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Salem al-Hazmi, (Arabic: سالم الحازمي, also transliterated Alhazmi), born February 2, 1981, was one of five men named on September 14, 2001 by the FBI as hijackers of American Airlines flight 77 in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack. His older brother, Nawaf al-Hazmi was another of the hijackers.
History
Born on February 2, 1981 to Muhammad Salim Al-Hazmi, a grocer. There are reports that he fought in Afghanistan with his brother, Nawaf al-Hazmi, and other reports say the two fought together in Chechnya. (The two may not have been actual brothers, although they claimed they were.) Both obtained US visas through the US Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in April of 1999. Salem al-Hazmi was an al-Qaida veteran by the time he was selected for participation in the 9/11 attacks.
In November 2000, both he and Ahmed al-Ghamdi flew to Beirut, though on separate flights and at different times.
Along with Nawaf al-Hazmi and several other future hijackers, Salem al-Hazmi may have attended the 2000 Al Qaeda Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was there that the details of the 9/11 attacks were decided upon.
In the United States
According to the FBI and the 9/11 Commission report, al-Hazmi first entered the United States on June 29, 2001, although there are numerous unconfirmed reports that he was living in San Antonio, Texas with fellow hijacker Satam al-Suqami much earlier. Al-Hazmi used the controversial Visa Express program to gain entry into the country.
Al-Hazmi moved to Paterson, New Jersey where he lived with Hani Hanjour. Both were among the five hijackers who applied for Virginia identity cards at the Arlington office of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles on August 2, 2001, although Salem already held a NJ identity card.
On August 27th, brothers Nawaf and Salem purchased flight tickets through Travelocity.com using Nawaf's visa card*
With the four other Flight 77 hijackers, he worked out at a Gold's Gym in Greenbelt, Maryland from September 2 to September 6 of the same year.
The Attacks
On September 11, al-Hazmi boarded American Airlines flight 77. Airport surveillance video from Washington's Dulles Airport shows four of the five hijackers, including Salem al-Hazmi, being pulled aside to undergo additional scrutiny after setting off metal detectors.* Some time after takeoff, the plane was hijacked, and was flown into the Pentagon at 9:37 am, killing 189 people.
Controversy
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. On September 19, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published his photograph alongside Badr Alhazmi's, whom they claimed was the actual hijacker who had stolen his identity.*
Muhammad Salim Al-Hazmi, father of the two suspects, Nawaf and Salim Muhammad Al-Hazmi, said that the published photos may be doctored or faked somehow. Al-Hazmi continued, "As a father, I have a feeling that the two of them are still alive and unhurt, and will come back home in the near future when the truth is uncovered and the real culprits are found." *
After some confusion and doubt Saudi Arabia admited that in fact the names of the hijackers were correct. "The names that we got confirmed that," Interior Minister Prince Nayef said in an interview with The Associated Press. "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.*
External links
- The Final 9/11 Commission Report
- http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-092101probe.story
- http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A59320-2001Sep19¬Found=true
- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200202/06/eng20020206_90055.shtml
- Revealed: the men with stolen identities
- http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/penttbom/aa77/77.htm
- http://www.911myths.com/html/salem_al-hamzi_still_alive.html
- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200202/06/eng20020206_90055.shtml
See also
1981 births | 2001 deaths | Participants in the September 11, 2001 attacks | Saudi Arabian terrorists
"Salem al-Hazmi"