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95-611: Ruhal Ahmed was born on 11 March 1981; Asif Iqbal was born on 24 April 1981; the United States Department of Defense estimated that Shafiq Rasul was born in 1977. Other reports state he was only a couple of years older than his friends. The three men in their early 20s were captured in Afghanistan in 2001, transferred to United States Army custody and transported to Guantanamo, where they were detained as enemy combatants . Their families were not told of their whereabouts until

190-683: A Comfort Inn in South Portland, Maine . On the way, they were seen getting gasoline at an Exxon gas station and visited the Longfellow House in Portland that afternoon; they arrived at the hotel at 5:43 p.m. and spent the night in Room 233. While in South Portland, they were seen making two ATM withdrawals and stopping at Wal-Mart . The FBI also reported that two Middle-Eastern men were seen in

285-557: A docu-drama about the events directed by the British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom . The three travelled together, were captured together, and were released together on 9 March 2004, along with two other detainees. Ruhal Ahmed (born 11 March 1981 in Birmingham , West Midlands, England) is a British citizen. His detainee identification number was 110. Australia refused Ruhal Ahmed a visa to visit to promote The Road to Guantanamo (2006),

380-658: A "planes operation" in the United States. Atta returned to Hamburg in February 2000 and began inquiring about flight training in the United States, where he, Jarrah, and al-Shehhi arrived in June to learn how to pilot planes, obtaining instrument ratings in November. Beginning in May 2001, Atta assisted with the arrival of the "muscle" hijackers whose role was to subdue passengers and crew to enable

475-673: A British docudrama made about the events. He has taken part in a campaign against torture, organised by Amnesty International . Shafiq Rasul (born 15 April 1977 in Dudley , West Midlands). His detainee ID number was 86. His family discovered his detention when the British Foreign Office contacted them on 21 January 2002. He was released in March 2004, shortly after his return to the United Kingdom, more than three months before Rasul v. Bush

570-654: A Taliban training camp, but it was because they were trapped in the province. They had wanted to find out "what was happening", and the Taliban was the only government operating at the time. The interviewer Victoria observed that Ahmed had said he had handled AK47 guns. Shafiq Rasul said: Being in Afghanistan, we were at that age where… seeing a gun… you'd never seen a gun in the UK… you want to hold it. You want to see what its like. But we were never there to do any training. That's what, that's what, we were just there. We held it to see what it

665-456: A Turkish mosque near the Harburg district. Atta also started and led a prayer group, which Ahmed Maklat and Mounir El Motassadeq joined. Ramzi bin al-Shibh was also there, teaching occasional classes, and became Atta's friend. On 11 April 1996, Atta signed his last will and testament at the mosque, officially declaring his Muslim beliefs and giving 18 instructions regarding his burial. This

760-505: A beard to show himself as a devout Muslim and also to make a political gesture. Atta returned to Hamburg on 31 October 1995, only to join the pilgrimage to Mecca shortly thereafter. In Hamburg, Atta was intensely drawn to al-Quds Mosque which adhered to a "harsh, uncompromisingly fundamentalist , and resoundingly militant" version of Sunni Islam . He made acquaintances at al-Quds, some of whom visited him on occasion at Centrumshaus. He also began teaching classes both at Al-Quds and at

855-513: A campaign against torture, organized by Amnesty International . Mohamed Atta Mohamed Atta (1 September 1968 – 11 September 2001) was an Egyptian terrorist hijacker for al-Qaeda . Ideologically a pan-Islamist , he was the ringleader of the September 11 attacks and served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 , which he crashed into the North Tower of

950-760: A case that ultimately went to the US Supreme Court . In the landmark, Rasul v. Bush (2004), the court held that Guantanamo detainees have the right to challenge whether their detention is constitutional in the US courts. The three men were represented in the UK by the lawyer Gareth Peirce . In addition, the Tipton Three and Jamal Udeen Al-Harith filed a suit in 2004 against the US government in Rasul v. Rumsfeld , challenging its use of torture and religious abuses of detainees. This case

