Editing Saeed al-Ghamdi

{{short description|Saudi terrorist and 9/11 hijacker (1979–2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2010}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Saeed al-Ghamdi
| native_name        = سعيد الغامدي
| native_name_lang   = aro
| image              = Al-Ghamdi.jpeg
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1979|11|21|df=yes}}
| birth_name         = Saeed Abd Allah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi
| birth_place        = [[Al-Bahah Province]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2001|9|11|1979|11|21|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Somerset County, Pennsylvania]], U.S. aboard [[United Airlines Flight 93|United 93]]
| death_cause        = [[Suicide attack|Suicide]] by [[United Airlines Flight 93|plane crash]] ([[September 11 attacks]])
| nationality        = [[Saudis|Saudi]]
}}

'''Saeed Abdullah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi''' ({{langx|ar|سعيد الغامدي|translit=Sa'īd al-Ghāmdī}}; 21 November 1979{{Snd}} 11 September 2001) was a [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] terrorist hijacker. He was one of four terrorist [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|hijackers]] of [[United Airlines Flight 93]] as part of the [[September 11 attacks|11 September attacks]]. Despite his name, he was not related to the brothers [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]] or [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]] who were part of the team that hijacked [[United Airlines Flight 175]].

Born in [[Saudi Arabia]], al-Ghamdi left his home to fight in [[Chechnya]] after [[dropping out]] of college, but was reported to have diverted to [[Afghanistan]] to train in an [[al-Qaeda]] camp. It was reported he was chosen by [[Osama bin Laden]] to participate in terrorist attacks in the United States and arrived in the U.S. in June 2001. During his stay in the U.S., he quietly settled in [[Florida]], planning out how the attacks would commence and training on flight simulators.<ref name="MacKinnon2006">{{cite book|first=Colin|last=MacKinnon|title=Morning Spy, Evening Spy: A Novel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPYFNMFwX0oC|date=3 October 2006|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4299-9357-9}}</ref>

On 11 September 2001, he boarded [[United Airlines Flight 93|United 93]] and assisted in the hijacking of the plane, which was diverted toward [[Washington D.C.]] under the control of lead hijacker and trained pilot [[Ziad Jarrah]] so that Jarrah could crash the plane into the [[U.S. Capitol]] as part of the coordinated attacks. The plane instead crashed into a [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania|field]] in [[Somerset County, Pennsylvania]], after the passengers attempted to retake control of the plane in an uprising.

[[File:SAlghamdi.JPG|thumb|al-Ghamdi]]

==Early life and education==
Saeed al-Ghamdi was from the [[al-Bahah Province]] of [[Saudi Arabia]], and shared the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]], [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]], and [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]], although he was not related to either al-Ghamdi. He may have been in contact with the two al-Ghamdi's and al-Haznawi as early as 1999.<ref name="commission">{{cite report|url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec7.pdf|title=The 9/11 Commission Report|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]|location=Washington DC|date=July 22, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809032821/http://www.gpoaccess.gov//911/pdf/sec7.pdf |archive-date=August 9, 2010|pages=231–33}}</ref> This group is noted as being some of the more religiously observant of the hijackers. al-Ghamdi spent time in [[al Qasim]] province, Saudi Arabia where he transferred to college but soon dropped out and ceased contact with his family. While there he probably associated with the radical Saudi cleric named [[Sulayman al-Alwan]] as several other future hijackers had.<ref name="commission"/>

Al-Ghamdi later headed to [[Chechnya]] to participate in the conflict against the [[Russia]]ns. At this time, Chechen fighters were turning away additional foreigners, many of whom ended up in [[al-Qaeda]] camps in [[Afghanistan]] to train and await entry to Chechnya. Saeed ended up at the Al Farouq training camp, where he met [[Ahmed al-Nami]], and the brothers [[Wail al-Shehri|Wail]] and [[Waleed al-Shehri]]. The four reportedly pledged themselves to [[Jihad]] in the Spring of 2000, in a ceremony presided over by Wail Al-Shehri—who had dubbed himself ''Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi'' after one of [[Muhammad]]'s companions.<ref>{{cite news|first=Charles M.|last=Sennott|url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/driving_a_wedge/part1_side.shtml|title=Before oath to jihad, drifting and boredom|newspaper=[[Boston Globe]]|publisher=Boston Globe Partners L.P.|location=Boston, Massachusetts|date=March 3, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830042824/http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/driving_a_wedge/part1_side.shtml |url-status=live|archive-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref>

