Wail al-Shehri
Encyclopedia
Wail Mohammed al-Shehri ' onMouseout='HidePop("50962")' href="/topics/Transliteration">transliterated
as Alshehri) (July 31, 1973 – September 11, 2001) was one of five hijacker
s of American Airlines Flight 11
, which was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center
as part of the September 11 attacks.
Shehri was an elementary school teacher from Khamis Mushait
in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia
. In early 2000 he traveled to Medina
to seek treatment for mental problems. He and his younger brother Waleed
traveled to Afghanistan
in March 2000 and joined an Al-Qaeda training camp
. The brothers were chosen, along with others from the same region of Saudi Arabia, to participate in the September 11 attacks. Once selected, Shehri returned to Saudi Arabia in October 2000 to obtain a clean passport, then returned to Afghanistan. In March 2001, he recorded his last will and testament
on video.
Shehri arrived in the United States in early June 2001, staying in budget motels in the Boynton Beach
area of south Florida
. On September 5, 2001, Shehri traveled to Boston
and checked into a motel with his brother. Six days later, Shehri arrived early in the morning at Boston's Logan International Airport
and boarded American Airlines Flight 11. Fifteen minutes after take off, the flight was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m.
In the aftermath of the attacks, some news reports mistakenly reported Shehri as a trained pilot and son of a Saudi diplomat, who was still alive and well. The Shehri family in Khamis Mushait spoke to the media, denying those early reports, saying that the Shehri brothers had disappeared and have not been heard from since.
Wail al-Shehri and his younger brother Waleed were from Khamis Mushait
in the Asir province, which is an impoverished area in southwestern Saudi Arabia
, along the Yemen
i border. Shehri was born in Annams, and grew up in the Um Saraar neighborhood in Khamis Mushait. He had ten brothers and one sister. Several of Shehri's brothers joined the Saudi military, while his uncle may have been a major in the army and director of logistics. Shehri's father, Mohammed Ali Asgley Al Shehri, worked as a car dealer. On weekends, the family often spent time together at the Red Sea
. The family strictly adhered to the Wahabi
school of Islam
, which forbids many elements of modernity. As such, the Shehri family did not have satellite television or Internet, nor did his parents permit music or contact with girls. Some of Wail al-Shehri's elder brothers had visited the United States
and could speak English; however, Wail knew little English.
During high school and college, Shehri was deeply religious and attended Al-Seqley Mosque, which his family had built as the local mosque. Shehri also frequented government-supported religious camps in Saudi Arabia. At this time, there were strong religious feelings in Saudi Arabia, especially in the Asir region. Many young people in the region idolized Osama bin Laden
, who had family ties to the area. Wail's father was a friend of Bin Laden's father, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden. Ahmed al-Nami
and Saeed al-Ghamdi
, who were both hijackers on United Airlines Flight 93
, came from the same area in Saudi Arabia as the Shehri family.
After graduating from Abha
teachers college in 1999, Wail al-Shehri took a job as an elementary school physical education teacher at the Khamis Mushait airbase. Five months into the job, Shehri took leave due to mental illness and depression. Rather than conventional therapy, Wail sought consultation with Muslim clerics, and hoped that a visit to Medina would help. His treatment involved verses from the Qur'an
read to him by a sheikh. He traveled to Medina together with Waleed. After the September 11 attacks, others recalled seeing the Shehri brothers in Medina.
in Chechnya
, though may have been diverted to Afghanistan
. Before disappearing, the Shehri brothers went to Al-Seqley Mosque to swear an oath and commitment to jihad, as did Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi. Wail presided over the ceremony, dubbing himself Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi after one of Muhammad
's companions.
In March 2000, he left for Pakistan
with Waleed and Ahmed al-Nami
; later, they went on to Afghanistan. Wail al-Shehri followed the standard path for new al-Qaeda recruits in Afghanistan, spending time in the Khalden training camp
and then Al Farouq training camp
near Kandahar
. Details on how the non-pilot ("muscle") hijackers were chosen for the September 11 attacks are vague, though the hijackers appear to have been selected by senior al-Qaeda leaders in 2000 from the thousands of recruits at training camps in Afghanistan. The most capable and motivated volunteers were at al-Farouq, and Saudi citizens were good candidates, since it would be easy for them to obtain visas to travel to the United States
. Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) director George Tenet
later said that the muscle hijackers were probably told little about their mission in the United States.
