Ahmed Salah Said al-Ghamdi ( ar, احمد صلاح سعيد الغامدي, , also
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
as Alghamdi) (July 2, 1979 – September 11, 2001) was one of five terrorist
hijackers
Hijacking may refer to:
Common usage
Computing and technology
* Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth
* Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand
* Browser hijacking
* Clickjacking (including ''like ...
of
United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The flight's scheduled plan was from Logan International Airport, in Boston, ...
as part of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
.
Ahmed Al-Ghamdi was born in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
in 1979. He dropped out of school to fight in
Chechnya
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
and was probably sent to train in
al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
camps in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
where he would be chosen by
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...
to participate in the terrorist attacks in America.
He arrived in the United States in May 2001 on a tourist visa and helped plan out how the attacks would take place. On September 11, 2001, he boarded
United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The flight's scheduled plan was from Logan International Airport, in Boston, ...
and assisted in the hijacking of the plane so that lead hijacker and trained pilot
Marwan al-Shehhi could take over the plane and crash it into the South Tower of the
World Trade Center, as part of the coordinated attacks.
Early activities
An
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
,
[Videotape of recorded will of ]Abdulaziz al-Omari
Abdulaziz al-Omari ( ar, عبد العزيز العُمري, , also transliteration, transliterated as Alomari or al-Umari; May 28, 1979 – September 11, 2001) was a Saudi terrorist who was one of five Hijackers in the September 11 attacks, hija ...
and others al-Ghamdi was from the
al Bahah Province of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
, a province in the south west of Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Al Bahah Province nestled between the resorts of
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
and
Abha
Abha ( ar, أَبْهَا, ') is the capital of 'Asir Region in Saudi Arabia, with a population of 1,093,705 as of 2021. It is situated above sea level in the fertile Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park. Abh ...
, Al Bahah is one of the Kingdom’s prime tourist attractions. Al-Ghamdi shared the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers
Saeed al-Ghamdi,
Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi ( ar, حمزة الغامدي, , also transliterated as Alghamdi) (November 18, 1980 – September 11, 2001) was one of five terrorist hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks.
Born in Saudi Ara ...
, and
Ahmed al-Haznawi. This group is noted as being some of the more religiously observant of the hijackers, and they are thought to have met each other some time in 1999.
Known as ''al-Jaraah al-Ghamdi'' during the preparations, the only one of the hijackers to use a variation on his own name,
al-Ghamdi quit school to
fight
Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
in
Chechnya
Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
against the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
ns in 2000, and received a US Visa on September 3 of that year. In November, both he and
Salem al-Hazmi
Salem al-Hazmi ( ar, سالم الحازمي, , also transliterated as Alhazmi) (February 2, 1981 – September 11, 2001) was a Saudi Arabian terrorist. He was one of five terrorist hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the Septemb ...
flew to
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, though on separate flights and at different times. Al-Ghamdi flew on the same flight as a senior
Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
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.
In March 2001, al-Ghamdi is reported to have met with a
Jordanian in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
who has been charged with providing false identification to at least 50 illegal aliens. Hijackers
Majed Moqed,
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour ( ar, هاني صالح حسن حنجور, ; was the lead hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Hanjour first went to the United ...
, and
Nawaf al-Hazmi are reported to have met with him at the same time. 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
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 attacks", includin ...
.
On May 2, al-Ghamdi moved from White Bear, Minnesota and arrived in Pensacola, Florida with fellow-hijacker Majed Moqed, on a
student visa
A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...
. He listed the Naval Air Station in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...
as his permanent address on his driver's license. He and Moqed moved in with
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour ( ar, هاني صالح حسن حنجور, ; was the lead hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Hanjour first went to the United ...
and
Nawaf al-Hazmi in
Falls Church, Virginia
Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area.
Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Ch ...
. All four later moved into an apartment in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi ( ar, حمزة الغامدي, , also transliterated as Alghamdi) (November 18, 1980 – September 11, 2001) was one of five terrorist hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks.
Born in Saudi Ara ...]
purchased Ghamdi's ticket online for
United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The flight's scheduled plan was from Logan International Airport, in Boston, ...
on August 29 or August 30, after buying his own. He listed a
Mail Boxes Etc. address for Ahmed al-Ghamdi.
The brothers stayed at the Charles Hotel in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. On September 8, they checked out of the hotel, and moved into the
Days Hotel on Soldiers Field Road in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, where they remained up until the day of the attacks.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Ahmed al-Ghamdi left the hotel with his brother, the two of them sharing a
taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...
to get to
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partial ...
. 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. The brothers pushed the passengers and crew to the back of the plane while
Fayez Banihammad and
Mohand al-Shehri
Mohand Muhammed Fayiz al-Shehri ( ar, مهند الشهري, ; also transliterated as Alshehri) (May 7, 1979 – September 11, 2001) was one of five terrorist hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks. Despit ...
killed the pilots Victor Saracini and Michael Horrocks allowing
Marwan al-Shehhi to take control of the plane.
See also
*
Hijackers in the September 11 attacks
The hijackers in the September 11 attacks, who were often referred to as the 9/11 hijackers, were 19 men affiliated with the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda. They hailed from four countries; 15 of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, two were fr ...
*
PENTTBOM
References
External links
The Final 9/11 Commission Reportnews.bbc.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghamdi, Ahmed
United Airlines Flight 175
2001 deaths
Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members
Participants in the September 11 attacks
1979 births
Saudi Arabian mass murderers
Saudi Arabian murderers of children
Saudi Arabian expatriates in the United States
People from Al-Bahah Province