Ahmed al-Haznawi
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| Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi | |
|---|---|
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| Born | October 11, 1980 al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia |
| Died | September 11, 2001 Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States |
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi (Arabic: احمد ابراهيم الحزناوي) (October 11, 1980 – September 11, 2001) was named by the FBI as one of the hijackers of United Airlines flight 93 as part of the September 11, 2001 Attack.
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[edit] History
Al-Haznawi was the son of an Saudi imam from al-Baha, an isolated and underdeveloped area, and shared the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers Saeed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Ghamdi. This group is noted as being some of the more religiously observant of the hijackers.
Al-Haznawi announced he was leaving his family in 1999 to help fight in Chechnya, although his father forbade him.[1] His father and brother, Abdul Rahman al-Haznawi, reportedly last heard from him in late 2000, after he made references to training in Afghanistan.
From November 27, 2000 through December 27, 2000, al-Haznawi was in Saudi Arabia for Ramadan. It is theorized that during this trip, he may have initially told Saeed and Hamza Alghamdi about the operation.
Some time late in 2000, al-Haznawi traveled to the United Arab Emirates, where he purchased traveler's cheques presumed to have been paid for by Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. Five other hijackers also passed through the UAE and purchased travellers cheques, including Majed Moqed, Saeed Alghamdi, Hamza Alghamdi, Wail al-Shehri and Ahmed al-Nami.
[edit] 2001
A videotape released with The Wills of the New York and Washington Battle Martyrs, was aired on Al Jazeera on April 16, 2002. While the name beneath the speaker read al-Ghamdi, the image is of al-Haznawi speaking.[2] Officials suggested that the name was merely a reference to his tribal affiliation. The film was thought to have been made in March 2001. In it, he talked about his plans to bring the "bloodied message" to America. In September 2002, a similar tape made by Abdulaziz Alomari appeared.
On June 8 he arrived in Miami, Florida with fellow hijacker Wail al-Shehri. He was one of 9 hijackers to open a SunTrust bank account with a cash deposit around June of 2001. He is believed to have moved in with Ziad Jarrah, who got a new apartment at 4641 Bougainvilla in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, after both men gave the landlord photocopies of their German passports, which he later turned over to the FBI.[3]
On June 25, Jarrah took al-Haznawi to Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale on advice of his landlord Charles Lisa. Al-Haznawi was treated by Dr. Christos Tsonas, who gave him antibiotics for a small gash on his left calf. While he told staff that he had bumped into a suitcase [4], the media briefly reported it as a sign of cutaneous anthrax and a possible link to the 2001 anthrax attacks, although FBI later addressed the rumors stating that "Exhaustive testing did not support that anthrax was present anywhere the hijackers had been."[5]
On July 10 al-Haznawi obtained a Florida driver's license, later obtaining another copy on September 7, 2001 by filling out a change-of-address form. Five other suspected hijackers also received duplicate Florida licenses in 2001, and others had licenses from different states. Some have speculated that this was to allow multiple persons to use the same identity.[6]
On September 7, all four Flight 93 hijackers flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark International Airport aboard Spirit Airlines. Jarrah and al-Haznawi both received their one-way tickets on September 5.[7]
[edit] The attack
On September 11, 2001, al-Haznawi boarded Flight 93. Although he was selected for additional security by CAPPS and screened, he was able to board the flight without incident, with only his checked bags requiring extra screening for explosives.[8]
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 cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandanas, which some believe may have signified an allegiance to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The calls also indicated that one of the men had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside - it is not known which hijacker this was. Some passengers expressed doubt that the bomb was real.
Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes. A passenger uprising resulted in the plane crashing into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.
After the attacks, before the release of the FBI pictures of the hijackers, Arab News reported that al-Haznawi's brother Abdul Rahman had told Al-Madinah newspaper that a photograph published by local newspapers bore no resemblance to his brother.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,685102,00.html
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,685102,00.html
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20011019090410/www.miami.com/herald/special/news/worldtrade/digdocs/046328.htm]
- ^ http://www.anthraxinvestigation.com/wp0328.html
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/03/23/anthrax/?related
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20040604015841/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-worldtrade-suspectprofiles.story
- ^ http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html
- ^ The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3. 9/11 Commission.
- ^ http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=9490&d=1&m=10&y=2001
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Haznawi, Ahmed Ibrahim al- |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | احمد ابراهيم الحزناوي (Arabic); Alhaznawi, Ahmed (alternate transliteration) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | 9/11 hijacker |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 11, 1980 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 11, 2001 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States |
