Ahmed al-Nami
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Ahmed al-Nami (احمد النامي, also transliterated Alnami or al-Nawi) (born December 1977) was named by the FBI as one of the hijackers of United Airlines flight 93 as part of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack.
Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Nami studied Islamic law, or shariah, at King Khaled University in the city of Abha, in the southern Saudi Arabian province of 'Asir. He is also reported to have been a prayer leader, or imam, in one of the mosques there, and was reported by his family to have become very religious sometime in early 1999. He left home in the summer of 2000 to go on pilgrimage to Mecca and never returned, his family last having a call from him in May 2001, the same month he entered the United States.
In March of 2001, Ahmed al-Nami was filmed in a farewell video that was later aired on al-Jazeera. In the video, many future 9/11 hijackers swear to become martyrs, although no details of the plot are revealed. Al-Nami does not speak in the film, but is seen studying maps and flight manuals.[1] (http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/financialtimes091102.html)
On May 28, 2001, al-Nami arrived in the United States with fellow-hijackers Mohand al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. Al-Nami stayed in an apartment with Saeed al-Ghamdi, another alleged hijacker, in Delray Beach, Florida. Oddly, he listed the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida as his permanent address on his driver's license.
On September 11, al-Nawi boarded flight 93, and although he was selected for additional security and screened, he was able to board the flight 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.
Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes. They realized they had to take the cockpit back from the terrorists or their plane too would be used as a missile. A passenger uprising foiled the terrorist's plans, but failed to save the plane. It is uncertain what happened but it is believed the hijackers crashed the plane into the Pennsylvania farmland rather than cede control of the plane. All aboard died.
External links
- The Final 9/11 Commission Report (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html)
- Report that an Ahmed al-Nami is still alive (http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml)