The CIA has declassified more than 70 documents on Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden’s plans before the September 11 attacks

On Friday, the CIA declassified more than 70 documents concerning the jihadist group Al-Qaeda and its former leader, Osama bin Laden, 25 years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The documents provide information on how U.S. intelligence services assessed the threat before the attacks and on the agency’s response afterward.

According to the CIA, the release offers “unprecedented transparency” into one of the most sensitive files held by U.S. intelligence services. The documents trace analysts’ evolving assessments of Al-Qaeda, as well as efforts to identify Osama bin Laden’s plans amid limited and fragmented intelligence.

A September 10, 1998, memo warned that the organization might try to crash an explosives-laden aircraft into an American city. Another memo, dated December 4, 1998, stated that bin Laden and his allies were preparing attacks in the United States, including the hijacking of an aircraft.

On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda members hijacked four aircraft and carried out coordinated attacks in the United States. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and the attacks triggered major changes in U.S. security policy and the international fight against terrorism.