US officials were warned of 9/11 hijackings

Victoria Ward, New York

Some 52 warnings were given to the Federal Aviation Administration between April and September 10, 2001 about the terror group and its leader Osama bin Laden, according to documents released by the 9/11 commission that investigated the attacks.

Five security warnings made reference to al-Qaida’s training of hijackers and two detailed suicide operations not connected to aviation, the report says.

But officials were “lulled into a false sense of security,” and “intelligence that indicated a real and growing threat leading up to 9/11 did not stimulate significant increases in security procedures,” the commission report, written last August, concludes.

In Spring 2001, the FAA warned US airports that hijackers intending to commit suicide “in a spectacular explosion” would most likely choose domestic targets, it reveals.

The report criticises the FAA for being more concerned with reducing airline congestion, lessening delays, and easing airlines’ financial woes than deterring a terrorist attack.

It accuses the authority of failing to pursue domestic security measures that could have altered the events of September 11.