Abdulaziz al-Omari
Abdulaziz al-Omari عبد العزيز العُمري | |
---|---|
Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia | |
Died | 11 September 2001 | (aged 22)
Cause of death | Suicide by plane crash (September 11 attacks) |
Nationality | Saudi Arabian |
Abdulaziz al-Omari (
Al-Omari arrived in the
Early life and education
Little is known about al-Omari's life, and it is unclear whether some information refers to Omari or another person by that name. He had used the birth date 28 May 1979.
It is alleged al-Omari graduated with honors from high school, attained a degree from
Career
Al-Omari is alleged to have often served as an
According to
In the autumn of 2001, after the 11 September attacks, al Jazeera television broadcast a tape they claim was made by al-Omari. The speaker made a farewell suicide video. In it he read, "I am writing this with my full conscience and I am writing this in expectation of the end, which is near. . . God praise everybody who trained and helped me, namely the leader Sheikh Osama bin Laden."[3]
According to FBI director Robert Mueller and the 9/11 Commission, al-Omari entered the United States through a Dubai flight on 29 June 2001, with Salem al-Hazmi, landing in New York.[4] He had used the controversial Visa Express program to gain entry. He apparently stayed with several other hijackers in Paterson, New Jersey, before moving to his own place at 4032 57th Terrace, Vero Beach, Florida. On his rental agreement form for that house, al-Omari gave two license-plates authorized to park in his space, one of which was registered to Atta.[5]
Al-Omari obtained a fake United States ID card from All Services Plus in Passaic County, New Jersey, which was in the business of selling fake documents, including another to Khalid al-Mihdhar.[6] He was married and had a daughter.
September 11 attacks
On 10 September 2001, Mohamed Atta picked up al-Omari from the Milner Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, and the two drove their rented Nissan car to a Comfort Inn in South Portland, Maine, where they spent the night in room 232. It was initially reported that Adnan and Ameer Bukhari were the two hijackers who had rented and driven the car.[7]
In the early hours of 11 September, they boarded a commuter flight back to Boston to connect to American Airlines Flight 11. American 11 was hijacked 15 minutes after the flight departed by al-Omari and four other hijackers, which allowed trained pilot Mohamed Atta to crash the Boeing 767 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of an attack that killed thousands of people.
Mistaken identity allegations
Controversy over the identity of al-Omari erupted shortly after the attacks. At first, the FBI had named Abdul Rahman al-Omari, a pilot for
A man with the same name as those given by the FBI turned up alive in Saudi Arabia, saying that he had studied at the University of Denver and his passport was stolen there in 1995. The name, origin, birth date, and occupation were released by the FBI, but the picture was not of him. "I couldn't believe it when the FBI put me on their list", he said. "They gave my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am alive. I have no idea how to fly a plane. I had nothing to do with this."[10][11][12]
See also
References
- ^ John J. Lumpkin. "Abdul Aziz al Omari". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ "Trump's false claim that the 9/11 hijackers' wives 'knew exactly what was going to happen' - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ISBN 9780743266239. Archived from the originalon 10 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "Statement of Robert S. Mueller: Joint Investigation Into September 11: (published September 26, 2002)". Fas.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
- ^ FBI Affidavit: Page 11 Archived 2007-03-18 at the Wayback Machine ABC
- ^ Miller, Jonathan (8 March 2003). "A Plea Deal, Then Freedom, in Terror Case Where Prosecutors Kept Evidence a Secret". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- People's Daily Online. 13 September 2001. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- Dow Jones & Company, Inc.Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- Time Warner Company. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ Sack, Kevin (16 September 2001). "AFTER THE ATTACKS: MISSED CUES; Saudi May Have Been Suspected in Error, Officials Say". The New York Times. p. 7. Archived from the original on 19 December 2005. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- Independent. Archived from the originalon 24 June 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Middle East | Hijack 'suspects' alive and well". BBC News. BBC. 23 September 2001. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
External links
- The Final 9/11 Commission Report
- portal.telegraph.co.uk (Article which reports that the Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot named Omari was not involved with the terrorist attacks)