Editing Abdulaziz al-Omari

{{Short description|Saudi terrorist and 9/11 hijacker (1979–2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Abdulaziz al-Omari
| image              = Abdulaziz_al-Omari.png
| caption            = 
| native_name        = {{lang|ar|عبد العزيز العمري}}
| native_name_lang   = ar
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1979|5|28|df=yes}}
| birth_name         = Abdulaziz al-Omari
| birth_place        = [[ʽAsir Province|Aseer]], Saudi Arabia
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2001|9|11|1979|5|28|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[1 World Trade Center (1971–2001)|North Tower]], [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_cause        = [[Suicide attack|Suicide]] by [[American Airlines Flight 11|plane crash]] ([[September 11 attacks]])
| nationality        = [[Saudis|Saudi]]
}}

'''Abdulaziz al-Omari''' ({{langx|ar|عبد العزيز العُمري}}, {{Transliteration|ar|''ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-ʿUmarī''}}, also [[transliteration|transliterated]] as '''Alomari''' or '''al-Umari'''; 28 May 1979 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi [[imam]] and terrorist who was one of five [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers|hijackers]] of [[American Airlines Flight 11]] as part of the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001.

Prior to the attacks, al-Omari was an imam at his mosque in Saudi Arabia's [[Al-Qassim Province|al-Qassim province]]. He arrived in the [[United States]] in June 2001 on a tourist visa, obtained through the [[Visa policy of the United States|Visa Express]] program. On September 11, 2001, al-Omari boarded [[American Airlines Flight 11]] and assisted in the hijacking of the plane, which was crashed into the North Tower of the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]], as part of the coordinated attacks.

==Early life and career==
Abdulaziz al-Omari (or Alomari) was born on 28 May 1979 in a poor Arab family.<ref>{{cite web |author=John J. Lumpkin |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/abdul_aziz_al_omari.htm |title=Abdul Aziz al Omari |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |access-date=2012-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118061734/http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/abdul_aziz_al_omari.htm |archive-date=2012-01-18 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was born in [[ʽAsir Province|Aseer]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and was a fellow countryman of brothers [[Wail al-Shehri]] and [[Waleed al-Shehri]], fellow hijackers in the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=9/11 anniversary: Who were the September 11th attackers and what are the links with the new Taliban regime? |url=https://news.sky.com/story/9-11-anniversary-who-were-the-september-11th-attackers-and-what-are-the-links-with-the-new-taliban-regime-12402917 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> It is alleged he graduated with honors from high school.<ref name=":3" /> He attained a degree from [[Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University]], got married, and had a daughter briefly before the attacks.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/06/trumps-dubious-claim-that-the-911-hijackers-wives-knew-exactly-what-was-going-to-happen/| title = Trump's false claim that the 9/11 hijackers' wives 'knew exactly what was going to happen' - The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> He taught as an [[imam]] at his [[mosque]] in [[Al-Qassim Province|al-Qassim province]], which was the "heartland" of [[Wahhabism]], a strict form of Islam. At the mosque, which experts refer to as a "terrorist factory", he was possibly taught by the radical [[Clergy|cleric]] [[Sulaiman Al-Alwan|Sulayman al Alwan]].<ref name=":2" />

According to [[Walid bin Attash]], al-Omari was one of a group of future hijackers who provided security at [[Kandahar]] airport after their basic training at an al-Qaeda camp. During the [[Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit|2000 Al Qaeda Summit]] in [[Kuala Lumpur]], American authorities state that immigration records show that a person named Abdulaziz al-Omari was visiting the country, although they say they are not sure that this was the same person.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