1045-589: A covered roadway, and enter another building before going through security once again. There are two separate concourses in Terminal B; the south concourse is mainly used by US Airways and the north one is mostly used by American Airlines . It had been overlooked that there would still be a security screen to pass in Boston because of this distinct detail of the terminal's arrangement. A ticket staffer at Portland Airport reported becoming uneasy with Atta's anger upon being told of

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1140-548: A day, and then continued to San Francisco for a short time, and from there to Las Vegas . On 28 June, Atta arrived at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to meet with the three other pilots. He rented a Chevrolet Malibu from an Alamo Rent A Car agency. It is not known where he stayed that night, but on the 29th he registered at the Econo Lodge at 1150 South Las Vegas Boulevard . Here he presented an AAA membership for

1235-480: A discount, and paid cash for the $ 49.50/night room. During his trip to Las Vegas, he is thought to have used a video camera that he had rented from a Select Photo outlet back in Delray Beach, Florida . FBI operative Elie Assaad became suspicious of Atta in early 2001 as he was supposedly seen with al-Qaeda fugitive Adnan Shukrijumah . In July 2001, Atta again left for Spain in order to meet with bin al-Shibh for

1330-578: A flight back to Germany. On 26 July, Atta traveled via Continental Airlines to Newark, New Jersey , checked into the Kings Inn Hotel in Wayne, New Jersey , and stayed there until 30 July when he took a flight from Newark back to Fort Lauderdale. On 4 August, Atta is believed to have been at Orlando International Airport waiting to pick up suspected "20th Hijacker" Mohammed al-Qahtani from Dubai , who ended up being held by immigration as "suspicious." Atta

1425-461: A one-way first-class ticket via the Internet on America West Flight 244 from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Las Vegas. Atta traveled twice to Las Vegas on "surveillance flights" rehearsing how the 9/11 attacks would be carried out. Other hijackers traveled to Las Vegas at different times in the summer of 2001. Throughout the summer, Atta met with Nawaf al-Hazmi to discuss the status of

1520-631: A pilot, and Atta and either the pilot or Shehhi flew around the Atlanta area. On 11 April, Atta and Shehhi rented an apartment at 10001 Atlantic Blvd, Apt. 122 in Coral Springs, Florida , for $ 840 per month, and assisted with the arrival of the muscle hijackers. On 16 April, Atta was given a citation for not having a valid driver's license, and he began steps to acquire one. On 2 May, Atta received his driver's license in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida . While in

1615-404: A planning bureau in the city. Volker Hauth, who was traveling with Atta, described Amal as "attractive and self-confident. She observed Muslim customs, taking taxis to and from the office so as not to come into close physical contact with men on buses. But she was also said to be 'emancipated' and 'challenging'. Atta and Amal appeared to be attracted to each other, but Atta soon decided that "she had

1710-522: A quite different orientation and that the emancipation of the young lady did not fit." His nascent infatuation with her, begrudgingly realised, was the closest thing Atta knew to romance. In mid-1995, he stayed for three months in Cairo, on a grant from the Carl Duisberg Society, along with fellow students Volker Hauth and Ralph Bodenstein. The academic team inquired into the effects of redevelopment in

1805-449: A report on their abuses while in US custody. In Rasul v. Rumsfeld , the Tipton Three and Jamal Udeen Al-Harith , four former Guantánamo Bay internees , sued former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld . They charge that illegal interrogation tactics were permitted to be used against them by Rumsfeld and the US military chain of command . The 2006 film , The Road to Guantánamo ,

1900-512: A result of the crash, ensuing fire, and subsequent collapse of the tower, making him responsible for the single deadliest air crash of all time , as well as the single deadliest terrorist attack of all time. Mohamed Atta had varied his name on documents, also using "Mehan Atta", "Mohammad El Amir", "Muhammad Atta", "Mohamed El Sayed", "Mohamed Elsayed", "Muhammad al-Amir", "Awag Al Sayyid Atta", and "Awad Al Sayad". In Germany, he registered his name as "Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta", and went by

