Editing Salem al-Hazmi (section)

==Mistaken identity allegations==
Shortly after the attacks, several sources reported that Salem al-Hazmi, 26, was alive and working at a petrochemical plant in Yanbu, [[Saudi Arabia]]. He claimed that his [[passport]] had been stolen by a pickpocket in [[Cairo]] three years before, and that the pictures and details such as [[date of birth]] released to the public by the FBI were his own. He also stated that he had never visited the United States, but volunteered to fly to the U.S. to prove his innocence.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/21/afghanistan.september112
|title=False identities mislead FBI
|author=Nick Hopkins 
|date=21 September 2001
|work=The Guardian
|quote=He said yesterday he had not left Saudi Arabia for two years}}</ref> On September 19, ''Al-Sharq Al-Awsat'' published his [[photograph]] alongside Badr Al-Hazmi's, who they claimed was the actual hijacker who had stolen his identity.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A59320-2001Sep19&notFound=true
|title=Some Hijackers' Identities Uncertain
|author1=Dan Eggen |author2=George Lardner Jr. |author3=Susan Schmidt |date=September 20, 2001
|newspaper=Washington Post
|quote=His picture was published yesterday in a Saudi newspaper, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, alongside that of the man the Saudis believe to be the dead terrorist, Badr Alhazmi}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

After some confusion and doubt [[Saudi Arabia]] admitted<!--When?--> that in fact the names of the [[Aircraft hijacking|hijackers]] were correct. "The names that we got confirmed that," [[Nayef bin Abdul Aziz|Interior Minister Prince Nayef]] said in an interview with The Associated Press.<!--Date interview published?--> "Their families have been notified." Nayef said the Saudi leadership was shocked to learn 15 of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and said it was natural that the kingdom had not noticed their involvement beforehand.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/02/06/saudi.htm
|title=Official: 15 of 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi
|date=February 6, 2002
|work=USA Today}}</ref>