Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks
Encyclopedia
The September 11 attacks were carried out by 19 hijackers
affiliated with al-Qaeda
. The hijackers were organized into four teams, each led by a pilot-trained hijacker with four "muscle hijackers", who were trained to help subdue the pilots, passengers, and crew.
The first hijackers to arrive in the United States were Khalid al-Mihdhar
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
, who settled in the San Diego area in January 2000. They were followed by three hijacker-pilots, Mohamed Atta
, Marwan al-Shehhi
, and Ziad Jarrah
early in the summer of 2000 to undertake flight training in south Florida
. The fourth hijacker-pilot, Hani Hanjour
, arrived in San Diego in December 2000. The rest of the "muscle hijackers" arrived in the spring and early summer of 2001.
by Ramzi Yousef
(of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
) and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
. Its objective was to blow up twelve airliners and their approximately 4,000 passengers as they flew from Asia to the United States. The plan included crashing a plane into the CIA headquarters, leading credence that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed evolved this plot into the September 11 attacks The plot was disrupted in January 1995 after a chemical fire drew the Filipino police
and investigation authorities' attention, resulting in the arrest of one terrorist and seizure of a laptop containing the plans. One person was killed in the course of the plot — a Japanese passenger seated near a nitroglycerin bomb on Philippine Airlines Flight 434
. The money handed down to the plotters originated from Al-Qaeda
, the international Islamic jihadi organization then based in Sudan
.
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
were both experienced and respected jihad
ists in the eyes of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. Mihdhar and Hazmi both had prior experience fighting in Bosnia, and had trained during the 1990s at camps in Afghanistan. When Bin Laden committed to the September 11 attacks plot idea, he assigned both Mihdhar and Hazmi to the plot. Both were so eager to participate in operations within the United States, that they obtained visas in April 1999. Once selected, Mihdhar and Hazmi were sent to the Mes Aynak
training camp in Afghanistan. In late 1999, Hazmi, Attash, and Yemeni went to Karachi
, Pakistan
to see Mohammed, who instructed them on Western culture
and travel; however, Mihdhar did not go to Karachi, instead returning to Yemen.
, who was from the United Arab Emirates
.
(Egyptian), Waleed al-Shehri
(Saudi Arabian), Wail al-Shehri
(Saudi Arabian), Abdulaziz al-Omari
(Saudi Arabian), Satam al-Suqami
(Saudi Arabian).
Two flight attendants called the American Airlines reservation desk during the hijacking. Betty Ong
reported that "the four hijackers had come from first-class seats: 2A, 2B, 9A, and 9B." Flight attendant Amy Sweeney called a flight services manager at Logan Airport
in Boston
and described them as Middle Eastern. She gave the staff the seat numbers and they pulled up the ticket and credit card information of the hijackers, identifying Mohamed Atta
.
Mohamed Atta was heard speaking over the air traffic control
system, broadcasting messages he intended for the passengers.
(United Arab Emirati), Fayez Banihammad
(United Arab Emirati), Mohand al-Shehri
(Saudi Arabian), Hamza al-Ghamdi
(Saudi Arabian), Ahmed al-Ghamdi
(Saudi Arabian).
A United Airlines mechanic was called by a flight attendant who stated the crew had been murdered and the plane hijacked.
(Saudi Arabian), Khalid al-Mihdhar
(Saudi Arabian), Majed Moqed
(Saudi Arabian), Nawaf al-Hazmi
(Saudi Arabian), Salem al-Hazmi
(Saudi Arabian).
Two hijackers, Hani Hanjour
and Majed Moqed
were identified by clerks as having bought single, first-class tickets for Flight 77 from Advance Travel Service in Totowa, New Jersey
with $1,842.25 in cash. Renee May, a flight attendant on Flight 77, used a cell phone to call her mother in Las Vegas
. She said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals who had moved them to the rear of the plane. Unlike the other flights, there was no report of stabbings or bomb threats. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, it is possible that pilots were not killed and were sent to the rear of the plane.
Passenger Barbara Olson
called her husband, Theodore Olson
, the Solicitor General of the United States, stating the flight had been hijacked and the hijackers had knives and box cutters. Two of the passengers had been on the FBI's terrorist-alert list: Khalid al-Mihdhar
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
.