1995-559: A senior investigator. The investigator, Klaus Ulrich Kersten, was the director of Germany's federal anticrime agency, the Bundeskriminalamt . He provided the first official confirmation that Atta and two other pilots had been in Afghanistan, and he also provided the first dates of the training. Kersten said in an interview at the agency's headquarters in Wiesbaden that Atta was in Afghanistan from late 1999 until early 2000, and that there

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2090-700: A short-term basis. Jarrah had arrived in the United States on 27 June 2000, after his flight landed at Newark, New Jersey , and Jarrah had decided to go with Shehhi and Atta to search for different flight schools in the US. They continued to inquire about flight schools and personally visited some, including Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma , which they visited on 3 July 2000. Days later, Shehhi, Jarrah and Atta ended up in Venice, Florida . Atta and Shehhi established accounts at SunTrust Bank and received wire transfers from Ali Abdul Aziz Ali , Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's nephew in

2185-699: A tow for their rented Piper Cherokee on a taxiway of Miami International Airport after the engine shut down. On 29 and 30 December, Atta and Marwan went to the Opa-locka Airport where they practiced on a Boeing 727 simulator, and they obtained Boeing 767 simulator training from Pan Am International on 31 December. Atta purchased cockpit videos for Boeing 747-200 , Boeing 757-200 , Airbus A320 and Boeing 767-300ER models via mail-order from Sporty's Pilot Shop in Batavia, Ohio , in November and December 2000. Records on Atta's cellphone indicated that he phoned

2280-517: Is a docu-drama by Michael Winterbottom depicting their account of their detention. Ahmed was refused a visa by Australia to travel there to promote the film. With his friends, Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal , in October 2001, weeks after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, Ahmed travelled to his country of origin Pakistan , reportedly for a friend's wedding but while there went into Afghanistan and

2375-501: Is unusual for someone to go on pilgrimage so soon after the first time and to spend three months there (more than Hajj requires). When Atta returned, he claimed that his passport was lost and applied for a new one, which is a common tactic to erase evidence of travel to places such as Afghanistan . When he returned in spring 1998, after disappearing for several months, he had grown a thick long beard, and "seemed more serious and aloof" than before to those who knew him. By mid-1998, Atta

2470-451: The BBC , the three describe significant abuse, including: After the appointment of General Geoffrey Miller as commander of the camp, they said treatment became more harsh, including short shackling and the forced shaving-off of beards. In the report, they allege that those who represented themselves as being from MI5 , or the British Foreign Office , seemed unconcerned with their welfare. In

2565-499: The British Foreign Office informed them in January 2002. They were three of nine Britons detained at Guantanamo. After negotiations between the governments and British assessment of their interrogations, the men were repatriated to the United Kingdom in March 2004. They were released without charge the next day. With many others, Shafiq Rasul filed a habeas corpus suit in 2004 against the United States government for his detention, in

2660-531: The Islamic Cairo , the old quarter, which the government undertook to remodel for tourism . Atta stayed in Cairo awhile with his family after Hauth and Bodenstein flew back to Germany. While in Hamburg, Atta held several positions, including a part-time job at the urban planning firm Plankontor beginning in 1992. He was let go from the firm in 1997, however, because its business had declined and "his draughtsmanship

2755-559: The Moroccan embassy in Washington on 2 January 2001, just before Shehhi flew to the country. Atta flew to Spain two days later, on 4 January, to coordinate with bin al-Shibh, and returned to the United States on 10 January. He then traveled to Lawrenceville, Georgia , where he and Shehhi visited an LA Fitness Health Club. During that time Atta flew out of Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville with

2850-523: The Nile Delta region of Egypt (then a part of the United Arab Republic ). His father, Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta, was a lawyer, educated in both civil law and sharia . His mother, Buthayna Mohamed Mustafa Shiraqi, came from a wealthy farming and trading family and was also educated. Buthayna and Mohamed married when she was 14, via an arranged marriage . The family had few relatives on

2945-411: The U.S. Department of Agriculture in south Florida, who told about her encounter with Mohamed Atta. This encounter took place "around the third week of April to the third week of May of 2000", before Atta's official entry date into the United States (see below). According to Bryant, Atta wanted to finance the purchase of a crop-duster. "He wanted to finance a twin-engine, six-passenger aircraft and remove

