Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 18, 1980 Saudi Arabia |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 20) |
| Occupation(s) | Al-Qaeda member, hijacker |
| Known for | One of the hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 in the September 11 attacks |
Hamza Salah Sa'id al-Ghamdi (; 18 November 1980 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi national and one of the five hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 involved in the September 11 attacks.
Originating from Saudi Arabia, al-Ghamdi departed from his family to engage in combat in Chechnya and is believed to have undergone training at Al-Qaeda camps located in Afghanistan. There, he was chosen to participate in the 9/11 terrorist plot.
He entered the United States in May 2001 on a tourist visa. On September 11, al-Ghamdi boarded Flight 175 alongside his brother Ahmed al-Ghamdi and three other hijackers, assisting lead hijacker and pilot Marwan al-Shehhi in crashing the aircraft into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
History
Sources suggest that al-Ghamdi left Saudi Arabia to fight against Russia in Chechnya either in early 2000 or January 2001, maintaining communication with his family until late that year. Known by the alias Julaybeeb during preparations, he traveled to the United Arab Emirates toward the end of 2000, where he acquired traveler’s cheques likely financed by Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Five additional hijackers, including Majed Moqed, Saeed al-Ghamdi, and others, also obtained cheques from this location.
In January 2001, al-Ghamdi and fellow hijacker Mohand al-Shehri rented a post office box in Delray Beach, Florida. Nonetheless, according to FBI director Robert Mueller and the findings of the 9/11 Commission, his initial entry into the U.S. occurred via London on 28 May, accompanied by Mohand al-Shehri and Abdulaziz al-Omari.
In March 2001, al-Ghamdi appeared silently in a farewell video broadcast on Al Jazeera Media Network, where future hijackers expressed their commitment to martyrdom without disclosing operational details. In the footage, he is observed studying maps and flight manuals but does not speak.
He was one of nine hijackers who opened a bank account at SunTrust around June 2001 with cash deposits. Al-Ghamdi obtained a Florida driver's license on 27 June 2001 and subsequently secured two duplicate licenses by submitting change-of-address forms over the following months. Several other hijackers also possessed multiple or out-of-state licenses, possibly to enable shared identity use among individuals.
Attacks
On 29 August, al-Ghamdi purchased his own electronic ticket for Flight 175 using his Visa card. The FBI also reported that he bought an eTicket for a "Flight 7950" traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco; however, the exact date of this flight remains unspecified.
On 30 August, Hamza acquired an identical eTicket for his brother, Ahmed al-Ghamdi, for Flight 175, as well as one-way tickets on an AirTran flight scheduled for 7 September from Fort Lauderdale to Boston. Despite this, Hamza traveled with Mohand al-Shehri to Newark, New Jersey, using tickets purchased for $139.75 from Mile High Travel located in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Hamza and Ahmed stayed initially at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then relocated on September 8 to the Days Inn on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts, where they remained until the day of the attacks.
On September 11, Hamza and Ahmed took a taxi together to Logan International Airport and boarded Flight 175. Between 08:42 and 08:46, the hijackers seized control of the plane, compelling pilot al-Shehhi to take command. At 09:03, al-Shehhi deliberately crashed the aircraft into the South Tower, resulting in the deaths of all passengers onboard including Hamza al-Ghamdi.
Aftermath
On 22 September 2001, Arab News conveyed that Hamza al-Ghamdi's father informed Al Watan that a photograph purportedly released by the FBI did not resemble his son. Nevertheless, this particular image was probably not issued by the FBI, which only published hijacker photographs on 27 September 2001.
Hamza al-Ghamdi was featured in a video made public on 8 September 2006, depicting the preparation stages of the attacks.