Wail al-Shehri

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Wail al-Shehri
File:Wailalshehri2.jpg
Born
Wail al-Shehri (Arabic: وائل الشهري)

(1975-09-01)September 1, 1975
Asir, Saudi Arabia
DiedSeptember 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 26)
Manhattan, New York
RelativesWaleed al-Shehri

Wail al-Shehri (July 31, 1973[1] – September 11, 2001) (وائل الشهري,) was an Al-Qaeda associate and a muscle hijacker on American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked in the September 11 attacks. Shehri was an elementary school teacher from the Khamis Mushait in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. Suffering from mental issues, Shehri traveled to Medina with his younger brother, Waleed, in early 2000 to seek treatment.

In March 2000, Shehri traveled with his brother Waleed to Afghanistan. They ended up at an Al-Qaeda training camps, and were selected to participate in the September 11 attacks plot. In October 2000, Shehri returned to Saudi Arabia to obtain a new, clean passport, then returned to Afghanistan. In March 2001, he recorded his last will and testament on video. Wail al-Shehri arrived in early June 2001 in Miami, Florida, and spent the summer in the Boynton Beach, Florida where he worked out regularly at a fitness center. Shehri arrived in the Boston area on September 5, 2001.

On September 11, 2001, Shehri arrived early in the morning with his brother and Satam al-Suqami at Boston's Logan International Airport. Shehri was selected for additional security screening of his checked luggage, but not subject to extra scrutiny at the passenger checkpoint. He boarded the flight, and sat together with his brother in first class. The flight departed at 7:59 a.m., and was hijacked fifteen minutes into the flight. American Airlines Flight 11 was deliberately crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m.

Background

Abha is the capital of Saudi Arabia's Asir province, where Wail al-Shehri was from, and Wail graduated from Abha's teacher college.

Wail al-Shehri and his younger brother Waleed were from Khamis Mushait in the Asir region, which is a poor region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, along the Yemeni border.[2] Shehri was born in Annams, and grew up in the Um Saraar neighborhood in Khamis Mushait. He came from a family with eleven boys and one daughter.[3] The family had strong ties to the military, with several of their brothers joining the Saudi military. Shehri's uncle may also 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 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, internet, nor did his parents permit music or contact with girls.[4] Some of Wail al-Shehri's elder brothers had visited the United States and could speak English, however Wail knew little English.[5]

During high school and college, Shehri was highly 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 and region in Saudi Arabia, there were strong religious feelings. Osama Bin Laden had family roots in the same area of Saudi Arabia , and many young people idolized him. Wail and Waleed's father, Mohamed Al-Shehri had even been friends with Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, the father of Osama bin Laden.[6] Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi, both who ended up as hijackers on United Airlines Flight 93, were from the same area in Saudi Arabia as the Shehri family.[4]

Wail graduated from Abha teacher’s college in 1999, and then he worked as an elementary school physical education teacher at the Khamis Mushayat 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. The treatment was to be verses from the Quran read by a sheikh. He traveled to Medina together with his younger brother, Waleed, and were spotted in Medina.[5][7]

Afghanistan

Both Wail and Waleed al-Shehri had expressed interest in traveling to Chechnya to join the jihad.[5] After going to Medina, they both disappeared for a time, saying they were going to Chechnya to defend Muslims there, though they may have been diverted to Afghanistan and did not end up in Chechnya.[3][2] Wail and Waleed Shehri's father lost contact with them after they went to Medina, with them only calling once.[8] When they did call, the Shehri brothers were vague about when they would return. Before disappearing, the Shehri brothers went to Al-Seqley Mosque to swear an oath and commitment to jihad. Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi also went to the Al-Seqley Mosque to commit to jihad. Wail presided over the ceremony, dubbing himself Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi after one of Muhammad's companions.[4]

In March 2000, he left for Pakistan with his brother Waleed, as well as Ahmed al-Nami, and then they went on to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, Wail al-Shehri followed the standard path for new Al Qaeda recruits, spending time in the Khalden training camp and then Al Farouq training camp near Kandahar. Details on how the "muscle" hijackers were selected are vague, though they appear to be 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. In Kandahar, there were guesthouses run specifically for the Saudi volunteers.[8] CIA director George Tenet later said that the muscle hijackers "probably were told little more than that they were headed for a suicide mission inside the United States."[9]

File:Wailalshehri.jpg
A video released by As-Sahab in September 2006 included footage of Wail al-Shehri reading his last will and testament

