The Central Intelligence Agency of the USA declassified President's Daily Briefs in Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of 9/11 which highlighted the role of Al Qaida Chief Osama Bin Laden in training his men for hijacking planes.

In of of the declassified documents published on December 4, 1998, it was said," Reporting suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad Sadig Awda One source quoted a senior member of the Garma'at al-Islamiyya (IG) saying that, as of late October, the IG had completed planning for an operation in the US on behalf of Bin Ladin but that the operation was on hold."

The declassified brief highlighted that danger of hijacking  around an year prior to the deadly terrorist attacks on the World Trade centre.  

"A senior Bin Ladin operative from Saudi Arabla was to visit Visit IG counterparts in the US soon thereafter to discuss options-perhaps including an aircraft hijacking. - _ IG leader Islambuli in late September was planning to hijack a US airliner during the "next couple of weeks" to free 'Abd al-Rahman and the other prisoners, according to what may be a different source," the report says adding, "The same source late last month said that Bin Ladin might implement plans to hijack a US aircraft before the beginning of Ramadan on 20 December and that two members of the operational team had evaded security checks during a recent trial run at an unidentified New York airport."

Highlighting that some of Laden's men received hijacking training, the report said, "Some members of the Bin Ladin network have received hijack training, according to various sources, but no group directly tied to Bin Ladin's al-Qa'ida organization has ever carried out an aircraft hijacking. Bin Ladin could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft. According to the IG in October obtained SA-7 missiles and intended to move them from Yemen into Saudi Arabia-to shoot down an Egyptian plane or, if unsuccessful, a US military or civilian aircraft.T A in October told us that unspecified "extremist elements" in Yemen had acquired SA-7s."

 On procuring biological weapons by Usama, the report said, " Usama bin Ladin and other Islamic extremists met and agreed to procure unspecified chemical, biological, and nuclear substances from open markets, - Before 1995, Bin Ladin and his followers were trying to develop allegedly to target US military installations in Saudi Arabia, Bin Ladin has legitimate companies, business relationships, and a financial empire that could assist his pursuit of a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear capability."

 "The types of substances reportedly under development in the past by bin Ladin are consistent with those previously considered by other terrorists and extremists. Bin Ladin and his associates also agreed to expand narcotics exports to Europe and the US using legitimate businesses as conduits. Bin Ladin's foray into narcotics trafficking may be an effort to help the Taliban augment its finances. As an exile in Afghanistan, bin Ladin.is dependent upon the goodwill of the Taliban," the report read.