New York City: Hundreds of relatives of individuals killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks have sued Saudi Arabia in US court, seeking to take advantage of a law passed by Congress last year that allows victims of such attacks on US soil to sue state sponsors.

The lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court in Manhattan is the latest effort to hold Saudi Arabia liable for the al-Qaeda attacks, which killed nearly 3000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

For years, US law granting foreign nations broad immunity from lawsuits scuttled attempts by September 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in New York. In 2015, US District Judge George Daniels dismissed claims against the kingdom from September 11 families, saying he did not have jurisdiction over a sovereign nation.

But last fall, Congress overwhelmingly passed the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act" permitting such lawsuits to proceed.