Once Wail and the other muscle hijackers completed their training in Afghanistan, they received $2,000 so they could return to Saudi Arabia to obtain new passports and visas. The Shehri brothers may have been assisted by a relative who worked in the Saudi passport office. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri received passports on October 3, 2000, and then obtained United States visas
on October 24. On his visa application, Wail al-Shehri provided vague information, stating his employer/school as "South City", and his destination as "Wasantwn". Wail indicated his occupation as "teacher", and that he would be traveling with his brother on a four-to-six month vacation, which would be paid for with Wail's teacher salary. Although he would not be working while on vacation, consular officials nonetheless did not question if the Shehri brothers had the financial means to support themselves while in the United States.
In late 2000, Wail traveled to the United Arab Emirates
, where he purchased traveler's checks, presumed to have been paid for by Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi
. Five other hijackers passed through the United Arab Emirates and purchased traveler's checks, including Majed Moqed
, Saeed al-Ghamdi
, Hamza al-Ghamdi
, Ahmed al-Haznawi
and Ahmed al-Nami
. The 9/11 Commission
believes that three of the future muscle hijackers, including Wail and Waleed, traveled in a group from Saudi Arabia to Beirut
and then onward to Iran
where they could travel through to Afghanistan without getting their passports stamped. An associate of a senior Hezbollah operative is thought to have been on the same flight, although this may have been a coincidence.
Wail al-Shehri appeared together with hijackers Ahmed al-Nami, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Ghamdi
on a video recorded in March 2001, and aired on Al Jazeera
in September 2002. Shehri was seen studying maps and flight manuals, but he did not speak in the video; it also included a segment of Abdulaziz al-Omari
reading his last will and testament. While in Afghanistan, another video was recorded that showed Shehri reading his last will and testament. This video was released on September 7, 2006.
in the United Arab Emirates. Wail al-Shehri arrived together with fellow al-Qaeda member Ahmed al-Haznawi
at Miami International Airport
, via London
, from Dubai
on June 8. Both were admitted as tourists for six months. Shehri opened a bank account at SunTrust Bank in Florida on June 18, with a deposit of $8,000 that came from American Express
traveler's cheques purchased on June 7 in the United Arab Emirates.
Shehri moved into the Homing Inn, a budget motel in Boynton Beach, on June 21, 2001, sharing a room with his brother Waleed, and Satam al-Suqami
. Wail and Suqami both used this hotel as their address when they received Florida state non-driver identifications on July 3. Shehri checked into the Panther Motel & Apartments, in Deerfield Beach
, with his brother and Suqami on August 2, staying there until August 10. While in Florida, Wail was a member of the World Gym in Boynton Beach, where he trained with Waleed and Suqami. During the summer of 2001, Wail regularly used computers at the Delray Beach Public Library.
On August 28, 2001, Wail and Waleed al-Shehri made reservations on American Airlines Flight 11
, using the Mail Boxes Etc.
in Hollywood, Florida as their address. The Shehri brothers contacted American Airlines on September 3 by telephone to change their first-class seat assignments for American Airlines Flight 11, selecting seats on the side of the aircraft that offered a direct view of the cockpit. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri left Florida for Boston on September 5, traveling together on Delta Air Lines Flight 2462.
Wail checked in together with Waleed at the Park Inn Hotel in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
on September 5, 2001, staying in room 432. While staying at the Park Inn, Wail and Waleed al-Shehri may have called a prostitute. Wail al-Shehri accompanied his brother on September 9 to the Travelex at Logan International Airport, where Waleed attempted to wire $5,000 to the United Arab Emirates. Waleed had insufficient documentation, so Wail and Waleed returned the next day to complete the transaction. Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad received the funds on September 11 at Al-Ansari Exchange in Sharjah. Hijacker Abdulaziz al-Omari
possibly spent a night at the Park Inn before leaving with Mohamed Atta
for Portland, Maine
on September 10. When Wail and Waleed al-Shehri checked out on September 11, they left a sheet of instructions for flying a jet behind in their hotel room.
(CAPPS) for further screening of their checked baggage. As the CAPPS was only for luggage, the three hijackers did not undergo any extra scrutiny at the passenger security checkpoint. One of the five Globe Aviation security screeners on-duty later reported that either Wail or Waleed had been using a crutch when they passed through security, and that the crutch had been X-rayed as per regulations.