Saeed Al-Ghamdi was known to [[Tawfiq bin Attash]] who is thought to have convinced him to become a martyr. Al-Ghamdi was at that time working as a security guard at Kandahar airport along with [[Waleed al-Shehri]].

Some time late in 2000, al-Ghamdi traveled to the [[United Arab Emirates]], where he purchased [[traveler's cheques]] presumed to have been paid for by [[Mustafa al-Hawsawi]]. Five other hijackers also passed through the UAE and purchased travellers cheques, including [[Majed Moqed]], [[Wail al-Shehri]], [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]], [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]] and [[Ahmed al-Nami]].

On 13 November 2000, another Saeed al-Ghamdi tried to obtain a visa to enter the United States, but was declined. Although the [[9/11 Commission]] makes mention of him, there is no evidence he was associated with the hijackers.

In March 2001, al-Ghamdi was filmed in a farewell video that was later aired on [[Al Jazeera Arabic|al-Jazeera]]. In the video, many future 9/11 hijackers swear to become martyrs, although no details of the plot are revealed. al-Ghamdi referred to America as "the enemy", and is seen studying maps and flight manuals.<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/financialtimes091102.html Cooperative Research] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031121164502/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/financialtimes091102.html |date=2003-11-21 }}</ref>

==In the United States==

On 12 June 2001, Saeed al-Ghamdi applied for and received a second two-year US [[B-1/B-2 Visa|B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa]] in [[Jeddah, Saudi Arabia]]. His application was submitted by a local travel agency and processed through Visa Express, a controversial US visa program in [[Saudi Arabia]] which was discontinued the following year.<ref name="visa">{{cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Monograph.pdf |title=Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel |publisher=9/11 Commission |year=2004 |access-date=2009-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040923223220/http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Monograph.pdf |archive-date=2004-09-23 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Arriving in the U.S. on 27 June 2001, with [[Fayez Banihammad]], Saeed shared an apartment with Ahmed al-Nami in [[Delray Beach, Florida]]. Oddly, he listed the Naval Air Station in [[Pensacola, Florida]], as his permanent address on his driver's license. He was one of 9 hijackers to open a [[SunTrust]] bank account with a cash deposit around June 2001.

According to [[Al Jazeera Arabic|al-Jazeera]] reporter [[Yosri Fouda]]'s documentary ''Top Secret: The Road to September 11'', three weeks prior to the attacks, Saeed is believed to have used the name 'Abdul Rahman' to send a message to [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] (who was posing as a girlfriend) online, in which he wrote

{{quote|The first semester commences in three weeks. Two high schools and two universities. ... This summer will surely be hot ...19 certificates for private education and four exams. Regards to the professor. Goodbye.{{#tag:ref|This was said to be a reference to two military/governmental targets and two civilian, nineteen hijackers, four planes.|group=N}}|Saeed al-Ghamdi, August 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html |date=September 12, 2002 |title=Al-Jazeera offers accounts of 9/11 planning |work=Cable News Network |publisher=Time Warner |access-date=February 20, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220124318/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html |archive-date=February 20, 2006 }}</ref>}}

On 7 September, all four Flight 93 hijackers flew from [[Fort Lauderdale]] to [[Newark International Airport]] aboard [[Spirit Airlines]].

==Attacks==
{{Main|United Airlines Flight 93}}
[[Image:Saeed al-GhamdiPass Visa.jpg|thumb| [[Visa (document)|Visa]] page from Saeed al-Ghamdi's [[Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]] passport recovered from the [[United Airlines Flight 93]] crash site]]

On the morning of 11 September 2001, al-Ghamdi boarded [[United Airlines Flight 93]] without incident. Due to the flight's delay, the pilot and crew were notified of the previous hijackings that day, and were told to be on the alert. Within minutes, Flight 93 was hijacked as well.

