US agents 'can question Saudi'

Prince Saud has denounced allegations of a high-level Saudi plot

Saudi Arabia will allow US intelligence officers to question a Saudi man who is alleged to have had links with the 11 September hijackers, the country's foreign minister has reportedly said.

American newspapers quote Prince Saud al-Faisal as saying that he made the offer following a request from US national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice.

A congressional inquiry into the 11 September attacks said the man in question, former civil aviation official Omar al-Bayoumi, helped two of the hijackers settle in San Diego and paid part of their rent with money from a wealthy Saudi source.

Reports in the United States say classified sections of the inquiry contain information on the alleged involvement in the plot of a number of highly-placed Saudis within the country's ruling elite.

Public sections of the report say that Mr Bayoumi "had access to seemingly unlimited funding from Saudi Arabia".

It has been suggested by some counter-terrorism experts that that Mr Bayoumi was a Saudi intelligence official monitoring Saudi dissidents in the US.

Reports in the US quoting unnamed intelligence officials suggest that the classified sections of the congressional report say that payments to him rose significantly once he had established contact with the two hijackers.

'Simple'

The Washington Post quotes Prince Saud as telling reporters that Mr Bayoumi is "at large" in Saudi Arabia, but that the United States is free to question him within the country.

Thousands died in the 11 September attacks

"I said this will be simple," Prince Saud said. "If you want to question anybody in Saudi Arabia, this can be handled by the CIA and FBI station managers there and it doesn't require agreement on a high level between the two countries."

Prince Saud said the request to question the man was made by Ms Rice, who told him that she was raising the issue at the request of the FBI.

The White House has declined to comment on Prince Saud's account.

The Saudi Government has already ruled out any possibility of extraditing Mr Bayoumi.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz told the al-Hayat newspaper: "We have never handed over a Saudi to a state or foreign party and we will never do it."

Bush refusal

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who used planes to attack New York and Washington were Saudi nationals.

The Saudi Government has angrily denied any involvement in the 11 September plot, and has urged President George W Bush to publish the report in full so that it can respond to specific allegations.

Prince Saud flew to Washington to press the case for publication, but Mr Bush said on Tuesday that releasing the classified sections would compromise intelligence sources and put ongoing investigations at risk.

"Twenty-eight blank pages are now considered substantial evidence to proclaim the guilt of a country that has been a true friend and partner of the United States for over 60 years," Prince Saud complained.

Some members of the US Congress and relatives of Americans killed in the 11 September attacks have also demanded that the congressional report be de-classified.