Salem al-Hazmi

Salem al-Hamzi (b. February 2, 1981) was a hijacker on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.

Background

Salem al-Hazmi was the younger brother of hijacker, Nawaf al-Hazmi. He was born on February 2, 1981 in Mecca.^[1]

Timeline

1999

• April 4, 1999 - al-Hazmi obtains a passport.
• April 4, 1999 - al-Hazmi obtains a B-2 Visa in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

2000

• In March 2000, he joined his brother and went to Afghanistan.^[1]

2001

• June 20 - Salem al Hazmi, a Saudi, applied for and received a two-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. His application was incomplete, and he listed his occupation as “unemployed.” The passport he supplied was four days old and contained an indicator of possible terrorist affiliation. His application, processed through the Visa Express program, was submitted by Ace Travel. According to the consular officer who approved this application, the fact that Hazmi was “unemployed” was not of concern “because they have a terrible unemployment problem in Saudi Arabia, and a lot of people have money but they don’t have jobs.” Although unemployment would have been a “big deal” in another country, the officer said, Saudis like Hazmi “weren’t looking for jobs even though they were unemployed.”^[2]

Arrival in the United States

• Salem al-Hazmi spent some time on the internet, supposedly in search of a Mexican bride.
• June 29 - Salem al-Hazmi (along with Abdul Aziz al-Omari), both Saudis, arrived at JFK in New York from Dubai. (See Passenger Name Record for Saleh Al-Hazmi for Swiss Air Flight 100) Both were admitted as tourists for six months by the same immigration inspector.^[2]
• July - Salem al Hazmi acquired USA identification cards. The Hazmi brothers’ identifications were found in the rubble at the Pentagon and appeared genuine upon examination.^[2]
• August 2 - Ahmed al Ghamdi, Moqed, Salem al Hazmi, and Omari acquired Virginia identification cards, with help of Mihdhar and Hanjour. All of these identifications were obtained fraudulently.^[2]
• Al-Hamzi stays with Hani Hanjour at 486 Union Ave (room R3) in Paterson, New Jersey. They continued to rent the room through the end of August.^[3][4]
• September 7 - Salem and Nawaf al Hazmi, along with Moqed, requested that their Virginia identification cards be reissued.^[2]

References