The Saudi Air Force trainee who carried out a deadly attack on a military base in Pensacola, Fla., was working with al Qaeda operatives as far back as 2015, the FBI announced on Monday.
The bureau discovered the link between the terrorist group and Mohammed Alshamrani, a member of the Royal Saudi Air Force who killed three U.S. sailors and wounded several others on Dec. 6, after they broke the encryption on Alshamrani’s iPhones, Attorney General William Barr said. He lashed out at Apple for denying the government’s request to unlock the phones, which delayed the investigation by months, said Barr.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the evidence showed Alshamrani had significant ties and was coordinating the attack with the terrorist group. Alshamrani was not radicalized in the U.S. during his training, but as far back as 2015 and had been in touch with al Qaeda operatives ever since. Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Barr was disappointed in the time and taxpayer dollars it took to obtain the information on Alshamrani’s phone.
“Apple has made a business and marketing decision to design its phones in a way that only the user can unlock the contents no matter what the circumstances,” said Barr. “In cases like this where the user is a terrorist or in other cases where the user is a violent criminal, a human trafficker, a child predator, Apple’s decision has dangerous consequences to public safety and the national security and is in my judgment unacceptable.”
See Politico.