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3040-781: The United Arab Emirates . On 6 July 2000, Atta, Jarrah and Shehhi enrolled at Huffman Aviation in Venice , where they entered the Accelerated Pilot Program. When Atta and Shehhi arrived in Florida, they initially stayed with Huffman's bookkeeper and his wife in a spare room of their house. After a week, they were asked to leave because they were rude. Atta and Shehhi then moved into a small house nearby in Nokomis where they stayed for six months. Atta began flight training on 6 July 2000, and continued training nearly every day. By

3135-698: The United States government , beginning in Afghanistan in 2001, and then in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp . His Internment Serial Number was 110. Ahmed was returned to the United Kingdom in March 2004, where he was released the next day without charges. He was one of three British men, friends from Tipton , United Kingdom, who had been detained. They became known as the Tipton Three . In August 2004, Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal compiled and released

3230-527: The al-Quds Mosque where he met Marwan al-Shehhi , Ramzi bin al-Shibh , and Ziad Jarrah , together forming the Hamburg cell . Atta disappeared from Germany for periods of time, embarking on the hajj in 1995 but also meeting Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan from late 1999 to early 2000. Atta and the other Hamburg cell members were recruited by bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for

3325-584: The borough of Harburg , near the Hamburg University of Technology , at which they enrolled. It was here that the Hamburg cell developed and acted more as a group. They met three or four times a week to discuss their anti-American feelings and to plot possible attacks. Many al-Qaeda members lived in this apartment at various times, including hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi , Zakariya Essabar , and others. In late 1999, Atta, Shehhi, Jarrah, Bahaji, and bin al-Shibh decided to travel to Chechnya to fight against

3420-522: The "planes operation" plot. They were all well-educated, had experience of living in western society, along with some English skills, and would be able to obtain visas. Even before bin al-Shibh had arrived, Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah were sent to the House of Ghamdi near bin Laden's home in Kandahar , where he was waiting to meet them. Bin Laden asked them to pledge loyalty and commit to suicide missions, which Atta and

3515-665: The 19th. He drove east out of Madrid towards the Mediterranean beach area of Tarragona . On the way, Atta stopped in Reus to pick up Ramzi bin al-Shibh at the airport. They drove to Cambrils , where they spent a night at the Hotel Monica. They checked out the next morning, and spent the next few days at an unknown location in Tarragona. The absence of other hotel stays, signed receipts or credit card stubs has led investigators to believe that

3610-583: The Egyptian government had imprisoned droves of political activists , he knew better than to trust it not to target him too, with his social and political beliefs being such as they were. After coming to Hamburg in 1992, Atta grew more religiously fanatical and frequented the mosque with greater regularity. His friends in Germany described him as an intelligent man in whom religious convictions and political motives held equal sway. He harbored anger and resentment toward

3705-610: The Engineers Syndicate. He then worked for several months at the Urban Development Center in Cairo , where he joined various building projects and dispatched diverse architectural tasks. Also in 1990, Atta's family moved into the eleventh floor of an apartment building in the Egyptian city of Giza . Atta also got engaged to a woman lined up by his father and her family in Cairo, in late 1999, after coming back from Germany

3800-637: The Hamburg University of Technology, Atta studied under the guidance of the department chair, Dittmar Machule, who specialized in the Middle East. Atta was averse to modern development. This included the construction of high-rise buildings in Cairo and other ancient cities in the region. He believed that the drab and impersonal apartment blocks , built in the 60s and 70s, ruined the beauty of old neighborhoods and robbed their people of privacy and dignity. Atta's family moved into an apartment block in 1990; it

3895-519: The Russians, but were convinced by Khalid al-Masri and Mohamedou Ould Salahi at the last minute to change their plans. They instead traveled to Afghanistan over a two-week period in late November. On 29 November 1999, Mohamed Atta boarded Turkish Airlines Flight TK1662 from Hamburg to Istanbul , where he changed to flight TK1056 to Karachi, Pakistan . After they arrived, they were selected by al-Qaeda leader Mohammed Atef as suitable candidates for

