DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A civil rights organization says it has been told by the FBI that flights over Dearborn are not targeting Arab Americans.

Arab-American Civil Rights League Chair Nabih Ayad says Thursday in a news release that he has “no reason to believe that the aerial surveillance” is anything other than a legitimate FBI criminal investigation.

Ayad says he met Wednesday with the FBI and other community leaders over the issue.

Dearborn is a suburb of Detroit and has large Arab and Muslim populations.

Records have shown a small plane linked to an FBI surveillance program has flown several times over the Detroit area. The plane is among those that routinely orbit major U.S. cities and rural areas.

The FBI said Wednesday that it’s not conducting “mass surveillance” or targeting “specific communities.”

Information from: The Detroit News