At least two of the cell phone calls made by passengers indicate that the hijackers were wearing red bandanas. The calls also indicated that one had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside.

The flight transcript suggests that three hijackers were in the cockpit. [[Ziad Jarrah]] was identified as the pilot and is heard calling the other hijacker "Saeed",<ref>[[s:en:Flight 93 Cockpit Transcript|Flight 93 Cockpit Transcript]] at [[Wikisource]]</ref> indicating that al-Ghamdi, who also trained in flight simulators, was helping Jarrah with the controls.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flight_93_Cockpit_Transcript.djvu&page=7| title = Relevant page of Wikisource transcript where ''Saeed'' is said twice| date = 11 September 2001}}</ref>

Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes. A passenger uprising resulted in the plane crashing into a [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania|field]] near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.

==Mistaken identity allegations==
On 23 September 2001, before the FBI had released the pictures of the hijackers, the [[BBC]] and ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' reported that a Saudi Airlines pilot named Saeed al-Ghamdi was furious that a name on the hijacker's list released by the FBI matched his own. CNN also showed a picture of the "living" al-Ghamdi as the hijacker. The man claimed CNN likely got his picture from a Flight Safety flying school in Florida he attended.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm |title=Hijack 'suspects' alive and well |work=[[BBC News]] |date=23 September 2001 |access-date=7 December 2018 |publisher=[[BBC]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm |archive-date=2018-12-06 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml |title=Revealed: the men with stolen identities |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |first=David |last=Harrison |date=23 September 2001 |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030119172120/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F09%2F23%2Fwiden23.xml |archive-date=2003-01-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' later investigated the claims of "living" hijackers by the BBC and discovered them to be cases of mistaken identity.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,265160,00.html |title=Panoply of the Absurd |newspaper=[[Spiegel Online]] |date=September 8, 2003 |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524210246/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,265160,00.html |archive-date=2012-05-24 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2005 the [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] government released a list (see [[al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]]) of 36 wanted (and alive) terrorists, one of whom was Salih Saeed Al Batih al-Ghamdi. [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11 conspiracy theorists]] quickly confused him with the hijacker Saeed al-Ghamdi.<ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050706075447/http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?id=613&section=1 |title=Saudi Arabia issues New list of wanted "terrorist" suspects, Asharq Al-Awsat Exclusive: Al Qaeda''s in Saudi Arabia''s new leader is a Moroccan National |newspaper=[[Asharq Al-Awsat]] |date=29 June 2005 |access-date=7 December 2018 |first1=Majid |last1=al Kinani |first2=Mshari |last2=Al-Zaydi |url=http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?id=613&section=1 |archive-date=6 July 2005}}</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Saeeds-I94Form.jpg|Saeed's [[I-94 (form)|I-94 form]]
Image:Saeed-Customs-Declaration.jpg|Saeed's [[United States Customs Service|Customs]] declaration
File:Alghamdivisaphoto.jpg| Ghamdi's passport photo
</gallery>

== In popular culture ==
*He has been portrayed by Iraqi actor [[Lewis Alsamari]] in ''[[United 93 (film)|United 93]]'' and Canadian actor Shawn Ahmed in ''[[Flight 93 (2006 film)|Flight 93]]''.
*Television film ''[[The Flight That Fought Back]]'' (2005) portrays the passenger uprising inside the hijacked United Airlines 93, with Indian actor Ankur Bhatt portraying Saeed al-Ghamdi.

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

{{Portal|Biography}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=N}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100807204647/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm ''BBC News'']
{{United Airlines Flight 93}}
{{9-11 hijackers}}
{{AmericanTerrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghamdi, Saeed}}
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:United Airlines Flight 93 hijackers]]
[[Category:Murder–suicides in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from Al-Bahah Province]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian mass murderers]]
[[Category:21st-century Saudi Arabian people]]