(Lebanese), Ahmed al-Haznawi
(Saudi Arabian), Ahmed al-Nami
(Saudi Arabian), Saeed al-Ghamdi
(Saudi Arabian).
Passenger Jeremy Glick
stated that the hijackers were Arabic-looking, wearing red headbands, and carrying knives.
Hijacker Ziad Jarrah
also mistakenly broadcast messages intended for passengers over the air traffic control system:
Jarrah is also heard on the cockpit voice recorder
. In addition, DNA samples submitted by his girlfriend were matched to remains recovered in Shanksville.
had written vigorous criticisms of FBI's alleged incompetence in investigating terrorists residing within the United States. Wright was part of the Bureau's Chicago counter-terrorism task force and involved in project Vulgar Betrayal which was linked to Yasin al-Qadi
.
According to James Bamford, the NSA had picked up communications of al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi back in 1999, but had been hampered by internal bureaucratic conflicts between itself and the CIA, and did not do a full analysis of the information it passed on to the agency. For example; it only passed the first names on, Nawaf and Khalid.
Bamford also claims that the CIA's Alec Station (a unit assigned to bin Laden) knew that al-Mihdhar was planning to come to New York as far back as January 2000. Doug Miller, one of 3 FBI agents working inside the CIA station, tried to send a message (a CIR) to the FBI to alert them about this, so they could put al-Mihdhar on a watch list. His CIA boss, Tom Wilshire, deputy station chief, allegedly denied permission to Miller. Miller asked his associate Mark Rossini for advice; Rossini pressed Wilshire's deputy but was again rebuffed.
Bamford also claims that al-Mihdhar and Hazmi wound up living with Abdussattar Shaikh for a time to save money. Shaikh was, coincidentally, an FBI informant, but since they never acted suspiciously around him, he never reported them. The CIA Bangkok station told Alec Station that Hazmi had gone to Los Angeles. None of this information made it back to the FBI headquarters.
opened the largest FBI investigation in United States history, operation PENTTBOM
. The suspects were identified within 72 hours because few made any attempt to disguise their names on flight and credit card records. They were also among the few non-U.S. citizens and nearly the only passengers with Arabic names on their flights, enabling the FBI to identify them and in many cases such details as dates of birth, known or possible residences, visa status, and specific identification of the suspected pilots. On September 27, 2001 the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about many of their possible nationalities and aliases. All the suspected hijackers were from Saudi Arabia
(fifteen hijackers), United Arab Emirates
(two hijackers), Lebanon
(one hijacker) and Egypt
(one hijacker).
The passport of Satam al-Suqami was reportedly recovered "a few blocks from where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood"; a passerby picked it up and gave it to a NYPD detective shortly before the towers collapsed. The passports of two other hijackers, Ziad Jarrah and Saeed al-Ghamdi, were recovered from the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and a fourth passport, that of Abdulaziz al-Omari was recovered from luggage that did not make it onto American Airlines Flight 11
.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report
, 26 al-Qaeda terrorist conspirators sought to enter the United States to carry out a suicide mission. In the end, the FBI reported that there were 19 hijackers in all: five on three of the flights, and four on the fourth. On September 14, three days after the attacks, the FBI announced the names of 19 persons. After a controversy about an earlier remark, U.S. Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano
stated in May 2009 that the 9/11 Commission
found that none of the hijackers entered the United States through Canada.
Nawaf al-Hazmi
and Hani Hanjour
, attended the Dar al-Hijrah
Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia in early April 2001 where radical Imam Anwar al-Awlaki
preached. Through interviews with the FBI, it was discovered that Awlaki had previously met Nawaf al-Hazmi several times while the two lived in San Diego. At the time, Hazmi was living with Khalid al-Mihdhar, another 9/11 hijacker.
. However, these cases turned out to be instances of mistaken identity
.
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
affiliated with al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. The hijackers were organized into four teams, each led by a pilot-trained hijacker with four "muscle hijackers", who were trained to help subdue the pilots, passengers, and crew.