Once Wail and the other muscle hijackers received their training in Afghanistan, they received $2,000 so that they could return to Saudi Arabia to obtain new passports and visas. The Shehri brothers had a relative that worked in the Saudi passport office, who was able to get them new passports for traveling to the United States. Wail and Waleed al-Shehri received new passports on October 3, 2000, and then obtained United States visas on October 24.[10] 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 "teater" (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. Though, he would not be working while on vacation, so consular officials should have questioned if the Shehri brothers really had the financial means to support themselves while in the United States.[11]

Some time 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 also 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.[12] In mid-November, 2000, the 9/11 Commission believes that three of the future muscle hijackers, Wail al Shehri, Waleed al Shehri, and Ahmed al-Nami, all of whom had obtained their U.S. visas in late October, 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.[2]

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, which also included a segment of Abdulaziz al-Omari reading his last will and testament.[13] While in Afghanistan, another video was recorded that showed Shehri reading his last will and testament; This video was released on September 7, 2006.[14][15]

United States

On June 5, 2001, Wail obtained an International Driving Permit, which was issued in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.[1] 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.[10] 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.[1]

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.[16] Both Suqami and Wail used this hotel as their address when they received Florida drivers' licenses on July 3.[1] Shehri checked into the Panther Motel & Apartments, in Deerfield Beach, with his brother and Suqami on August 2, and they stayed there until August 10.[17] While in Florida, Wail was a member of the World Gyms in Boynton Beach, where Waleed and Suqami also trained.[18] During the summer of 2001, Wail regularly used computers at the Delray Beach Public Library.[19][20]

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 other side of the aircraft where they would have a direct view of the cockpit.[1] Wail and Waleed al-Shehri left Florida for Boston on September 5, traveling together on Delta Air Lines Flight 2462.[1]

Wail checked in together with Waleed at the Park Inn Hotel in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts on September 5, 2001, staying in room 432.[21] While staying at the Park Inn, Wail and Waleed al-Shehri possibly called a prostitute. Hijacker Abdulaziz al-Omari, may have spent a night at the Park Inn before leaving with Mohamed Atta for Portland, Maine on September 10.[22] 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 Ahmed received the funds on September 11 at Al-Ansari Exchange in Sharjah.[1] When Wail and Waleed al-Shehri checked out, a sheet of instructions for flying a jet was left behind in their hotel room.[22]

The attack

Main article: American Airlines Flight 11

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, having left their rental car in the airport parking facility.[23] Upon check-in, Wail al-Shehri was selected by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), as was his brother Waleed, and Flight 11 hijacker Satam al-Suqami. Mohamed Atta, the pilot hijacker on Flight 11 had also been selected in Portland. Being selected by CAPPS meant that their checked baggage were subject to extra screening. As the CAPPS was only for luggage, the three hijackers did not undergo any extra scrutiny at the passenger security checkpoint.[24] 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.[25]

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.[23] The aircraft taxied away from Gate 26, and departed Logan International Airport at 07:59 from runway 4R, following a 14-minute delay.[26][27] The hijacking of Flight 11 began at approximately 08:14, which is when the pilot stopped responding to air traffic control.[27][23] Once the hijacking began, the brothers are suspected of having stabbed two flight attendants.[23] 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.[27] The damage caused to the North Tower destroyed any means of escape from above the impact zone, trapping 1,344 people.[28] The North Tower collapsed at 10:28, after burning for approximately 102 minutes.[29]

Aftermath

Men named Wail and Waleed were both reported to have been found alive and well, by a BBC News article on September 23, 2001,[30] as well as a number of 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 Bombay. The diplomat's son was trained as a pilot at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, but was the victim of mistaken identity. He was working as a pilot for Saudi Arabian Airlines, and at the the time of the attacks, was in Morocco for a training program.[30] There were also reports that Wail al-Shehri was also a trained pilot.[31] In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Saudi Arabia confirmed his story, and suggested he was the victim of identity theft, but Saudi officials later stated that the names of the hijackers were in fact correct, and that 15 of the 19 hijackers were indeed Saudi.[32] In response to 9/11 conspiracy theories surrounding its original news story suggesting hijackers were still alive, the BBC issued a response in 2006, explaining how confusion arose with the Arabic names that were quite common, and that the BBC's later reports on the hijackers superseded the original story.[33]

