A Saudi Air Force officer who went on a deadly gun rampage at a US naval base in December 2019 worked with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to plan the attack, US officials say.
The
gunman's phone revealed the terror link, the FBI and Department of Justice
said.
The
attack in Pensacola, Florida killed three US sailors and injured eight.
Prosecutors
criticized Apple for refusing to unlock the gunman's phones, which authorities
took months to hack.
The
attack led to the expulsion of 21 Saudi military pupils who had been studying
at the base with the attacker.
According
to the FBI, the gunman, who was killed by authorities after shooting 11 people,
had been radicalized before arriving Florida for a three-year aviation course
the US navy hosts for allied foreign servicemen.
Records
revealed that he had been in active contact with AQAP, an off-shoot of al-Qaeda
based in Yemen, up to the shooting, including talking about plans to carry out
a "special operation" for them.
The
group's leader, Qasim al-Raymi, was confirmed in February to have been killed
during a US operation. AQAP had released an audio message earlier that month
with Raymi's voice, in which he said the group was behind the naval base
shooting.
FBI
Director Christopher Wray said that gunman was "more than inspired"
by AQAP, sharing tactics and "co-ordinating" with the group on plans
for attack.
The
attack strained US-Saudi relations and led the Defense department to pause all
international military training in the US until further vetting measures could
be put in place.
'Apple
did nothing to help'
In
disclosing details of the terror investigation on Monday, the Trump
administration criticized Apple for refusing to help unlock the gunman's
phones, which he had attempted to destroy before he was shot dead following the
attack.
Hacking
into his two phones four months after the attack diverted attention from other
important work and gave conspirators time to evade justice, Mr Wray and
Attorney General William Barr said.
"Apple
has made a business and marketing decision to allow only the user to unlock
their phones, no matter the circumstances," said Mr Barr, adding that the
company had ignored a personal request from President Donald Trump.
"Apple's
decision has dangerous consequences for public safety and the national
security, and is in my judgement, unacceptable," he added, calling on new
laws to mandate Apple's future co-operation.
Mr Wray
told reporters that the phones had already yielded valuable intelligence, which
led directly to a US counter-terror operation in Yemen.
Apple
has denied FBI requests to unlock its iPhone devices in several high profile
mass shooting cases, citing larger concerns over privacy.
Who was
the attacker?
Mohammed
Alshamrani had been speaking regularly with a contact with AQAP and was
"certainly more than just inspired" by the terror group, Mr Wray said
when asked if the attacker had been "directed" from abroad.
He was
frequently "sharing plans and tactics with them", including video he
made of the campus, said Mr Wray.
He was
"co-ordinating with them and providing them an opportunity to take
credit," he said, adding that the group released Alshamrani's will after
his death.
He was radicalized
in 2015, officials said, and his communications with the terror group
"continued right up until the end, the very night before he started
shooting".
The
expelled Saudi students were found to have had jihadist material and indecent
images of children in their possession, investigators have said, but none were
accused of aiding the killer.
US
Attorney General William Barr vowed that Saudi Arabia would conduct a review to
determine if any soldiers should face military discipline or criminal charges
in the US. The investigation continues.
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31/05/2018| |
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14/06/2017| |
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10/05/2017| |
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30/04/2017| |
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25/04/2017| |
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25/04/2017| |
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15/12/2016| |
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07/04/2016| |
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11/12/2015| |
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04/10/2014| |
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27/08/2014| |
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20/02/2014| |
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30/06/2011| |
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11/06/2011| |
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11/06/2011| |
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10/06/2011| |
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10/06/2011| |
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10/06/2011| |
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10/06/2011| |
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08/06/2011| |
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08/06/2011| |
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07/06/2011| |
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07/06/2011| |
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07/06/2011| |
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30/05/2011| |
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30/05/2011| |
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26/05/2011| |
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19/05/2011| |
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14/05/2011| |
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14/05/2011| |
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13/05/2011| |
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13/05/2011| |
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13/05/2011| |
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13/05/2011| |
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11/05/2011| |
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11/05/2011| |
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10/05/2011| |
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10/05/2011| |
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06/05/2011| |
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06/05/2011| |
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29/04/2011| |
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29/04/2011| |
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28/04/2011| |
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28/04/2011| |
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28/04/2011| |
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28/04/2011| |
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24/04/2011| |
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19/04/2011| |
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19/04/2011| |
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18/04/2011| |
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18/04/2011| |
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12/04/2011| |
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11/04/2011| |
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11/04/2011| |
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06/04/2011| |
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06/04/2011| |
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04/04/2011| |
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31/03/2011| |
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31/03/2011| |
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30/03/2011| |
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24/03/2011| |
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24/03/2011| |
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11/03/2011| |
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04/03/2011| |
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04/03/2011| |
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01/03/2011| |
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27/02/2011| |
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26/02/2011| |
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26/02/2011| |
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25/02/2011| |
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24/02/2011| |
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23/02/2011| |
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21/02/2011| |
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21/02/2011| |
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18/02/2011| |
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14/02/2011| |
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01/02/2011| |
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01/02/2011| |
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26/01/2011| |
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17/01/2011| |
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14/01/2011| |
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20/12/2010| |
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21/11/2010| |
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14/11/2010| |
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18/10/2010| |
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17/10/2010| |
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08/10/2010| |
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03/10/2010| |
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13/09/2010| |
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09/08/2010| |
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08/08/2010| |
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01/08/2010| |
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26/07/2010| |
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25/07/2010| |
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11/07/2010| |
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02/07/2010| |
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01/07/2010| |
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29/06/2010| |
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14/06/2010| |
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08/06/2010| |
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04/06/2010| |
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19/05/2010| |
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21/04/2010| |
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19/04/2010| |
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26/03/2010| |
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19/03/2010| |
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19/02/2010| |
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13/02/2010| |
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13/01/2010| |
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19/12/2009| |
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13/09/2009| |
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12/09/2009| |
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01/09/2009| |
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20/08/2009| |
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16/08/2009| |
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09/08/2009| |
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09/08/2009| |
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01/04/2009| |
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27/03/2009| |
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21/03/2009| |
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13/03/2009| |
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13/03/2009| |
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05/01/2008| |
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18/07/2007| |
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09/05/2007| |
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09/05/2007| |
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11/01/2007| |
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11/01/2007| |
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30/12/2006| |
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30/12/2006| |
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02/10/2006| |
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26/07/2006| |
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06/07/2006| |
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19/06/2006| |
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19/06/2006| |
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30/04/2006| |
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30/04/2006| |
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03/04/2006| |
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06/11/2005| |
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29/07/2005| |
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19/03/2005| |
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19/03/2005| |
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01/01/2005| |
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01/01/2005| |
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09/12/2004| |
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