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FBI finds al-Qaeda link in Pensacola naval base shooter’s iPhone

Recently unlocked phones show the man who killed three people at a Florida naval base had likely been in contact with al-Qaeda.

The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola is seen on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Florida, U.S. March 16, 2016. Picture taken March 16, 2016.  U.S. Navy/Patrick Nichols/Handout via REUTERS.  THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2RPD9BC4N8
The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola is seen on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Fla, US, March 16, 2016. — US Navy/Patrick Nichols/REUTERS

The FBI obtained access to locked iPhones belonging to a Saudi military trainee who killed three people at a Florida naval base in December, revealing communications with a suspected member of al-Qaeda, CNN first reported Monday.

Royal Saudi Air Force trainee Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani killed three US service members at Naval Air Station Pensacola in December 2019 and wounded eight other people with a handgun before being killed by local police.

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