Saudi cash in US 'aid to terrorists'

Money sent by the Saudi government to the United States may have found its way to two of the 11 September hijackers.

The claims, outlined in a draft Congressional report and separate news reports, suggest that the two hijackers, Nawaq al-Hamzi and Khalid al-Midhar, both Saudi citizens, received several thousand dollars from two Saudi men they met in California in the 12 months before the terrorist attacks.

The money may have originated with the government in Riyadh. According to Newsweek magazine, the FBI is investigating to find out whether the Washington bank account of the wife of the Saudi ambassador was used to channel the funds to intermediaries – two Saudi students who were living in San Diego.

The money was apparently used to help al-Hamzi and al-Midhar pay their rent.

US officials say there is no proof the Saudi government was involved, and that the dispatch of funds to help Saudi students is common practice.

But the affair will only deepen suspicion here of Saudi Arabia, 15 of whose citizens were among the 19 hijackers.

Privately, Bush administration officials complain of a lack of help from Riyadh over 11 September, and of its continued funding of radical Muslim groups. Many commentators go further, openly wondering whether Saudi Arabia is a friend or foe of the US.