AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas Democrat running for US Senate says he negotiated in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, hoping to convince the Taliban to turn over Osama bin Laden.

David Alameel, a Dallas dental mogul trying to seat US Sen. John Cornyn, had previously refused to answer questions about his role in the negotiations.

But The Dallas Morning News reported the story Wednesday. It said Alameel didn’t discuss his actions previously because he worried they were classified.

Alameel is a native of Lebanon and had strong ties to the administration of President Bill Clinton. He was part of an unofficial delegation in Afghanistan in February 2000.

Its members proposed giving bin Laden to US authorities in exchange for lifting sanctions against Afghanistan.

But negotiations faltered after the Sept. 11 attacks.