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3990-576: The U.S. for its policy in Islamic nations of the Middle East, with nothing inflaming his ire more than the Oslo Accords and the Gulf War in particular. He was also angry and bitter at the elite in his native Egypt, who he believed hoarded power for themselves, as well as at the Egyptian government, that cracked down on the dissident Muslim Brotherhood . Atta was anti-Semitic , believing that Jews controlled

4085-782: The US announcement of the deaths of three detainees at Guantanamo in June 2006, who were alleged to have committed suicide. Ahmed, Rasul, and Iqbal were returned to the UK in March 2004, and released the next day without charges. In August 2004, they compiled and released a report on their abuses while in US custody. On 15 June 2008, the McClatchy News Service published articles based on interviews with 66 former Guantanamo captives. McClatchy reporters interviewed Ahmed in Britain. Ahmed said when he returned to Tipton, someone had hung an effigy clad in an orange Guantanamo overall , labelled "Tipton Taliban will die." Ahmed has taken part in

4180-408: The United States the next day. Bin al-Shibh later explained that they believed it would contribute to operational security for Atta to fly out of Prague instead of Hamburg, where he traveled from previously. Likewise, Shehhi traveled from a different location, in his case via Brussels . On 6 June 2002, ABC 's World News Tonight broadcast an interview with Johnelle Bryant, former loan officer at

4275-478: The United States, Atta owned a red 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix . On 11 May, Atta visited Logan International Airport in Boston with another man, and took a lot of photographs and footage inside. Airport employees became suspicious of two persons and they alarmed security, but this was ignored. One technical worker complained about Atta's behavior and spoke to him, but did not stop him. On 27 June, Atta flew from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, Massachusetts , where he spent

4370-518: The United States. On 17 May Atta applied for a United States visa. The next day, he received a five-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) visa from the United States embassy in Berlin . Atta had lived in Germany for approximately five years and also had a "strong record as a student". He was therefore treated favorably and not scrutinized. After obtaining his visa, Atta took a bus on 2 June from Hamburg to Prague where he stayed overnight before traveling on to

4465-433: The additional screening requirements in Boston, but that he did not act on his suspicions after becoming concerned that he was racially profiling Atta. At 6:45 a.m., while at the Boston airport, Atta took a call from Flight 175 hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi . This call was apparently to confirm that the attacks were ready to begin. Atta checked in for American Airlines Flight 11 , passed through security again, and boarded

4560-526: The airport. Then at 8:50 pm, he checked into the Hotel Diana Cazadora in Barajas , a town near the airport. That night and twice the next morning, he called Bashar Ahmad Ali Musleh, a Jordanian student in Hamburg who served as a liaison for bin al-Shibh. On the morning of 9 July, Mohamed Atta rented a silver Hyundai Accent , which he booked from SIXT Rent-A-Car for 9 to 16 July, and later extended to

4655-401: The airport." Evidently, he tried to deliver a message over the cabin's PA system instructing the passengers and crew to stay put, but pressed the wrong switch and thereby tipped off ATC that the flight had been hijacked. Seconds later he transmitted another message: "Nobody move, everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet." About

4750-489: The arrest, believes that Said Bahaji and KSM may have also been present at the meeting. Spanish investigators have said that Marwan al-Shehhi and two others later joined the meeting. Bin al-Shibh would not discuss this meeting with Fouda. During the meetings in Spain, Atta and bin al-Shibh had coordinated the details of the attacks. The 9/11 Commission obtained details about the meeting, based on interrogations of bin al-Shibh in

4845-534: The beachside Casablanca Playa Hotel, then spent the last two nights at the Hotel Residencia Montsant. On 19 July, Atta returned to the United States, flying on Delta Air Lines from Madrid to Fort Lauderdale, via Atlanta . On 22 July 2001, Atta rented a Mitsubishi Galant from Alamo Rent a Car , putting 3,836 miles (6,173 km) on the vehicle before returning it on 26 July. On 25 July, Atta dropped Ziad Jarrah off at Miami International Airport for

