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US Army attack 'not terror plot' US major contacted radical cleric
(about 2 hours later)
The FBI says that a US Army major suspected of killing 13 people was not part of a "broader terrorist plot". US authorities knew that an army major accused of killing 13 people at a military base had been in contact with a cleric sympathetic to al-Qaeda.
Maj Nidal Hasan was noticed by the FBI in December as part of an unrelated inquiry by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, but did not raise concerns. Intelligence agencies monitoring the e-mail of Yemen-based Anwar al-Awlaki said he had communicated with Maj Nidal Malik Hasan on 10 to 20 occasions.
Investigators said his communications with another person were in line with his job as an army psychiatrist. However, it was decided that this did not merit further investigation.
Maj Hasan remains in hospital but has regained consciousness after being shot by police during the attack last week. US officials say Maj Hasan apparently acted alone in carrying out Thursday's massacre at Fort Hood base in Texas.
Thirteen people died and another 29 were injured in the shooting at Fort Hood base in Texas on Thursday. The major, a 39-year-old US-born Muslim of Palestinian descent, was scrutinised by an FBI-led joint terrorism task force because of a series of e-mails between December 2008 and early 2009 with Mr al-Awlaki.
The FBI said it had "no information to indicate that Maj Hasan had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot".
The bureau did not name the person Maj Hasan communicated with, and did not confirm reports that he was a radical cleric living in Yemen.
The content of the communications between Maj Hasan and the other individual was assessed as "consistent with research being conducted by Major Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Medical Center" in Washington DC.
'No red flag'
"Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning," the FBI said in a statement.
MARDELL'S AMERICA If a soldier, a Muslim unhappy about waging war on other Muslims, gets in touch with a man well-known for advocating terrorism, shouldn't that 'raise a red flag'? Mark MardellBBC North America editor Read Mark's thoughts in fullMARDELL'S AMERICA If a soldier, a Muslim unhappy about waging war on other Muslims, gets in touch with a man well-known for advocating terrorism, shouldn't that 'raise a red flag'? Mark MardellBBC North America editor Read Mark's thoughts in full
There were between 10 and 20 communications, beginning in December 2008 and continuing in 2009. Mr al-Awlaki, who was released from a Yemeni jail last year, was once an imam at the mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, where Maj Hasan and his family occasionally worshipped.
Content was of a social nature as well as "religious guidance". He now runs a website denouncing US policy that praised Maj Hasan's alleged actions at Fort Hood as heroic.
They did not include the sort of threatening or inciting language that would have triggered an investigation. US officials said the content of the e-mail messages did not advocate or threaten violence, and was consistent with Maj Hasan's research for his job as an army psychiatrist, part of which involved post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from US combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A senior government official said the "general tenor of the communications was benign". The terrorism task force concluded that Maj Hasan was not involved in terrorist planning.
The communications contained "no red flag", according to the official. A senior Republican on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has called on all the US intelligence agencies to preserve the information they have on Maj Hasan.
Senior investigators say Maj Hassan, who is conscious and has called for a lawyer, is to be charged in a military court, rather than the US District Court. Representative Pete Hoekstra said in a statement: "I believe members of the full committee on a bipartisan basis will want to scrutinise the intelligence relevant to this attack, what the agencies in possession of that intelligence did with it, who was and wasn't informed and why, and what steps America's intelligence agencies are taking in light of what they know."
Motive unclear Obama visit
Investigators also said that being on the FBI's radar would not have been enough to prevent Maj Hassan from legally obtaining a weapon.
The FBI investigation has not identified a motive, and a number of possibilities remain under consideration.
Some reports said Maj Hasan, a 39-year-old US-born Muslim, was unhappy about being deployed to Afghanistan.
FBI Director Robert Mueller has ordered a review of how the agency dealt with information about Maj Hasan.FBI Director Robert Mueller has ordered a review of how the agency dealt with information about Maj Hasan.
Senior US Senator Joe Lieberman has said he plans to open a congressional investigation into whether the shootings were a terrorist attack.Senior US Senator Joe Lieberman has said he plans to open a congressional investigation into whether the shootings were a terrorist attack.
Mr Lieberman also said he hoped to determine whether the army missed signs that Maj Hasan may have harboured extreme views.Mr Lieberman also said he hoped to determine whether the army missed signs that Maj Hasan may have harboured extreme views.
Maj Hasan, who is recovering from gunshot wounds at a military hospital, will be charged in a military court over the Fort Hood shootings. He has declined to be interviewed by investigators.
He was transferred to Fort Hood in April and was to have been deployed in Afghanistan, with some reports indicating he was unhappy about this.
President Barack Obama is due to visit Fort Hood later on Tuesday for a memorial service for the 13 people who died in last week's shootings.