RIYADH, Jan 22: A Saudi national Khalid Al-Juhani, one of the five suspects shown in a videotape and in photos released by the FBI last week, may have died in Afghanistan three years ago, his relatives were quoted by the press here as saying on Tuesday. They said the videotape used by the FBI to identify him appeared a few years old.

The newspaper Al-Watan earlier quoted the family of Khalid Juhani as casting doubt on the US assertion that the suspects were involved in planning some terrorist attacks.

According to newspapers, Khalid’s maternal uncle Ziyab Mueish Al-Juhani said the family was convinced he was killed after it received an international telephone call three years ago offering condolences.

“Since then we have received several anonymous calls from people who refused to give their names and who described themselves only as ‘Khalid’s brothers in Islam’, offering condolences,” Khalid’s father Mohammad was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Khalid left for Afghanistan six years ago and Khalid’s father said he left without his approval.

“I have no doubt that had he been alive, he would have called at least once during all these years,” his father added.

Khalid was earlier working as a muezzin in a Madinah mosque.

US authorities said they didn’t know where the men are or whether they were killed in the war in Afghanistan. The videotape was retrieved recently in Afghanistan from the rubble of the home of Mohammad Atef believed to be a close lieutenant of Osama bin Laden.

The videotapes were released without sound, but the US Attorney General, John Ashcroft, said it showed “martyrdom message from suicide terrorists”. He said the men are “suspected of planning additional attacks against innocent civilians”.

Al-Juhani’s family said it had doubts about the videotape’s content. “It did not carry any evidence about its date and also we did not see anything that contained a threat,” his father said.