Ahmed al-Ghamdi

Infobox Person
name = Ahmed al-Ghamdi


image_size = 150px
birth_name = Ahmed Salah al-Ghamdi (in Arabic: احمد الغامدي)
birth_place = Al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia
death_date = death date|2001|9|11
death_place = Manhattan, New York, United States

Ahmed Salah al-Ghamdi (Arabic: احمد الغامدي, also transliterated Alghamdi) was named by the FBI as one of the hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attack. [Unless otherwise sourced, statements in this article come primarily from the 9/11 Commission Report.
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Ben-Veniste, Richard; Fielding, Fred F.; Gorelick, Jamie; Gorton, Slade; Hamilton, Lee H.; Kean, Thomas; Kerrey, Bob; Lehman, John F.; Roemer, Timothy J.; Thompson, James R.) (2004). "The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States." W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-32671-3, also available [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html online] ]

Al-Ghamdi was from the al Bahah province of Saudi Arabia, an isolated and underdeveloped area, and shared the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers Saeed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Haznawi. This group is noted as being some of the more religiously observant of the hijackers.

Al-Ghamdi quit school to fight in Chechnya against the Russians in 2000, and received a US Visa on September 3rd of that year. In November , both he and Salem al-Hazmi flew to Beirut, though on separate flights and at different times. Al-Ghamdi flew on the same flight as a senior Hezbollah operative, although the 9/11 Commission could find no evidence that either knew the other. His family claims to have last seen him in December.

are reported to have met with him at the same time. ["Associated Press" March 6, 2002. "Four Hijackers Stayed at CT Motel"] [cite web
last = Mitchell
first = Derek
coauthors = Paul Thompson
title = Mid-March 2001: Hijackers Meet with ID Forger
work = Complete 911 Timeline
publisher = Cooperative Research
url = http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a0301fairfield
accessdate = 2006-10-10 ] Inexplicably, this is more than a month before al-Ghamdi first arrived in the United States, according to the FBI and the 9/11 Commission.

On May 2, al-Ghamdi arrived in the U.S. with fellow-hijacker Moqed, on a student visa. Oddly, he listed the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida as his permanent address on his driver's license. He and Moqed moved in with Hani Hanjour and Nawaf al-Hazmi in Falls Church, Virginia. All four later moved into an apartment in Paterson, New Jersey.

He called his parents in July 2001, but didn't mention being in the United States.

The attack

Hamza al-Ghamdi purchased Ahmed's ticket online for United Airlines Flight 175 on August 29 or August 30, after buying his own. He listed a Mail Boxes Etc. address for Ahmed.

Hamza and Ahmed al-Ghamdi stayed at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On September 8th they checked out of the hotel, and moved into the Days Hotel on "Soldiers Field Road" in Brighton, Mass. where they remained up until the attacks. [Mueller, Robert S., III (09/26/02). [http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html "Statement for the Record"] , "Joint Investigation Into September 11th: Closed Hearing".] [cite news
last = Cullen
first = Kevin
coauthors = Anthony Shadid
title = Hijackers may have taken Saudi identities
publisher = Boston Globe
date = 2001-09-15
url = http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/globe_stories/0915/Hijackers_may_have_taken_Saudi_identities+.shtml
accessdate = 2006-10-10 ]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Ahmed left the hotel with Hamza, the two of them sharing a taxicab to get to Logan International Airport. There, al-Ghamdi showed his Virginia ID Card as identification, and boarded Flight 175 where he sat the furthest back of the hijackers, in seat 9D, helped to hijack it, and assisted as the plane crashed into the World Trade Center in a coordinated attack that killed thousands of people.

References

External links

* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stmPersondata
NAME=Ghamdi, Ahmed Salah al-
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=احمد الغامدي (Arabic); Alghamdi, Ahmed (alternate transliteration)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=9/11 hijacker
DATE OF BIRTH=unknown
PLACE OF BIRTH=al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia
DATE OF DEATH=September 11, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH=New York City, United States