi was never prosecuted, and the FBI declined to comment.

Lawsuit and Declassification

After a judge ruled the lawsuit could go ahead in 2018, thousands of documents, videos, and photographs were released to the court. The materials were also declassified through an executive order made by former President Joe Biden. BBC Panorama and Radio 4 examined these documents and spoke 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. The plane diagram was sent to the FBI's New York office and was analysed, according to an FBI source.