Editing Khalid al-Mihdhar (section)

==Background==
Al-Mihdhar was born on 16 May 1975, in [[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]], to a prominent family that belonged to the [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]] tribe of Mecca.<ref name="willalOmari">Videotape of recorded will of Abdulaziz al-Omari and others</ref>  Little is known about his life before the age of 20, when he and childhood friend [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] went to [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]] to fight with the [[Bosnian mujahideen|mujahideen]] in the [[Bosnian War]].<ref name="911-ch5">9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 5.2, pp. 153–159</ref><ref>McDermott (2005), p. 191</ref>  After the war, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi went to [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Afghanistan]] where they fought alongside the [[Taliban]] against the [[United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan|Northern Alliance]],<ref name="wright">Wright (2006), p. 309</ref> and al-Qaeda would later dub al-Hazmi his "second in command".<ref name="willalOmari"/>  In 1997, al-Mihdhar told his family that he was leaving to [[Chechen–Russian conflict#Chechen Wars|fight in Chechnya]],<ref>{{cite news|author=McDermott, Terry |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=The Plot: How Terrorists hatched a simple plan to use planes as bombs |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/specials/911/la-na-plot-1sep01.story |date=2002-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919221220/http://911readingroom.org/whole_document.php?article_id=150 |archive-date=2008-09-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> though it is not certain that he actually went to Chechnya.<ref name="Burke">Burke (2004), p. 237</ref>  The same year, both men attracted the attention of [[Saudi Intelligence]], who believed they were involved in [[arms smuggling]], and the following year they were eyed as possible collaborators in the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]] in [[East Africa]] after it emerged that [[Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali]] had given the FBI the phone number of al-Mihdhar's father-in-law; 967-1-200578, which turned out to be a key communications hub for al-Qaeda militants, and eventually tipped off the Americans about the upcoming [[Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit]].<ref name="mayer">[[Jane Mayer|Mayer, Jane]], "The Dark Side", 2008.</ref><ref name="disclose">{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100332,00.html |title=Saudis, US Disclose Intel Operations on Terror |publisher=FOX News |date=2003-10-16 |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413214024/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100332,00.html |archive-date=2008-04-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the late 1990s, al-Mihdhar married Hoda al-Hada, who was the sister of a comrade from [[Yemen]], and they had two daughters.<ref name="wright"/>  Through marriage, al-Mihdhar was related to a number of individuals involved with [[al-Qaeda]] in some way. Al-Mihdhar's father-in-law, [[Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada]], helped facilitate al-Qaeda communications in Yemen,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E4DF123FF936A25751C0A9649C8B63 |title=Dead Suspect Had Links To Terrorism |date=2002-02-15 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630050804/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E4DF123FF936A25751C0A9649C8B63 |archive-date=2012-06-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/63855 |title=Periscope |author=Hosenball, Mark |date=2002-02-25 |magazine=Newsweek |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630050900/http://www.newsweek.com/id/63855 |archive-date=2012-06-30 |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in late 2001, al-Mihdhar's brother-in-law, [[Ahmed al-Darbi]], was captured in [[Azerbaijan]] and sent to [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] on charges of supporting a plot to bomb ships in the [[Strait of Hormuz]].<ref>Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, [[s:Guantanamo Detainee Charged (ISN 768)|Guantanamo Detainee Charged (ISN 768)]], December 21, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/1240/story/489066.html |title=Saudi Terror Suspect: Military Trials a 'Sham' |author=Rosenberg, Carol |date=2008-04-09 |work=Miami Herald |access-date=2008-09-30 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20081009061543/http://www.miamiherald.com/1240/story/489066.html |archive-date=2008-10-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Selection for the attacks===
In Spring 1999, [[al-Qaeda]] founder [[Osama bin Laden]] committed to support the 9/11 attacks plot, which was largely organized by prominent al-Qaeda member [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]]. Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were among the first group of participants selected for the operation, along with [[Walid bin 'Attash|Tawfiq bin Attash]] and [[Abu Bara al Yemeni]], al-Qaeda members from Yemen.  Al-Mihdhar, who had spent time in al-Qaeda camps in the 1990s, was known and highly regarded by Bin Laden.<ref name="Burke"/>  Al-Mihdhar was so eager to participate in [[jihad]] operations in the United States that he had already obtained a one-year [[B-1 visa|B-1/B-2]] (tourist/business) multiple-entry [[United States visas|visa]] from the consulate in [[Jeddah]], Saudi Arabia, on April 7, 1999, one day after obtaining a new passport.<ref name="911-ch5"/><ref name="travel">9/11 and Terrorist Travel, pp. 9–10</ref>  Al-Mihdhar listed the Los Angeles [[Sheraton Hotels and Resorts|Sheraton]] as his intended destination.<ref name="timeline">FBI Hijackers' Timeline, p. 40</ref>

Once selected, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were sent to the [[Mes Aynak]] training camp in Afghanistan. In late 1999, al-Hazmi, bin Attash and  al Yemeni went to [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]] to see Mohammed, who instructed them on [[Western culture]] and travel; however, al-Mihdhar did not go to Karachi, instead returning to Yemen.<ref name="911-ch5"/> He was known as ''Sinaan'' during the preparations.<ref name="willalOmari"/>