Low number think al-Qaida conducted attack

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A poll released Thursday found that less than half of respondents believe al-Qaida was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Released by WorldPublicOpinion.org, the poll surveyed people from 17 nations, asking the question "Who do you think was behind the 9/11 attacks?" Of the 17 nations, only nine believe al-Qaida was responsible. According to an average of the total results, only 46 percent of respondents say al-Qaida was behind the attacks.

Additionally, a significant minority of people, 15 percent, answered the open-ended question responding that the U.S. government was responsible. Other respondents said that Israel was responsible, WorldPublicOpinion.org reported.

"Given the extraordinary impact the 9/11 attacks have had on world affairs, it is remarkable that seven years later there is no international consensus about who was behind them," comments Steven Kull, WorldPublicOpinion.org director, said in a statement.

WorldPublicOpinion.org, a program managed by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes, conducted the poll between July 15 and Aug. 31 and had 16,063 respondents with an error margin of plus or minus 3 points.