The first hijackers to arrive in the United States were Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, who settled in the San Diego area in January 2000. They were followed by three hijacker-pilots, Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
, Marwan al-Shehhi
Marwan al-Shehhi
Marwan Yousef Mohamed Rashid Lekrab al-Shehhi was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, crashing the plane into the South Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks....
, and Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...
early in the summer of 2000 to undertake flight training in south Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The fourth hijacker-pilot, Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, arrived in San Diego in December 2000. The rest of the "muscle hijackers" arrived in the spring and early summer of 2001.
Background
The 2001 attacks were preceded by the less well known Bojinka plot which was planned in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
by Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
(of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
) and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a Kuwait-born militant in U.S. custody in Guantánamo Bay for alleged acts of terrorism, including mass murder of civilians....
. Its objective was to blow up twelve airliners and their approximately 4,000 passengers as they flew from Asia to the United States. The plan included crashing a plane into the CIA headquarters, leading credence that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed evolved this plot into the September 11 attacks The plot was disrupted in January 1995 after a chemical fire drew the Filipino police
Philippine National Police
The Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Republic of the Philippines. It is both a national and a local police force in that it does provides all law enforcement services throughout the Philippines...
and investigation authorities' attention, resulting in the arrest of one terrorist and seizure of a laptop containing the plans. One person was killed in the course of the plot — a Japanese passenger seated near a nitroglycerin bomb on Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was the route designator of a flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay City, the Philippines, to New Tokyo International Airport , Narita near Tokyo, Japan, with one stop at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Cebu, the Philippines.On December 11, 1994...
. The money handed down to the plotters originated from Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, the international Islamic jihadi organization then based in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
Selection
Khalid al-MihdharKhalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
were both experienced and respected jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
ists in the eyes of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. Mihdhar and Hazmi both had prior experience fighting in Bosnia, and had trained during the 1990s at camps in Afghanistan. When Bin Laden committed to the September 11 attacks plot idea, he assigned both Mihdhar and Hazmi to the plot. Both were so eager to participate in operations within the United States, that they obtained visas in April 1999. Once selected, Mihdhar and Hazmi were sent to the Mes Aynak
Mes Aynak
Mes Aynak is located 30 km southeast of Kabul, in a barren region of Logar Province; that is still considered a major transit route for insurgents coming from Pakistan. The mine could be a major boost for the Afghan economy...
training camp in Afghanistan. In late 1999, Hazmi, Attash, and Yemeni went to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to see Mohammed, who instructed them on Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
and travel; however, Mihdhar did not go to Karachi, instead returning to Yemen.
"Muscle" hijackers
Mihdhar and Hazmi were also potential pilot hijackers, but did not do well in their initial pilot lessons in San Diego. Both were kept on as "muscle" hijackers, who would help overpower the passengers and crew, and allow the pilot hijackers to take control of the flights. In addition to Mihdhar and Hazmi, thirteen other muscle hijackers were selected in late 2000 or early 2001. All were from Saudi Arabia, with the exception of Fayez BanihammadFayez Banihammad
Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al-Qadi Banihammad was one of five hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks....
, who was from the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
American Airlines Flight 11 - One World Trade Center
Hijackers: Mohamed AttaMohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
(Egyptian), Waleed al-Shehri
Waleed al-Shehri
Waleed Mohammed al-Shehri was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, which was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Wail al-Shehri
Wail al-Shehri
Wail Mohammed al-Shehri was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Abdulaziz al-Omari
Abdulaziz al-Omari
An airport security guard and Imam, Abdulaziz al-Omari was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Satam al-Suqami
Satam al-Suqami
A law student, Satam Muhammed Abdel Rahman al-Suqami was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian).
Two flight attendants called the American Airlines reservation desk during the hijacking. Betty Ong
Betty Ong
Betty Ann Ong , born in San Francisco, was an American flight attendant onboard American Airlines Flight 11 when it was hijacked and flown deliberately into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, as part of the September 11 attacks....
reported that "the four hijackers had come from first-class seats: 2A, 2B, 9A, and 9B." Flight attendant Amy Sweeney called a flight services manager at Logan Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and described them as Middle Eastern. She gave the staff the seat numbers and they pulled up the ticket and credit card information of the hijackers, identifying Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
.
Mohamed Atta was heard speaking over the air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
system, broadcasting messages he intended for the passengers.