==September 11 attacks==
{{Main|American Airlines Flight 11}}

=== Planning ===

==== Early 2001 ====
al-Omari eventually became involved in the planning for the September 11 attacks on the United States, an idea formulated by [[Osama bin Laden]]. The attacks involved hijacking commercial airplanes and crashing them into buildings; al-Omari would hijack [[American Airlines Flight 11]], which would crash into the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in New York City.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Maine's connection to 9/11 endures |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/news/2021/09/08/maine-connection-to-9-11-endures |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=spectrumlocalnews.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-25 |title=September 11 attacks {{!}} History, Summary, Location, Timeline, Casualties, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> At the time of the hijacking, al-Omari was 22.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Woodard |first=Colin |date=2021-09-05 |title=20 years later, they're haunted by their encounters with 9/11 hijackers |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2021/09/05/20-years-later-theyre-haunted-by-their-encounters-with-9-11-hijackers/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Press Herald}}</ref> In the autumn of 2001, after the attacks, [[Al Jazeera Media Network|al Jazeera]] television broadcast a tape they claim was made by him. The speaker made a farewell suicide video. In it he read, "I am writing this with my full conscience and I am writing this in expectation of the end, which is near... God praise everybody who trained and helped me, namely the leader [[Sheikh]] Osama bin Laden."<ref name="Unger2004">{{cite book |last1=Unger |first1=Craig |author-link=Craig Unger |url=http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/House-of-Bush-House-of-Saud/Craig-Unger/9780743266239 |title=House of Bush, House of Saud |date=19 March 2004 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9780743266239 |page=230 |access-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810193434/http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/House-of-Bush-House-of-Saud/Craig-Unger/9780743266239 |archive-date=10 August 2016}}</ref>

A person with al-Omari's name visited the Philippines twice in February 2001.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=2001-09-20 |title=Piecing together the shadowy lives of the hijackers |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1341136/Piecing-together-the-shadowy-lives-of-the-hijackers.html |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref> al-Omari and hijacker [[Salem al-Hazmi]] entered the United States through a [[Dubai]] flight on June 29, 2001, landing in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement of Robert S. Mueller: Joint Investigation Into September 11: (published September 26, 2002) |url=http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103193507/http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html |archive-date=2012-01-03 |access-date=2012-01-06 |publisher=Fas.org}}</ref> al-Omari had used the controversial Visa Express program to gain entry.<ref name=":0" /> The two were probably picked up by Salem's brother, [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]], on the 30th; this is assumed because of a recorded traffic accident by Nawaf on [[George Washington Bridge]] that day.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2004-06-16 |title=9/11 commission staff statement No. 16 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5224099 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> al-Omari likely stayed with several other hijackers in [[Paterson, New Jersey]] (where he rented a mailbox<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Mike |title=9/11 hijackers were 'hiding in plain sight' before the 2001 attacks. How did they do it? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/09/08/9-11-hijackers-lived-plain-sight-northern-new-jersey/5755110001/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>), before moving to his own place in [[Vero Beach, Florida]] with his wife and three children.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9" /> On his rental agreement form for that house, al-Omari gave two license-plates authorized to park in his space, one of which was registered to [[Mohamed Atta]],<ref name="PATERSON">[http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/atta/resources/documents/fbiaffidavit11.htm FBI Affidavit: Page 11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318141730/http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/atta/resources/documents/fbiaffidavit11.htm|date=2007-03-18}} ABC</ref> the attacks' mastermind.<ref name=":0" />

al-Omari attended the FlightSafety academy in Vero Beach with fellow hijackers [[Mohand al-Shehri]] and [[Saeed al-Ghamdi]].<ref name=":9" /> He also obtained a fake United States ID card from All Services Plus in [[Passaic County, New Jersey]], which was in the business of selling fake documents; another was given to [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Miller, Jonathan |date=2003-03-08 |title=A Plea Deal, Then Freedom, in Terror Case Where Prosecutors Kept Evidence a Secret |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/08/nyregion/a-plea-deal-then-freedom-in-terror-case-where-prosecutors-kept-evidence-a-secret.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612165109/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/08/nyregion/a-plea-deal-then-freedom-in-terror-case-where-prosecutors-kept-evidence-a-secret.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=2018-06-12 |access-date=2008-09-29 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The employee who gave them the IDs claimed he had no idea they were "anything more [than ordinary] customers".<ref name=":4" /> Atta bought tickets for Flight 11 for himself and al-Omari on August 28. On September 6, al-Omari and fellow hijacker [[Satam al-Suqami]] flew from Florida to Boston to stay at the Park Inn Hotel.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=While America Slept: The True Story of 9/11 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/ten-years-ago-today-countdown-911/story?id=14191671 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

