Osama bin Laden planned the September 11 attacks after being “inspired” by a chance discussion about a plane crash in the US, al-Qaeda propaganda has claimed.
In its weekly “al-Masrā” newspaper, Ansar al-Sharia released an article claiming to tell the “untold story” behind the 2001 plot that killed almost 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.
Just under two years before, EgyptAir Flight 990 had crashed into the
Atlantic Ocean during its journey from Los Angeles to Cairo, killing
all 217 people on board – almost half of them Americans.
Despite speculation over terrorism, his family and friends said he had no strong beliefs and sources said it may have been suicide or revenge against EgyptAir following disciplinary action.
Bin Laden, then the head of al-Qaeda, was apparently less interested in the motive than in how the disaster could be developed into a deadly new strategy.
On hearing about the EgyptAir crash, al-Masra claimed he asked: ”Why didn’t he crash it into a building?“
The pair then “summoned the brothers who had passports…and then sent them to America to be trained to fly planes”, the article continued, naming hijackers from American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93 among those to receive pilot training.
Al-Masra is released by Ansar al-Sharia, which is an alias for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The US State Department said it was established to attract more followers in an attempt for the group to “rebrand itself (and) manipulate people to join its terrorist cause” in Yemen.
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