FBI Phone Probe Links Al Qaeda to Saudi Who Killed Three at Florida Base, Barr Says

FBI Phone Probe Links Al Qaeda to Saudi Who Killed Three at Florida Base, Barr Says
A general view of the atmosphere at the Pensacola Naval Air Station following a shooting in Pensacola, Fla., on Dec. 06, 2019. Josh Brasted/Getty Images
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WASHINGTON—The FBI cracked the iPhone encryption of the Royal Saudi Air Force trainee who killed three American sailors in a December attack at a naval base in Florida, and found evidence linking him to al Qaeda, Attorney General William Barr said on Monday.

The shooter, Second Lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, also wounded eight people before being killed by law enforcement during the Dec. 6, 2019, attack. He was on the base as part of a U.S. Navy training program designed to foster links with foreign allies.