==== September 10 ====
On September 10, 2001, Atta picked up al-Omari from the Park Inn Hotel, and the two drove to [[South Portland, Maine|South Portland]], Maine, in [[Mohamed Atta's Nissan|a rented Nissan Altima]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-09-11 |title=A Chilling Look Back 22 Years Later: Tracing the Path of the 9/11 Hijackers Through Maine |url=https://wblm.com/tracing-the-path-of-the-911-hijackers-through-maine/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=102.9 WBLM |language=en}}</ref> Some sources state there is no evidence as to why they went to Portland,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> whereas [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] says it was a last-minute decision by Atta to stagger the Flight 11 hijackers' entrances into [[Logan International Airport]] on the 11th.<ref name=":7" /> Multiple people have claimed to see Atta and other hijackers in Portland that summer, but the FBI has found no evidence of this.<ref name=":1" /> On the 10th, Atta and al-Omari purchased a room (233) at the town's [[Comfort Inn]]. They did not ask for a [[wake-up call]]. Their luggage included a folding knife, "a [[videocassette]] [about] a [[Boeing 757]] flight simulator, pepper spray, Atta’s will, [and Atta's] handwritten instructions to his 18 fellow hijackers"; American Airlines Flight 11 was a [[Boeing 767]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> 
{{Multiple images
| image1            = Abdulaziz Alomari in ATM.jpg
| caption1          = al-Omari (foreground) and Atta (background) at an ATM in South Portland, Maine at 8:41 p.m. on September 10, 2001
| image2            = Atta in airport.jpg
| caption2          = al-Omari (center) and Atta (right) at Portland International Jetport on the morning of September 11
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 240
}}
They stayed in their hotel room for two hours, until 8 p.m., when al-Omari made a four-minute phone call from a nearby [[Pizza Hut]]'s [[Payphone|pay phone]] to a phone belonging to [[Marwan al-Shehhi]], who would hijack [[United Airlines Flight 175]]. Five minutes later, at a restaurant named Pizzeria Uno, the two withdrew $80 from an ATM. They then drove back to the Pizza Hut, where a second pay phone call was placed at 8:50. They decided to go to Walmart, but got lost and went to a gas station to ask for directions. In a video recorded at the gas station, Atta has a piece of paper in his hand and shows it to al-Omari, and then they leave. At the Walmart, the two purchased a six-[[volt]] [[Power inverter|battery converter]] for an unknown reason. Staff of the Walmart said that weeks earlier, Atta had bought a [[box cutter]] there, but this is uncorroborated. The two then returned to the Comfort Inn, where they stayed for hours.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

=== Day of the attacks ===
At 5:33&nbsp;a.m. on September 11, al-Omari and Atta checked out of the hotel. al-Omari made another cash withdrawal at the Pizzeria Uno ATM, and then the two went to [[Portland International Jetport]]. At around 5:40, the two spoke with a [[ticket agent]], who raised no suspicions about them. Both men boarded their flight, which landed in Logan International Airport at 6:45. Eight other hijackers were waiting at the airport.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Moretto |first=Mario |date=2011-09-08 |title=10 years after 9/11, spotlight finds Scarborough man who faced terrorists suspicious, less 'politically correct' |url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2011/09/08/10-years-911-spotlight-finds-scarborough-man-faced-terrorists-suspicious-less-politically-correct/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Lewiston Sun Journal}}</ref> It is unknown why this connecting flight through Portland happened, especially because the two almost missed their flight at Logan.<ref name=":6" /> Their flight, American 11, was supposed to fly to Los Angeles.<ref name=":0" />

