Hamza al-Ghamdi
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Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi was a hijacker on United Airlines Flight 175. He came from Baljurshi in Baha Province of Saudi Arabia, which is the same town that Ahmed al-Ghamdi and Ahmed al-Haznawi were from.[1]
Hamza was working as a stockboy in a housewares shop, which is regarded as a menial and demeaning job. Along with Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Hamza was drawn into jihad by Ahmad al-Haznawi, who had returned from Afghanistan during Ramadan. They were all from the same part of Saudi Arabia, part of the same tribe, and were distant cousins.[2]
Hamza asked his father for permission to go to Chechnya. His friends say that the father agreed, but reluctantly, and Hamza left around February 2001. He called his parents once, in July, but would not tell them where he was. But, he asked "for forgiveness and prayers."[2]
Timeline
2000
- October 17 - Hamza al Ghamdi applied for and received a two-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His application was incomplete. Al Ghamdi listed his occupation as “student” but left blank the question asking the street address of his school. Ghamdi’s travel patterns indicated that he may have presented a passport containing fraudulent travel stamps associated with al Qaeda when he applied for this visa. The consular officer who adjudicated his case was not familiar with this kind of manipulation; in addition, he told the 9/11 Commission that because of the workload in Jeddah, he rarely had time to thumb through passports. Ghamdi was not interviewed, because nothing in his application raised concerns in the mind of the consular officer who adjudicated it and there was no hit in the CLASS system. His visa application was granted.[3]
2001
- May 28 - Hamza al-Ghamdi, Mohand al-Shehri and Ahmed al-Nami, all Saudis, arrived together in Miami from Dubai.[4] They were all admitted as tourists for six months by different primary inspectors.[3]
- June 26 - Hamza al Ghamdi obtained a Florida identification card.[3]
- July 2 - Hamza al Ghamdi obtained a Florida driver’s license.[3]
- August 27 - Hamza al Ghamdi acquired a duplicate Florida driver’s license.[3]
References
- ↑ "Some Light Shed On Saudi Suspects; Many Raised in Area of Religious Dissent", The Washington Post, September 25, 2001.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Driving a Wedge - Bin Laden, the US and Saudi Arabia (Part 1)", The Boston Globe, March 3, 2002.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. 9/11 Commission (2004).
- ↑ http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.htm