Radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki may have played major role in 9/11 attacks: Report

Washington, Aug 16 (ANI): The US Congress has reportedly initiated an investigation into whether the radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was an overlooked 'key player' in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

According to Fox News, a House Homeland Security Committee letter to Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that a decade after September 11, 200, the full story of the attacks has not been told.

According to the report, the congressional investigation aims to determine two aspects.

Firstly, to what extent al-Awlaki wittingly or unwittingly facilitated the plot of the 9/11 hijackers, secondly, to what extent al-Awlaki was an Al-Qaeda operative, offering support to acts of terrorism prior to 9/11.

The letter sent by Republican Peter King of New York on May 26, said that 'investigators believe the American cleric's contacts with three of the five hijackers on Flight 77 that slammed into the Pentagon, were more than a series of coincidences, but rather evidence of a purposeful relationship'.

"Given the greater collection of intelligence and integration of pertinent data since the attacks of 9/11, I believe that al-Awlaki may have played greater roles in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, as well as other terrorist plots, than those of which we have been previously aware," King wrote.

"Accordingly, I request the full assistance of the Department of Justice in carrying out this inquiry," King added.

The House committee investigation is seeking "all documents in the possession of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or any other DOJ entity or component" that pertain to al-Awlaki and seven other individuals.

According to the report, the investigation would include al-Awlaki's associate in San Diego Mohdar Abdullah and his associate in Virginia Eyad al-Rababah who directly aided the hijackers.

The tone of the letter suggested that the congressional investigation is convinced that there is compelling evidence that al-Awlaki may have been Al-Qaeda from the beginning.

It believes that his rise to an operational commander in the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen was not a surprise, but rather a logical progression, the report said.

"With years of hindsight into al-Awlaki's growing status within Al-Qaeda, including his involvement in the Christmas Day attack in 2009, there exists the critical need to reexamine the facts surrounding al-Awlaki and the 9/11 attacks," the letter stated. (ANI)