Iraqi official tells US investigators he did not meet Mohamed Atta in Prague

A former Iraqi official has told United States investigators that he did not have a meeting in Prague with the suspected leader of the September 11 attacks, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Ahmad Khalil Samir al-Ani denied meeting Mohamed Atta in the Czech capital.

Though Czech officials had initially said that the two men had met, the CIA and FBI eventually concluded that no such meeting took place. A possible connection between Iraq and the September attacks was a reason used by some conservatives in the US to justify invading Iraq earlier this year.