After the September 11 attacks, Wail al-Shehri's father denied reports that Wail had 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."[34] His father also told reporters that he dreaded having to believe that Wail and Waleed were involved in the September 11 attacks plot, "If that turns out to be the truth, then I'll never, never accept it from them. I'll never forgive them for that",[35] and that he had not heard from his sons in ten months prior to September 2001.[36] Family members also 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.[34] In a report entitled "A Saudi Apology" for Dateline NBC aired on August 25, 2002, John Hockenberry traveled to 'Asir, where he interviewed Shehhi's brother, Salah, who agreed that Wail and Waleed were deceased, and claimed they had been "brainwashed".[37]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Federal Bureau of Investigation (2008-02-04). "Hijackers' Timeline" (PDF). NEFA Foundation. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  2. ^ a b c "Chapter 7.3 - The Attack Looms, Assembling the Teams". 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  3. ^ a b Murphy, Caryle and David B. Ottaway (2001-09-25). "Some Light Shed On Saudi Suspects Many Raised in Area of Religious Dissent". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b c Sennott, Charles M. (2002-03-03). "Before oath to jihad, drifting and boredom". The Boston Globe.
  5. ^ a b c "The Highway of Death". Sunday Times. 2002-01-27.
  6. ^ "Profiles of 9/11 Saudi Hijackers Revealed". Saudi Information Agency. September 11, 2002.
  7. ^ ArabNews: Al-Shihri says sons missing for 10 months
  8. ^ a b Burke, Jason (2004). Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam. I.B.Tauris. pp. pp. 247-248. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ "Sept. 11 Hijacker Made Test Flights". CBS News. 2002-10-09.
  10. ^ a b "9/11 and Terrorist Travel" (PDF). Staff Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  11. ^ Mowbray, Joel (2002-10-09). "Visas that Should Have Been Denied". National Review.
  12. ^ "The Financing of the 9/11 Plot - Terrorist Financing Staff Monograph" (PDF). 9/11 Commission. 2004. pp. p. 136. Retrieved 2008-07-26. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  13. ^ Meyer, Josh (2002-09-10). "Al Qaeda Tape Hints at Targets; Terrorism". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "Video shows bin Laden meeting with 9/11 plotters". USA Today / AP. September 7, 2006.
  15. ^ "Video is said to show bin Laden prepping for 9/11 attacks". CNN. 2006-09-07.
  16. ^ Zuckoff, Mitchell and Michael Rezendes (September 21, 2001). "How 10 Hijackers Hid in Plain Sight". Boston Globe.
  17. ^ "Hijackers' True Name Usage" (PDF). United States District Court - Eastern District of Virginia. pp. p. 2. Retrieved 2008-10-09. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  18. ^ King, Jonathon, Vicky Agnew and Nancy Othon (September 19, 2001). "Suspects Joined Gyms in S. Florida Fitness Clubs". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Murdock, Deroy (2005-04-25). "Check This Out - Libraries should be a key target of the Patriot Act". National Review.
  20. ^ "Terror Trove". Washington Times. 2005-04-24.
  21. ^ Hijackers Remain Mysterious, A Window Into Their Daily Lives Leaves Dark Questions, CBS News, 2002
  22. ^ a b Noonan, Erica (2005-02-17). "9/11 Reminder, Park Inn, Now Being Demolished". The Boston Globe.
  23. ^ a b c d "Chapter 1.1 - "We Have Some Planes", Inside the Four Flights". 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  24. ^ "The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3" (PDF). 9/11 Commission.
  25. ^ Murphy, Shelley (2001-10-10). "Logan's Baggage Screeners Defended Workers Unfairly Blamed, Company Supervisor Says". Boston Globe.
  26. ^ Johnson, Glen (2001-11-23). "Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes". Boston Globe.
  27. ^ a b c "Flight Path Study - American Airlines Flight 11" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 2002-02-19. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  28. ^ Dwyer, Jim (2002-05-26). "102 Minutes: Last Words at the Trade Center; Fighting to Live as the Towers Die". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-23. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ Lawson, J. Randall, Robert L. Vettori (2005). "NIST NCSTAR 1-8 - The Emergency Response" (PDF). National Institute of Standards and Technology. pp. p. 37. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ a b "Hijack 'suspects' alive and well". BBC News. 2003-09-23. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  31. ^ "Piecing together the shadowy lives of the hijackers". The Telegraph. 2001-09-20.
  32. ^ "Official: 15 of 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saud". USA Today / Associate Press. 2002-02-06. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  33. ^ Hermann, Steve (2006-10-27). "9/11 conspiracy theory". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  34. ^ a b Ba-Isa, Molouk Y. and Saud Al-Towaim (2001-10-01). "Another Saudi 'hijacker' turns up in Tunis". Arab News.
  35. ^ Murray, Frank J. (2002-09-10). "Killers in the cockpit: Who and why? Acts of 19 men shook civilized world to core". The Washington Times.
  36. ^ "Al-Shihri says sons missing for 10 months". Arab News. 2001-09-17. Archived from the original on 2002-09-29.
  37. ^ "A Saudi Apology". Dateline NBC. 2002-08-25. NBC.

External links

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