United Airlines Flight 175 - Two World Trade Center
Hijackers: Marwan al-ShehhiMarwan al-Shehhi
Marwan Yousef Mohamed Rashid Lekrab al-Shehhi was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, crashing the plane into the South Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks....
(United Arab Emirati), Fayez Banihammad
Fayez Banihammad
Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al-Qadi Banihammad was one of five hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(United Arab Emirati), Mohand al-Shehri
Mohand al-Shehri
Mohand Muhammed Fayiz al-Shehri was one of five hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi was one of five hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Ahmed al-Ghamdi
Ahmed al-Ghamdi
Ahmed Salah Said al-Ghamdi was one of five hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks.Ghamdi was born in Saudi Arabia in 1979...
(Saudi Arabian).
A United Airlines mechanic was called by a flight attendant who stated the crew had been murdered and the plane hijacked.
American Airlines Flight 77 - Pentagon
Hijackers: Hani HanjourHani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Majed Moqed
Majed Moqed
A former law student, Majed Mashaan Ghanem Moqed was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Salem al-Hazmi
Salem al-Hazmi
Salem al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the September 11 attacks.A Saudi, Hazmi had a relatively long history with al-Qaeda before being selected for the attacks...
(Saudi Arabian).
Two hijackers, Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Majed Moqed
Majed Moqed
A former law student, Majed Mashaan Ghanem Moqed was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the September 11 attacks....
were identified by clerks as having bought single, first-class tickets for Flight 77 from Advance Travel Service in Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 9,892.Totowa was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1898, from portions of the now-defunct Manchester Township and Wayne...
with $1,842.25 in cash. Renee May, a flight attendant on Flight 77, used a cell phone to call her mother in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. She said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals who had moved them to the rear of the plane. Unlike the other flights, there was no report of stabbings or bomb threats. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, it is possible that pilots were not killed and were sent to the rear of the plane.
Passenger Barbara Olson
Barbara Olson
Barbara Olson was a lawyer and conservative American television commentator who worked for CNN, Fox News Channel, and several other outlets...
called her husband, Theodore Olson
Theodore Olson
Theodore Bevry Olson is a former United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004 under President George W. Bush.- Early life :...
, the Solicitor General of the United States, stating the flight had been hijacked and the hijackers had knives and box cutters. Two of the passengers had been on the FBI's terrorist-alert list: Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
.
United Airlines Flight 93
Hijackers: Ziad JarrahZiad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...
(Lebanese), Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian), Ahmed al-Nami
Ahmed al-Nami
A former law student and muezzin, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.Born in Saudi Arabia, Nami had served as a muezzin and was a college student...
(Saudi Arabian), Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed Abdallah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
(Saudi Arabian).
Passenger Jeremy Glick
Jeremy Glick
Jeremy Logan Glick was one of the passengers on board United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked as part of the September 11 attacks. Aware of the earlier crashes at the World Trade Center, Glick and some of his fellow passengers attempted to foil the hijacking...
stated that the hijackers were Arabic-looking, wearing red headbands, and carrying knives.
Hijacker Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...
also mistakenly broadcast messages intended for passengers over the air traffic control system:
Jarrah is also heard on the cockpit voice recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
. In addition, DNA samples submitted by his girlfriend were matched to remains recovered in Shanksville.
Pre attacks
Before the attacks, FBI agent Robert Wright, Jr.Robert Wright, Jr.
Robert G. Wright, Jr. is an FBI agent who has criticised the FBI's counterterrorist activities in the 1990s, when he worked in the Chicago division on terrorists with links to the Middle East, especially on the issue of money laundering. Specifically, he worked on project Vulgar Betrayal which...
had written vigorous criticisms of FBI's alleged incompetence in investigating terrorists residing within the United States. Wright was part of the Bureau's Chicago counter-terrorism task force and involved in project Vulgar Betrayal which was linked to Yasin al-Qadi
Yasin al-Qadi
Yasin al-Qadi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia who was subjected to economic sanctions because he is suspected of ties to terrorism.The United States Treasury classified Al Qadi as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist"....
.
According to James Bamford, the NSA had picked up communications of al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi back in 1999, but had been hampered by internal bureaucratic conflicts between itself and the CIA, and did not do a full analysis of the information it passed on to the agency. For example; it only passed the first names on, Nawaf and Khalid.
