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Washington The FBI, in an unprecedented move that has strained relations with a close ally in the war on terrorism, has subpoenaed records for dozens of bank accounts belonging to the Saudi Embassy, part of an investigation into whether any of the hundreds of millions of dollars Riyadh spends in the United States each year end up in the hands of extremists, US and Saudi officials said.

An aggressive year-long European investigation into Al Qaida financing has found evidence that two West African governments hosted the senior network operatives who oversaw a $20 million diamond-buying spree that effectively cornered the market on the region's precious stones.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have for the first time agreed to set up a joint task force that will station U.S. law enforcement officials in the kingdom to target individuals suspected of funnelling millions of dollars to Al Qaida and other terrorist organisations, officials from both countries said yesterday.