By 07:40, all five hijackers were aboard the flight, which was scheduled to depart at 07:45. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri sat together in first class in seats 2A and 2B respectively. The aircraft taxied away from Gate 26, and departed Logan International Airport at 07:59, following a 14-minute delay. Flight 11 was hijacked at approximately 08:14, which is when the pilot stopped responding to air traffic control
. Once the hijacking began, the brothers are suspected of having stabbed two flight attendants. At 08:46:40, Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed Flight 11 into the northern facade of the North Tower (Tower 1) of the World Trade Center
. The immediate damage destroyed any means of escape from above the impact zone, trapping 1,344 people. The North Tower collapsed
at 10:28, after burning for 102 minutes.
News article on September 23, 2001, and other news reports in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Reports said that the Shehri brothers were the sons of a Saudi diplomat stationed in Mumbai
. The diplomat's son was trained as a pilot at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
in Daytona Beach, Florida
, and was working as a pilot for Saudi Arabian Airlines
. At the time of the attacks, he was in Morocco
for a training program. There were also reports that Wail al-Shehri was a trained pilot. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Saudi officials suggested that Wail and Waleed al-Shehri were victims of identity theft, but they were both victims of mistaken identity.
Jamal Khashoggi
, of Al-Watan
and ArabNews in Saudi Arabia, spoke with Muhammad Ali al-Shehri in Khamis Mushait, who said his sons Wail and Waleed had been missing for months. Wail al-Shehri's father denied reports that Wail had an aeronautics degree, as some news reports said, "My son Wail was 25 years old and had a BA in physical education from the Abha Teacher’s College. He was mentally ill and had gone to numerous clerics for assistance in overcoming this instability. He had asked the school, where he taught, for a 6-month leave to go to Madinah." His father also told reporters that he dreaded having to believe that Wail and Waleed were involved in the September 11 attacks, "If that turns out to be the truth, then I'll never, never accept it from them. I'll never forgive them for that." Family members said that Wail and Waleed became very religious in the months before they disappeared, had expressed interest in going to Chechnya, and hoped for martyrdom. In a report entitled "A Saudi Apology" for Dateline NBC
aired on August 25, 2002, John Hockenberry
traveled to Asir, where he interviewed Shehri's brother, Salah, who agreed that Wail and Waleed were deceased. Salah described them as not very religious, and suggested they had been brainwashed.
Saudi officials later stated that the names of the hijackers were in fact correct, and that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. In response to 9/11 conspiracy theories
surrounding its original news story suggesting hijackers were still alive, the BBC issued a response in 2006, saying that later reports on the hijackers superseded the original story. The BBC also explained that confusion arose with the Arabic names that were common.
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
as Alshehri) (July 31, 1973 – September 11, 2001) was one of five hijacker
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
s of American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
, which was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
as part of the September 11 attacks.
Shehri was an elementary school teacher from Khamis Mushait
Khamis Mushait
Khamis Mushait is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located 35 minutes east of Abha, the provincial seat of the Asir province. It is the capital of the Shahran Tribe. Until the 1970s Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region...
in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. In early 2000 he traveled to Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
to seek treatment for mental problems. He and his younger brother Waleed
Waleed al-Shehri
Waleed Mohammed al-Shehri was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, which was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks....
traveled to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in March 2000 and joined an Al-Qaeda training camp
Afghan training camp
An Afghan training camp is a camp or facility used for militant training located in pre-2002 Afghanistan. At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Indian intelligence officials estimated that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of...
. The brothers were chosen, along with others from the same region of Saudi Arabia, to participate in the September 11 attacks. Once selected, Shehri returned to Saudi Arabia in October 2000 to obtain a clean passport, then returned to Afghanistan. In March 2001, he recorded his last will and testament
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
on video.
Shehri arrived in the United States in early June 2001, staying in budget motels in the Boynton Beach
Boynton Beach, Florida
Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 60,389 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the city had a population of 66,714 according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research...
area of south Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. On September 5, 2001, Shehri traveled to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and checked into a motel with his brother. Six days later, Shehri arrived early in the morning at Boston's Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
and boarded American Airlines Flight 11. Fifteen minutes after take off, the flight was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m.
In the aftermath of the attacks, some news reports mistakenly reported Shehri as a trained pilot and son of a Saudi diplomat, who was still alive and well. The Shehri family in Khamis Mushait spoke to the media, denying those early reports, saying that the Shehri brothers had disappeared and have not been heard from since.
