Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks
| September 11, 2001 attacks |
| Timeline |
| Background history |
| Planning and execution |
| September 11, 2001 |
| Rest of September |
| October |
| Aftermath |
| Victims |
| Casualties |
| Missing Persons |
| Survivors |
| Foreign casualties |
| Rescue workers |
| Effects |
| US government response |
| World political effects |
| World economic effects |
| Airport security |
| Closings and cancellations |
| Movies and TV shows |
| Response |
| Rescue and recovery effort |
| Financial assistance |
| Memorials and services |
| Perpetrators |
| Responsibility |
| Organizers |
| Miscellaneous |
| Communication |
| Slogans and terms |
| Misinformation and rumors |
| Opportunists |
| Table of contents |
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2 The Hamburg Cell and other conspirators 3 Related topics 4 External Links and References |
U.S. authorities believe that the hijackers were in two groups--six core organizers, who included the four pilots and two others, and the remaining 13, who came to the United States later, in pairs in the spring and summer of 2001 via the UAE.
The six organizers were the pilots--Mohammed Atta, Marwan Alshehhi, Ziad Jarrah, and Hani Hanjour--and Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi.
Several of the terrorist hijackers appeared to be traveling with false passports, assuming the identities of other people. Saudis Saeed Alghamdi, Abdulaziz Alomari, and Waleed Alshehri, whose photographs have appeared on CNN and other media outlets, have spoken to Saudi newspapers since the attack.
Their profiles do not seem to match that of past suicide terrorists (young, poor, uneducated and indoctrinated): many were in their late twenties and thirties, most with college educations, and had lived for prolonged periods of time in western countries. 15 came from Saudi Arabia. The remaining four came from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
There have been variations in the spelling of the names of the alleged hijackers in differing accounts of the attacks- one good example being the Alshehris from Flight 11. This is because there is no one correct way of translating from Arabic script to English letters.
Network Map of how hijackers were connected to each other and color-coded by their flight.
The hijackers aboard American Airlines flight 11 were reported to be
Aboard United Airlines flight 175 the hijackers were reported to be
The hijackers aboard American Airlines flight 77 were reported to be
The hijackers aboard United Airlines flight 93 were reported to be
see also Ramzi Binalshibh and Zacarias Moussaoui
Three of the hijackers, along with Ramzi Binalshibh, Said Bahaji, and Zakariyah Essabar were members of the Hamburg, Germany cell. After Atta, Al-Shehhi, and Jarrah left for the United States, Binalshibh provided money to the conspirators. Riduan Isamuddin, aka Hambali, met with two of the hijackers in Kuala Lumpur in 2000. Hambali also gave money to alleged 20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui. The members of the cell fled Germany before the terrorist attacks.
Some of the money that financed the terrorist attack may have originated from Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mohammed Yousef Mohamed Alqusaidi, who may be Marwan Al-Shehhi's brother. Another conspirator is Abu Abdul Rahman.
See also: "War on Terrorism" -- U.S. invasion of Afghanistan -- 2001 anthrax attack -- World Trade Center -- The Pentagon -- New York City -- Washington, D.C -- AA Flight 11 -- UA Flight 175 -- AA Flight 77 -- UA Flight 93 -- U.S. Department of Defense -- Operation Bojinka -- terrorism -- domestic terrorism -- Osama bin Laden -- Taliban -- Islamism -- Afghanistan -- collective trauma -- September 11
Hijackers
There were 19 hijackers in all; five on three of the flights, four on one (though at least eight of the names on the FBI's list have been called into serious doubt; see links by name).
Mohammad Atta is believed to have flown Flight 11 into the North Tower.
Marwan Alshehhi is believed to have flown Flight 175 into the South Tower.The Hamburg Cell and other conspirators
The terrorist attack itself was planned by Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He and Abu Zubaydah became the organizers of the plot. Investigators say that Mohammed Haydar Zammar acted as the "travel agent" to Afghanistan.Related topics
External Links and References