Atta and al-Omari then boarded Flight 11 with fellow hijackers Satam al-Suqami, Wail al-Shehri, and Waleed al-Shehri. The other hijackers at the airport went on United Airlines Flight 175.<ref name=":0" /> al-Omari's passport, which would identify him as a hijacker to investigators later, was in the two men's aforementioned luggage; this luggage was accidentally left at Portland International Airport, failing to make it onto the connecting flight to Logan.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> The two men probably decided they did not need the luggage's folding knife and pepper spray in their attacks.<ref name=":6" /> Atta and al-Omari had seats next to each other in first class, row 8, on Flight 11. The flight left the Logan runway at 7:59.<ref name=":1" /> The hijackers took over the plane starting at 8:14, when multiple passengers were maced and stabbed.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=9/11: The terror attacks on the US - minute by minute |url=https://news.sky.com/story/9-11-how-the-terror-attacks-unfolded-minute-by-minute-12403526 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> Atta then commanded the plane's controls,<ref name=":1" /> and at 8:37, the plane began a rapid descent.<ref name=":5" /> At 8:46, it was crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower, and everyone onboard was killed.<ref name=":1" /> Floors 93 to 99 were impacted, and many inside died.<ref name=":5" />

==Aftermath==
Controversy over the identity of al-Omari erupted shortly after the attacks. At first, the FBI had named Abdul Rahman al-Omari, a pilot for [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]], as the pilot of Flight 11.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1000934272326780760 |title=Media Mistook Four Saudi Pilots For Hijackers in U.S. Attacks |first1=Chad |last1=Terhune |first2=Will |last2=Pinkston |first3=Douglas A. |last3=Blackmon |author3-link=Douglas A. Blackmon |date=20 September 2010 |access-date=21 April 2019 |newspaper=[[WSJ]] |publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company, Inc.]]}}</ref> It was quickly shown that this person was still alive, and the FBI issued an apology.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/tpt/date/2001-09-21/segment/00 |title=America's New War: Tracking the Terrorists |date=21 September 2001 |access-date=21 April 2019 |work=[[CNN]] |publisher=[[Time Warner Company]] |first=Susan |last=Candiotti |author-link=Susan Candiotti}}</ref> It was also quickly determined that [[Mohamed Atta]] was the pilot among the hijackers. The FBI then named Abdulaziz al-Omari as a hijacker.
 
A man with the same name as those given by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] turned up alive in [[Saudi Arabia]], saying that he had studied at the [[University of Denver]] and his [[passport]] was stolen there in 1995. The name, origin, birth date, and occupation were released by the FBI, but the picture was not of him. "I couldn't believe it when the FBI put me on their list", he said. "They gave my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am alive. I have no idea how to fly a plane. I had nothing to do with this."<ref name=NOFLY>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2071FF63D5F0C758DDDA00894D9404482 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |first=Kevin |last=Sack |author-link=Kevin Sack |title=AFTER THE ATTACKS: MISSED CUES; Saudi May Have Been Suspected in Error, Officials Say |date=16 September 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051219082529/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2071FF63D5F0C758DDDA00894D9404482 |archive-date=19 December 2005 |page=7 |access-date=4 February 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Suicide hijacker' is an airline pilot alive and well in Jeddah |last=Fisk |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Fisk |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=94438 |date=24 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040624055254/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=94438 |archive-date=24 June 2004 |access-date=21 April 2019 |newspaper=[[Independent (newspaper)|Independent]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm |title=Middle East &#124; Hijack 'suspects' alive and well |work=[[BBC News]] |date=23 September 2001 |access-date=6 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730151931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm |archive-date=30 July 2015 |publisher=[[BBC]] |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The FBI gave a press conference on October 5, 2001, where they gave details regarding Atta and the real al-Omari's movements on September 10 and 11.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 5, 2001 |title=Boston Division Seeks Assistance |url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/pressrel/press-releases/boston-division-seeks-assistance |access-date=June 20, 2024 |website=FBI}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[PENTTBOM]]
* [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|Hijackers in the 11 September attacks]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100807204647/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060215202606/http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F09%2F23%2Fwiden23.xml portal.telegraph.co.uk] (Article which reports that the Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot named Omari was not involved with the terrorist attacks)

{{9-11 hijackers}}
{{AmericanTerrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omari, Abduraziz}}
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:American Airlines Flight 11 hijackers]]
[[Category:People from Al-Bahah Province]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian mass murderers]]