Background
Khamis Mushait
Khamis Mushait is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located 35 minutes east of Abha, the provincial seat of the Asir province. It is the capital of the Shahran Tribe. Until the 1970s Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region...
in the Asir province, which is an impoverished area in southwestern Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, along the Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i border. Shehri was born in Annams, and grew up in the Um Saraar neighborhood in Khamis Mushait. He had ten brothers and one sister. Several of Shehri's brothers joined the Saudi military, while his uncle may have been a major in the army and director of logistics. Shehri's father, Mohammed Ali Asgley Al Shehri, worked as a car dealer. On weekends, the family often spent time together at the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. The family strictly adhered to the Wahabi
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a religious movement or a branch of Islam. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim theologian from Najd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations...
school of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, which forbids many elements of modernity. As such, the Shehri family did not have satellite television or Internet, nor did his parents permit music or contact with girls. Some of Wail al-Shehri's elder brothers had visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and could speak English; however, Wail knew little English.
During high school and college, Shehri was deeply religious and attended Al-Seqley Mosque, which his family had built as the local mosque. Shehri also frequented government-supported religious camps in Saudi Arabia. At this time, there were strong religious feelings in Saudi Arabia, especially in the Asir region. Many young people in the region idolized Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, who had family ties to the area. Wail's father was a friend of Bin Laden's father, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden. Ahmed al-Nami
Ahmed al-Nami
A former law student and muezzin, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.Born in Saudi Arabia, Nami had served as a muezzin and was a college student...
and Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed Abdallah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
, who were both hijackers on United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
, came from the same area in Saudi Arabia as the Shehri family.
After graduating from Abha
Abha
Abha is the capital of Asir province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated at 2,200 metres above sea level in the fertile mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia near the National Park of Asir. Its mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Saudis...
teachers college in 1999, Wail al-Shehri took a job as an elementary school physical education teacher at the Khamis Mushait airbase. Five months into the job, Shehri took leave due to mental illness and depression. Rather than conventional therapy, Wail sought consultation with Muslim clerics, and hoped that a visit to Medina would help. His treatment involved verses from the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
read to him by a sheikh. He traveled to Medina together with Waleed. After the September 11 attacks, others recalled seeing the Shehri brothers in Medina.
Afghanistan
Wail and Waleed al-Shehri disappeared after going to Medina, calling their father just once; in the conversation, the brothers were vague about when they would return. Both had expressed interest in joining the jihadJihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, though may have been diverted to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Before disappearing, the Shehri brothers went to Al-Seqley Mosque to swear an oath and commitment to jihad, as did Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi. Wail presided over the ceremony, dubbing himself Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi after one of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's companions.
In March 2000, he left for Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
with Waleed and Ahmed al-Nami
Ahmed al-Nami
A former law student and muezzin, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.Born in Saudi Arabia, Nami had served as a muezzin and was a college student...
; later, they went on to Afghanistan. Wail al-Shehri followed the standard path for new al-Qaeda recruits in Afghanistan, spending time in the Khalden training camp
Khalden training camp
The Khalden training camp was a military training camp in Afghanistan. According to the documentary Son of al Qaeda there were hundreds of military training camps in Afghanistan which were tied to al Qaeda...
and then Al Farouq training camp
Al Farouq training camp
The Al Farouq training camp, also known as "the airport camp", was an alleged Al-Qaeda training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Camp attendees received small-arms training, map-reading, orientation, explosives training, and other training....
near Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
. Details on how the non-pilot ("muscle") hijackers were chosen for the September 11 attacks are vague, though the hijackers appear to have been selected by senior al-Qaeda leaders in 2000 from the thousands of recruits at training camps in Afghanistan. The most capable and motivated volunteers were at al-Farouq, and Saudi citizens were good candidates, since it would be easy for them to obtain visas to travel to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) director George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
later said that the muscle hijackers were probably told little about their mission in the United States.
Once Wail and the other muscle hijackers completed their training in Afghanistan, they received $2,000 so they could return to Saudi Arabia to obtain new passports and visas. The Shehri brothers may have been assisted by a relative who worked in the Saudi passport office. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri received passports on October 3, 2000, and then obtained United States visas
United States visas
United States Visas were issued to 6.6 million foreign nationals visiting the United States and to 470 thousand immigrants in 2008.A foreign national wishing to enter the U.S...
on October 24. On his visa application, Wail al-Shehri provided vague information, stating his employer/school as "South City", and his destination as "Wasantwn". Wail indicated his occupation as "teacher", and that he would be traveling with his brother on a four-to-six month vacation, which would be paid for with Wail's teacher salary. Although he would not be working while on vacation, consular officials nonetheless did not question if the Shehri brothers had the financial means to support themselves while in the United States.
