A retired FBI agent has testified that a Saudi held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center admitted to helping seven of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks buy plane tickets and transfer money.

Retired special agent Abigail Perkins led the interrogation of Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi over four days at the U.S. base in Cuba in January 2004.

Al-Hawsawi is now facing trial by military commission for his role in the attacks. Perkins was called to testify in a pretrial hearing Wednesday to rebut a defense claim that al-Hawsawi doesn’t meet criteria to be charged with war crimes before the commission.

She said the 49-year-old Saudi willingly told investigators of his role and was pleased with the outcome. No trial date has been set for al-Hawsawi and four co-defendants.

(AP)