An American witness tells the details of how he learned about two of the September 11 attackers through a Saudi neighbor

Read more

The United States...the largest Islamic institution issues a school guide justifying the September 11 attack and recommending reading about Bin Laden.

Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar had rented an apartment in the complex before they participated in the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

The BBC reported that Ratchford was introduced to the two men through a Saudi citizen named Omar Al-Bayoumi, who moved to the complex in 1999.

Al-Bayoumi owned a house adjacent to the swimming pool in the complex, and he regularly attended swimming parties that Ratchford hosted, according to what the British network reported.

Ratchford said she believed everything El-Bayoumi, who “presented himself as a student,” told her, adding: “I really thought that was his nature.”

According to her allegations, Al-Bayoumi testified for the two young men when they initially tried to rent a one-bedroom apartment from Ratchford, paid the rent in cash, and told her that he knew them from the mosque they frequented.

Ratchford said that she did not notice any unusual behavior from the two young men, and described them as “nice and polite,” adding: “I was eating biscuits and tea with them.”

For his part, Al-Bayoumi confirmed to investigators that he met Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar “by chance” at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Los Angeles.

Al-Bayoumi was released and was not charged with any crime, and he moved to Saudi Arabia in 2002.