In late 2000, Wail traveled to the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, where he purchased traveler's checks, presumed to have been paid for by Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi
Mustafa al-Hawsawi
Mustafa al-Hawsawi is a member of the militant Islamic organization al-Qaeda and allegedly an organizer and financer of the September 11 attacks....
. Five other hijackers passed through the United Arab Emirates and purchased traveler's checks, including Majed Moqed
Majed Moqed
A former law student, Majed Mashaan Ghanem Moqed was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the September 11 attacks....
, Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed Abdallah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
, Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi
Hamza al-Ghamdi was one of five hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks....
, Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Ahmed al-Nami
Ahmed al-Nami
A former law student and muezzin, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.Born in Saudi Arabia, Nami had served as a muezzin and was a college student...
. The 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
believes that three of the future muscle hijackers, including Wail and Waleed, traveled in a group from Saudi Arabia to Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and then onward to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
where they could travel through to Afghanistan without getting their passports stamped. An associate of a senior Hezbollah operative is thought to have been on the same flight, although this may have been a coincidence.
Wail al-Shehri appeared together with hijackers Ahmed al-Nami, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Ghamdi
Ahmed al-Ghamdi
Ahmed Salah Said al-Ghamdi was one of five hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175 as part of the September 11 attacks.Ghamdi was born in Saudi Arabia in 1979...
on a video recorded in March 2001, and aired on Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
in September 2002. Shehri was seen studying maps and flight manuals, but he did not speak in the video; it also included a segment of Abdulaziz al-Omari
Abdulaziz al-Omari
An airport security guard and Imam, Abdulaziz al-Omari was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 as part of the September 11 attacks....
reading his last will and testament. While in Afghanistan, another video was recorded that showed Shehri reading his last will and testament. This video was released on September 7, 2006.
United States
On June 5, 2001, Wail obtained an International Driving Permit, which was issued in SharjahSharjah (city)
Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah...
in the United Arab Emirates. Wail al-Shehri arrived together with fellow al-Qaeda member Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
at Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, via London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, from Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
on June 8. Both were admitted as tourists for six months. Shehri opened a bank account at SunTrust Bank in Florida on June 18, with a deposit of $8,000 that came from American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
traveler's cheques purchased on June 7 in the United Arab Emirates.
Shehri moved into the Homing Inn, a budget motel in Boynton Beach, on June 21, 2001, sharing a room with his brother Waleed, and Satam al-Suqami
Satam al-Suqami
A law student, Satam Muhammed Abdel Rahman al-Suqami was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 as part of the September 11 attacks....
. Wail and Suqami both used this hotel as their address when they received Florida state non-driver identifications on July 3. Shehri checked into the Panther Motel & Apartments, in Deerfield Beach
Deerfield Beach, Florida
Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, USA. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,018...
, with his brother and Suqami on August 2, staying there until August 10. While in Florida, Wail was a member of the World Gym in Boynton Beach, where he trained with Waleed and Suqami. During the summer of 2001, Wail regularly used computers at the Delray Beach Public Library.
On August 28, 2001, Wail and Waleed al-Shehri made reservations on American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
, using the Mail Boxes Etc.
Mail Boxes Etc.
Mail Boxes Etc. is a global retail chain of business service centers. The locations offer pack and ship services, couriers, office services, document production, shipping, packing materials, printing, copying, postal services and some other business services.Mail Boxes Etc., Inc...
in Hollywood, Florida as their address. The Shehri brothers contacted American Airlines on September 3 by telephone to change their first-class seat assignments for American Airlines Flight 11, selecting seats on the side of the aircraft that offered a direct view of the cockpit. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri left Florida for Boston on September 5, traveling together on Delta Air Lines Flight 2462.
Wail checked in together with Waleed at the Park Inn Hotel in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
on September 5, 2001, staying in room 432. While staying at the Park Inn, Wail and Waleed al-Shehri may have called a prostitute. Wail al-Shehri accompanied his brother on September 9 to the Travelex at Logan International Airport, where Waleed attempted to wire $5,000 to the United Arab Emirates. Waleed had insufficient documentation, so Wail and Waleed returned the next day to complete the transaction. Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad received the funds on September 11 at Al-Ansari Exchange in Sharjah. Hijacker Abdulaziz al-Omari
Abdulaziz al-Omari
An airport security guard and Imam, Abdulaziz al-Omari was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 as part of the September 11 attacks....
possibly spent a night at the Park Inn before leaving with Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
for Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
on September 10. When Wail and Waleed al-Shehri checked out on September 11, they left a sheet of instructions for flying a jet behind in their hotel room.
