A defense official said the Pentagon was never told by intelligence or law enforcement agencies that the army doctor accused of mowing down his comrades last week had sent emails to a hardline imam before the assault.

"As best as I can tell, our information is that no army or DoD (Department of Defense) organization had knowledge of Hasan emails to extremists prior to the tragic shooting out at Fort Hood," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

"We were first made aware of those by federal investigators after the shooting."

The Pentagon was unaware of Hasan's intercepted emails to an imam said to be a supporter of Al-Qaeda even though a joint terrorism task force probing the case included a Defense Department analyst, the official said.

As lawmakers and analysts voiced concern that intelligence, defense and law enforcement services may have failed to share information or to respond to alarming clues about the alleged shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, officials insisted there was cooperation across the government.

"I understand people are looking for smoking gun connections or disconnections but there's been nothing but cooperation" before and after Thursday's shooting, said a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yet questions mounted over what government agencies knew about Hasan, the army psychiatrist and practicing Muslim accused of killing 13 people in last week's shooting spree, in the months leading up to the attack.

US authorities revealed Hasan had contacts last year with firebrand Islamic cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, now in Yemen after having spent time at a mosque outside Washington, while co-workers recounted that the doctor had voiced doubts about Muslim soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After learning of his contact with the terror suspect, a Joint Terrorism Task Force concluded that "Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning," the FBI said.

"The investigation to date indicates that the alleged gunman acted alone and was not part of a broader terrorist plot."

The case on Hasan was closed in the spring, with officials choosing not to pursue a more elaborate investigation, the Washington Post reported.

Some analysts have questioned why Hasan was not more closely watched given his emails to Aulaqi, who is said to support Al-Qaeda and have met with members of the network.

It remained unclear if authorities took into account other worrying details in addition to the communication with the imam, including Hasan's purchase of a gun in August, an alleged website posting on suicide bombings and dismay among his fellow doctors about a talk he gave in 2007 on the divided loyalties of Muslim soldiers.

US lawmakers have vowed to probe the handling of the case as intelligence and justice agencies were subjected to sweeping reforms after the September 11, 2001 attacks to ensure officials shared information and avoided turf wars.

Hasan's civilian attorney, retired army colonel John Galligan, meanwhile said the suspected gunman remained hospitalized at an intensive care unit in what he described as "guarded" condition.

But Galligan said that he has yet to receive formal charges in the case.

"I have seen a lot of statements about other allegations, other investigations. None of which have been furnished to me. I have received no formal charge sheet in this case," he told CNN.

Galligan said he received his first official communication from the US Army late Tuesday, informing him that Hasan's leave and pass privileges had been suspended.

The lawyer spoke a day after President Barack Obama lauded each shooting victim and vowed justice at a memorial service at the Texas army base.

"It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy," Obama said.

"But this much we do know: no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts.

"No just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice, in this world, and the next."

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