Ahmed al-Haznawi

Infobox Person
name = Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi


image_size = 150px
birth_date = Birth date|1980|10|11
birth_name = Ahmed al-Haznawi (in Arabic: احمد ابراهيم الحزناوي)
birth_place = al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia
death_date = death date and age|2001|9|11|1980|10|11
death_place = Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States

Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi ( _ar. 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 attacks.

Background

Ahmed al-Haznawi was the son of a Saudi imam from the Al-Bahah province, which is located an isolated and underdeveloped part of Saudi Arabia. Haznawi grew up in the village of Hezna, where his father was a cleric at the mosque in the central marketplace section of the village. Haznawi belonged to a family that was part of the larger, al-Ghamdi tribe, sharing the same tribal affiliation with fellow hijackers Saeed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Ghamdi.cite news |title=Driving a Wedge - Bin Laden, the US and Saudi Arabia (Part 1) |publisher=The Boston Globe |date=2002-03-03]

Timeline

1999–2000

Al-Haznawi announced he was leaving his family in 1999 to help fight in Chechnya, although his father forbade him. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,685102,00.html Chilling, defiant: the video suicide message of a September 11 killer | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited ] ] 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.

2001

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 2001. He is believed to have moved in with Ziad Jarrah, who got a new apartment on Bougainvilla Dr. in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, after both men gave the landlord photocopies of their German passports, which he later turned over to the FBI. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20011019090410/www.miami.com/herald/special/news/worldtrade/digdocs/046328.htm Miami Herald: Hijack plotters used S. Florida as a cradle for conspiracy ] ]

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 [http://www.anthraxinvestigation.com/wp0328.html] , 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." [ [http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/03/23/anthrax/?related CNN.com - Report raises question of anthrax, hijacker link - March 23, 2002 ] ]

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. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20040604015841/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-worldtrade-suspectprofiles.story Multiple identities of hijack suspects confound FBI: South Florida Sun-Sentinel ] ]

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. [ [http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html Statement of Robert S. Mueller: Joint Investigation Into September 11: (published September 26, 2002) ] ]

eptember 11 attacks

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.cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_3.pdf |title=The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3 |publisher=9/11 Commission|format=PDF]

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.

Family reaction

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. [ [http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=9490&d=1&m=10&y=2001 Hanjour family denies Hani’s involvement in crime ] ]

Martyrdom video

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. 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
* [http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/04/15/terror.tape/ Bin Laden tape with Haznawi]

Persondata
NAME=Haznawi, Ahmed Ibrahim al-
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=احمد ابراهيم الحزناوي (Arabic); Alhaznawi, Ahmed (alternate transliteration)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=9/11 hijacker
DATE OF BIRTH=birth date|1980|10|11|mf=y
PLACE OF BIRTH=al Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia
DATE OF DEATH=death date|2001|9|11|mf=y
PLACE OF DEATH=near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States