Attacks
Wail al-Shehri, his brother Waleed, and Satam al-Suqami arrived together at Logan Airport at 06:45 on the morning of September 11, 2001. Upon check-in, all three men were selected by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening SystemComputer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
The Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System is a counter-terrorism system in place in the United States air travel industry...
(CAPPS) for further screening of their checked baggage. As the CAPPS was only for luggage, the three hijackers did not undergo any extra scrutiny at the passenger security checkpoint. One of the five Globe Aviation security screeners on-duty later reported that either Wail or Waleed had been using a crutch when they passed through security, and that the crutch had been X-rayed as per regulations.
By 07:40, all five hijackers were aboard the flight, which was scheduled to depart at 07:45. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri sat together in first class in seats 2A and 2B respectively. The aircraft taxied away from Gate 26, and departed Logan International Airport at 07:59, following a 14-minute delay. Flight 11 was hijacked at approximately 08:14, which is when the pilot stopped responding to air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
. Once the hijacking began, the brothers are suspected of having stabbed two flight attendants. At 08:46:40, Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed Flight 11 into the northern facade of the North Tower (Tower 1) of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
. The immediate damage destroyed any means of escape from above the impact zone, trapping 1,344 people. The North Tower collapsed
Collapse of the World Trade Center
The twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001, as a result of al-Qaeda's September 11 attacks, in which terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners, flying one into the North Tower and another into the South Tower...
at 10:28, after burning for 102 minutes.
Aftermath
Men named Wail and Waleed were both reported to have been found alive by a BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
News article on September 23, 2001, and other news reports in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Reports said that the Shehri brothers were the sons of a Saudi diplomat stationed in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. The diplomat's son was trained as a pilot at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a private university in the US specializing in aviation and aerospace engineering. It teaches the science, practice, and business of aviation and aerospace. Called "The Harvard of the Sky" by Time Magazine in 1979, Embry-Riddle has a history dating back to...
in Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
, and was working as a pilot for Saudi Arabian Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 90 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America...
. At the time of the attacks, he was in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
for a training program. There were also reports that Wail al-Shehri was a trained pilot. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Saudi officials suggested that Wail and Waleed al-Shehri were victims of identity theft, but they were both victims of mistaken identity.
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Khashoggi was Editor-in-Chief of the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan. Formerly, he had served as a media advisor to Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, while he was Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States....
, of Al-Watan
Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia)
Al-Watan is a leading reformist newspaper in Saudi Arabia. The main production centre is at Abha in the south of the country, close to the Yemen border.-External links:*...
and ArabNews in Saudi Arabia, spoke with Muhammad Ali al-Shehri in Khamis Mushait, who said his sons Wail and Waleed had been missing for months. Wail al-Shehri's father denied reports that Wail had an aeronautics degree, as some news reports said, "My son Wail was 25 years old and had a BA in physical education from the Abha Teacher’s College. He was mentally ill and had gone to numerous clerics for assistance in overcoming this instability. He had asked the school, where he taught, for a 6-month leave to go to Madinah." His father also told reporters that he dreaded having to believe that Wail and Waleed were involved in the September 11 attacks, "If that turns out to be the truth, then I'll never, never accept it from them. I'll never forgive them for that." Family members said that Wail and Waleed became very religious in the months before they disappeared, had expressed interest in going to Chechnya, and hoped for martyrdom. In a report entitled "A Saudi Apology" for Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
aired on August 25, 2002, John Hockenberry
John Hockenberry
John Charles Hockenberry is an American journalist and author. A four-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody Award winner, Hockenberry has worked in media since 1980....
traveled to Asir, where he interviewed Shehri's brother, Salah, who agreed that Wail and Waleed were deceased. Salah described them as not very religious, and suggested they had been brainwashed.
Saudi officials later stated that the names of the hijackers were in fact correct, and that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. In response to 9/11 conspiracy theories
9/11 conspiracy theories
9/11 conspiracy theories are theories that disagree with the widely accepted account that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated solely by al-Qaeda. These theories arose because of what proponents of the conspiracy theories believe to be inconsistencies in the official conclusions or some...
surrounding its original news story suggesting hijackers were still alive, the BBC issued a response in 2006, saying that later reports on the hijackers superseded the original story. The BBC also explained that confusion arose with the Arabic names that were common.