Bamford also claims that the CIA's Alec Station (a unit assigned to bin Laden) knew that al-Mihdhar was planning to come to New York as far back as January 2000. Doug Miller, one of 3 FBI agents working inside the CIA station, tried to send a message (a CIR) to the FBI to alert them about this, so they could put al-Mihdhar on a watch list. His CIA boss, Tom Wilshire, deputy station chief, allegedly denied permission to Miller. Miller asked his associate Mark Rossini for advice; Rossini pressed Wilshire's deputy but was again rebuffed.
Bamford also claims that al-Mihdhar and Hazmi wound up living with Abdussattar Shaikh for a time to save money. Shaikh was, coincidentally, an FBI informant, but since they never acted suspiciously around him, he never reported them. The CIA Bangkok station told Alec Station that Hazmi had gone to Los Angeles. None of this information made it back to the FBI headquarters.
Attacks
Within minutes of the attacks, the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
opened the largest FBI investigation in United States history, operation PENTTBOM
PENTTBOM
PENTTBOM is the codename for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., the largest criminal inquiry in United States history. Its name stands for 'Pentagon/Twin Towers Bombing Investigation'...
. The suspects were identified within 72 hours because few made any attempt to disguise their names on flight and credit card records. They were also among the few non-U.S. citizens and nearly the only passengers with Arabic names on their flights, enabling the FBI to identify them and in many cases such details as dates of birth, known or possible residences, visa status, and specific identification of the suspected pilots. On September 27, 2001 the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about many of their possible nationalities and aliases. All the suspected hijackers were from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
(fifteen hijackers), United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
(two hijackers), Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
(one hijacker) and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(one hijacker).
The passport of Satam al-Suqami was reportedly recovered "a few blocks from where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood"; a passerby picked it up and gave it to a NYPD detective shortly before the towers collapsed. The passports of two other hijackers, Ziad Jarrah and Saeed al-Ghamdi, were recovered from the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and a fourth passport, that of Abdulaziz al-Omari was recovered from luggage that did not make it onto American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report
9/11 Commission Report
The 9/11 Commission Report, formally named Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks...
, 26 al-Qaeda terrorist conspirators sought to enter the United States to carry out a suicide mission. In the end, the FBI reported that there were 19 hijackers in all: five on three of the flights, and four on the fourth. On September 14, three days after the attacks, the FBI announced the names of 19 persons. After a controversy about an earlier remark, U.S. Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
stated in May 2009 that the 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
found that none of the hijackers entered the United States through Canada.
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, attended the Dar al-Hijrah
Dar al-Hijrah
The Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is a mosque in Northern Virginia. It is located in Culmore, Lake Barcroft area of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, directly between the Bailey's Crossroads, and Seven Corners, Virginia, US Post Offices.-Background:...
Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia in early April 2001 where radical Imam Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
preached. Through interviews with the FBI, it was discovered that Awlaki had previously met Nawaf al-Hazmi several times while the two lived in San Diego. At the time, Hazmi was living with Khalid al-Mihdhar, another 9/11 hijacker.
Cases of mistaken identity
Shortly after the attacks and before the FBI had released the pictures of all the hijackers, several reports appeared claiming that some of the men named as hijackers on 9/11 were alive, and were feared to have been victims of identity theftIdentity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
. However, these cases turned out to be instances of mistaken identity
Mistaken identity
Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defendant, when in fact the person seen by the witness was...
.
See also
- 9/11 conspiracy theories9/11 conspiracy theories9/11 conspiracy theories are theories that disagree with the widely accepted account that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated solely by al-Qaeda. These theories arose because of what proponents of the conspiracy theories believe to be inconsistencies in the official conclusions or some...
- 20th hijacker20th hijacker20th hijacker is a numeric metaphor concerning a possible additional terrorist in the September 11, 2001, attacks who was not able to participate....
- Operation Bojinka
- 2001 anthrax attacks2001 anthrax attacksThe 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
- Taliban
- War on TerrorismWar on TerrorismThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
- War in Afghanistan (2001–present)War in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
External links
- FBI Press Release, September 27, 2001.