Saeed al-Ghamdi

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Saeed al-Ghamdi" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Saeed al-Ghamdi
سعيد الغامدي
Born	Saeed Abd Allah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi (1979-11-21)21 November 1979 Al-Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia
Died	11 September 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 21) Somerset County, Pennsylvania, U.S. aboard United Airlines Flight 93
Cause of death	Suicide by plane crash (September 11 attacks)
Nationality	Saudi

Saeed Abdullah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi (

Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Ghamdi left his home to fight in Chechnya after dropping out of college, but was reported to have diverted to Afghanistan to train in an al-Qaeda camp. It was reported he was chosen by Osama bin Laden to participate in terrorist attacks in the United States and arrived in the U.S. in June 2001. During his stay in the U.S., he quietly settled in Florida, planning out how the attacks would commence and training on flight simulators.^[1]

On 11 September 2001, he boarded

Early life and education

Saeed al-Ghamdi was from the

Al-Ghamdi later headed to Chechnya to participate in the conflict against the Russians. At this time, Chechen fighters were turning away additional foreigners, many of whom ended up in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan to train and await entry to Chechnya. Saeed ended up at the Al Farouq training camp, where he met Ahmed al-Nami, and the brothers Wail and Waleed al-Shehri. The four reportedly pledged themselves to Jihad in the Spring of 2000, in a ceremony presided over by Wail Al-Shehri—who had dubbed himself Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi after one of Muhammad's companions.^[3]

Saeed Al-Ghamdi was known to

On 13 November 2000, another Saeed al-Ghamdi tried to obtain a visa to enter the United States, but was declined. Although the 9/11 Commission makes mention of him, there is no evidence he was associated with the hijackers.

In March 2001, al-Ghamdi was filmed in a farewell video that was later aired on al-Jazeera. In the video, many future 9/11 hijackers swear to become martyrs, although no details of the plot are revealed. al-Ghamdi referred to America as "the enemy", and is seen studying maps and flight manuals.^[4]

In the United States

On 12 June 2001, Saeed al-Ghamdi applied for and received a second two-year US

According to al-Jazeera reporter Yosri Fouda's documentary Top Secret: The Road to September 11, three weeks prior to the attacks, Saeed is believed to have used the name 'Abdul Rahman' to send a message to Ramzi bin al-Shibh (who was posing as a girlfriend) online, in which he wrote

The first semester commences in three weeks. Two high schools and two universities. ... This summer will surely be hot ...19 certificates for private education and four exams. Regards to the professor. Goodbye.^{[N 1]}

— Saeed al-Ghamdi, August 2001.^[6]

On 7 September, all four Flight 93 hijackers flew from

On the morning of 11 September 2001, al-Ghamdi boarded United Airlines Flight 93 without incident. Due to the flight's delay, the pilot and crew were notified of the previous hijackings that day, and were told to be on the alert. Within minutes, Flight 93 was hijacked as well.

At least two of the cell phone calls made by passengers indicate that the hijackers were wearing red bandanas. The calls also indicated that one had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside.

The flight transcript suggests that three hijackers were in the cockpit. Ziad Jarrah was identified as the pilot and is heard calling the other hijacker "Saeed",^[7] indicating that al-Ghamdi, who also trained in flight simulators, was helping Jarrah with the controls.^[8]

Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes. A passenger uprising resulted in the plane crashing into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.

Mistaken identity allegations

On 23 September 2001, before the FBI had released the pictures of the hijackers, the BBC and The Daily Telegraph reported that a Saudi Airlines pilot named Saeed al-Ghamdi was furious that a name on the hijacker's list released by the FBI matched his own. CNN also showed a picture of the "living" al-Ghamdi as the hijacker. The man claimed CNN likely got his picture from a Flight Safety flying school in Florida he attended.^[9][10] Der Spiegel later investigated the claims of "living" hijackers by the BBC and discovered them to be cases of mistaken identity.^[11]

In June 2005 the Saudi government released a list (see al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) of 36 wanted (and alive) terrorists, one of whom was Salih Saeed Al Batih al-Ghamdi. 9/11 conspiracy theorists quickly confused him with the hijacker Saeed al-Ghamdi.^[12]

• 
  Saeed's

  I-94 form
• 
  Saeed's Customs declaration
• 
  Ghamdi's passport photo

In popular culture

• He has been portrayed by Iraqi actor
  Flight 93
  .
• Television film The Flight That Fought Back (2005) portrays the passenger uprising inside the hijacked United Airlines 93, with Indian actor Ankur Bhatt portraying Saeed al-Ghamdi.

See also

• PENTTBOM
• Hijackers in the 11 September attacks

Notes

References