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4940-462: The camp to that offered by United States Department of Defense . The Road to Guantanamo (2006) is a docu-drama about the Tipton Three made by director Michael Winterbottom and based on their accounts. The screenplay was based on the initial account from the three detainees. In May 2007, Ruhal Ahmed and Shafiq Rasul agreed to appear on the Channel 4 reality show Lie Lab . The technology used on

5035-498: The city center. His father, who kept the family ever insulated, forbade young Atta to fraternize with the other children in their neighborhood. Having little else to do, he mostly studied at home and easily excelled in school. In 1985, Atta enrolled at Cairo University and focused his studies on engineering. He was among the highest-scoring students; by his senior year, he was admitted to an exclusive architecture program. After he graduated in 1990 with an architecture degree, he joined

5130-453: The city. Atta accepted and arrived in Germany two weeks later, in July. In Germany, he enrolled in the urban planning graduate program at the Hamburg University of Technology . Atta initially lived with two high school teachers; however, they eventually found his closed-mindedness and introverted personality to be too much for them. Atta began adhering to the strictest Islamic diet , frequenting

5225-510: The end of July, both Atta and Shehhi did solo flights. Atta earned his private pilot certificate in September, and then he and Shehhi decided to switch flight schools. Both enrolled at Jones Aviation in Sarasota and took training there for a brief time. They had problems following instructions and were both very upset when they failed their Stage 1 exam. They inquired about multi-engine planes and told

5320-460: The end, the three falsely confessed (under force and abusive interrogation) to being the three previously unidentified faces in an alleged video that showed a meeting between Osama bin Laden and Mohamed Atta . However, evidence produced by MI5 showed that they were in England at the time of the meeting. The three were among the first detainees released who gave an alternative view of conditions within

5415-454: The fabric of communities by blocking common streets and altering the skyline . Atta's professor, Dittmar Machule, brought him along on an archaeological expedition to Aleppo in 1994. The invitation had been for a three-day visit, but Atta ended up staying several weeks that August, only to visit Aleppo yet again that December. While in Syria, he met Amal, a young Palestinian woman who worked for

5510-438: The father's side and kept their distance from Buthayna's family. In-laws characterized Atta's father as "austere, strict, and private", and neighbors viewed the family as reclusive. Atta was the only son; he had two older sisters who are both well-educated and successful in their careers – one as a medical doctor and the other as a professor. When Atta was ten, his family moved to the Cairo neighborhood of Abdeen, situated near

5605-433: The flight. Atta was seated in business class, in seat 8D. At 7:59 a.m., the plane departed from Boston to Los Angeles International Airport , carrying 81 passengers. The hijacking began fifteen minutes into the flight at approximately 8:14 a.m., when beverage service would be starting. As this was happening, the pilots stopped responding to air traffic control and the aircraft began deviating from its assigned route;

5700-445: The hijacker-pilots to take over. In July, Atta traveled to Spain to meet with bin al-Shibh to finalize the plot, then in August traveled as a passenger on "surveillance" flights to establish in detail how the attacks could be carried out. On the morning of 11 September 2001, Atta and his team boarded and hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 , which Atta crashed into 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower). More than 1,600 people died as

5795-657: The instructor that "they wanted to move quickly, because they had a job waiting in their country upon completion of their training in the U.S." In mid-October, Atta and Shehhi returned to Huffman Aviation to continue training. In November 2000, Atta earned his instrument rating, and then a commercial pilot's license in December from the Federal Aviation Administration . Atta continued with flight training that included solo flights and simulator time. On 22 December, Atta and Shehhi applied to Eagle International for large jet and simulator training for McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737-300 models. On 26 December, Atta and Shehhi needed

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5890-453: The last time. On 7 July 2001, Atta flew on Swissair Flight 117 from Miami to Zürich , where he had a stopover . On 8 July, Atta was recorded on surveillance video when he withdrew 1700 Swiss francs from an ATM . He used his credit card to purchase two Swiss Army knives and some chocolate in a shop at the Zurich Airport . After the stopover in Zürich, he arrived in Madrid at 4:45 pm on Swissair Flight 656, and spent several hours at

