FBI mole had contact with bin Laden years before 9/11: US media

WASHINGTON: An informant working for the FBI had contact with terrorist leader Osama bin Laden eight years before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, The Washington Times and NBC reported.

An FBI mole inside the al-Qaeda terrorist network met with bin Laden and knew that he wanted to finance attacks.

The FBI informant had worked as a driver and a confidant of the radical Egyptian preacher Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind shiekh serving life in prison for the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Rahman allegedly told the informant "If you need money, go directly to Osama and tell him that I sent you."

According to the reports, neither Congress nor the 9/11 Commission knew about the mole despite extensive investigations into the attack, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The 9/11 Commission made serious accusations against the FBI and the CIA. It said during the administration of president George W Bush and his predecessor, Bill Clinton, there were 10 missed opportunities to uncover plans for the attacks. (Monitoring Desk)