Saudi royals sued over 'terror funding' claim

Relatives of September 11 victims today launched a trillion dollar lawsuit accusing members of the Saudi royal family of helping to finance the al-Qaida network.

Three Saudi princes are named in the lawsuit filed by more than 600 family members together with firefighters and rescue workers.

The group, called Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, are also suing seven international banks, eight Islamic charities and the government of Sudan for allegedly bankrolling al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

The Saudi bin Laden Group, a construction company operated in Saudi Arabia by bin Laden's brothers, is also named in the suit filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Matt Sellitto, whose 23-year-old son died in the World Trade Centre attack, said: "If the odds are stacked against us, we will beat them. We will pursue this action until justice is served and terrorism is stopped.

"Congress and the President have given us the tools to accomplish this essential goal, tools that build on the existing justice system which empowers us to have our day in court against those who murdered my son."

Lawyer Allan Gerson said the case would resemble a suit he brought against the Libyan government over its role in the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie which claimed 270 lives.

"We're trying to expose the extent, the depth, the orchestration, the financial support that terrorist organisations have received for perhaps a decade from various Saudi interests."

The suit brings together families of victims from Argentina, Canada, France, Paraguay, South Africa and the US.