Obama's allusion to religion was the strongest official indication to date that the shooter's Muslim faith could have been the motivating factor for suspected gunman Major Nidal Hasan, who is alive in hospital and under investigation for links to militant Islam.

"It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy," Obama told some 15,000 soldiers and their families under a bright Texas sky. "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."

In front of the podium, a photograph of each victim flanked by a helmet, a rifle and an empty pair of boots paid sad tribute to the 13 fallen as Obama read out personal histories of those Fort Hood had lost.

"Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy."

Obama built his address around the terrible irony that the victims could not "escape the horrors of war" even though they died at home, not on the battlefields where many of them had served.

He said Thursday's rampage, which also wounded 42 people, came at a trying time for America, as it struggles through wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is a time of war. And yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great American community.

"It is this fact that makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible."

In a military tradition rarely witnessed by the public, a roll call highlighted those now departed as the calling of their names went unanswered. A procession of families walked slowly past the photographs of their dead loved ones, many of them weeping.

Applause as Obama came to the podium belied the grim nature of the event but showed the significance Americans placed on him making the trip after an attack that hit right at the core of US military pride.

Today is "very important, especially with President Obama being here. It shows people around the world that we stick together," said Jenni Yucub, a civilian from New Jersey who has worked at Fort Hood since 1994.

"He is our commander in chief, it shows the world that he cares for soldiers," she added.

Intrigue over the suspect, Major Nidal Hasan, deepened Tuesday after the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed he had contacts with a firebrand Islamic cleric in Yemen and it emerged he had voiced doubts over the role of US Muslim soldiers.

The FBI said Hasan, a devout Muslim, came to its attention in 2008 after he communicated with the target of a counter-terrorism investigation.

"The JTTF (joint terrorism task force) concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning," the FBI said, adding that "the investigation to date indicates that the alleged gunman acted alone and was not part of a broader terrorist plot."

The Washington Post reported investigators were examining possible links between the army psychiatrist and Anwar al-Aulaqi, who is now in Yemen but was a spiritual leader of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, Virginia.

Hasan, who was born in Virginia to Palestinian parents and raised in the state, had attended the mosque in 2001.

The imam was said to have met Al-Qaeda associates, including two September 11 hijackers, and is now believed to have become a supporter of the terror network, the paper said, citing a senior US official.

The Post also said Hasan had shocked fellow army medics more than a year ago by saying Muslim soldiers should be allowed release as conscientious objectors rather than being ordered to go to war against fellow Muslims.

After regaining consciousness, Hasan has been able to talk for the first time since Thursday, but he has declined to discuss the day's events with investigators.

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