At least three of the hijackers on Sept. 11, 2011, received advance airline tickets from an American-born Muslim cleric killed in 2011 by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, Fox News reports, citing newly released FBI records.
The cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, likely purchased the tickets within days of the terrorist attacks, likely to test security and surveillance, Fox reported.
Fox said the records suggest the FBI had evidence linking Al-Awlaki to the hijackers about two weeks after the attacks, much sooner than expected.
“We have FBI documents showing that the FBI knew that Al-Awlaki had bought three tickets for three of the hijackers to fly into Florida and into Las Vegas, including the lead hijacker, Mohammad Atta,” Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, told Fox on Thursday.
This Al-Awlaki story was later retracted because it didn’t happen.