5985-477: The men may have met in a safe house provided by other al-Qaeda operatives in Spain . There, Atta and bin al-Shibh held a meeting to complete the planning of the attacks. Several clues have been found to link their stay in Spain to Syrian-born Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas (Abu Dahdah), and Amer el Azizi, a Moroccan in Spain. They may have helped arrange and host the meeting in Tarragona. Yosri Fouda , who interviewed bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) before

6080-554: The most conservative mosques , socializing seldom, and acting disdainfully towards the couple's unmarried daughter who had a young child. After six months, they asked him to leave. By early 1993, Atta had moved into university housing with two roommates, in Centrumshaus. He stayed there until 1998. During that period, his roommates grew annoyed with him. He seldom bathed, and they could not bear his "complete, almost aggressive insularity". He kept to himself to such an extent that he would often react to simple greetings with silence. At

6175-435: The name Mohamed el-Amir at the Hamburg University of Technology . In his will, written in 1996, Atta gives his name as "Mohamed the son of Mohamed Elamir awad Elsayed". He was known as Abd al-Rahman al-Misri by al-Qaeda. Atta also claimed different nationalities, sometimes Egyptian and other times telling people he was from the United Arab Emirates . Mohamed Atta was born on 1 September 1968, in Kafr el-Sheikh , located in

6270-414: The operation on a monthly basis. On 23 August, Atta's driver license was revoked in absentia after he failed to show up in traffic court to answer the earlier citation for driving without a license. The same day, the Mossad gave his name to the CIA as one of 19 belonging to US residents suspected of planning an imminent attack against the United States; only four of the names are publicly known,

6365-600: The organization "could use memberships from Americans". He mentioned Osama bin Laden and said "this man would someday be known as the world's greatest leader." Bryant said "the picture that came out in the newspaper, that's exactly what that man looked like." Bryant contacted the authorities after recognising Atta in news reports. Law enforcement officials said Bryant passed a lie-detector exam. According to official reports, Atta flew from Prague to Newark International Airport , arriving on 3 June 2000. That month, Atta and Shehhi stayed in hotels and rented rooms in New York City on

6460-440: The original World Trade Center as part of the coordinated suicide attacks . Aged 33, he was the oldest of the 19 hijackers who took part in the mission. Before the attacks, he worked as a construction engineer . Born and raised in Egypt, Atta studied architecture at Cairo University , graduating in 1990, and pursued postgraduate studies in Germany at the Hamburg University of Technology . In Hamburg, Atta became involved with

6555-422: The other three Hamburg men all accepted. Bin Laden sent them to see Atef to get a general overview of the mission, and then they were sent to Karachi to see Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to go over specifics. German investigators said that they had evidence that Mohamed Atta trained at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan from late 1999 to early 2000. The timing of the Afghanistan training was outlined on 23 August 2002, by

6650-399: The others belonging to fellow 9/11 hijackers Marwan al-Shehhi, Nawaf al-Hazmi, and Khalid al-Mihdhar. It is not known if the 19 names were all those of the hijackers who would carry out the 9/11 attacks or if the list length is just a coincidence. On 10 September 2001, Atta picked up al-Omari from the Milner Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts , and the two drove their rented Nissan Altima to

6745-399: The parking lot of a Pizza Hut , where Atta is known to have eaten that day. Atta and al-Omari arrived early the next morning, at 5:40 a.m., at the Portland International Jetport , where they left their rental car in the parking lot and at 6:00 a.m. boarded a Colgan Air ( US Airways Express ) BE-1900C flight to Logan International Airport in Boston. In Portland, Mohamed Atta

6840-416: The plane's transponder was switched off several minutes later at 8:21 a.m. The pilots of United Airlines Flight 175 picked up on a suspicious transmission while leaving the runway around the same time Flight 11 was being hijacked, reportedly hearing the words, "Everyone, stay in your seats." Investigators later determined that this communication was made from the cockpit of Flight 11. This transmission

6935-643: The plane. They also discussed the personal difficulties Atta was having with fellow hijacker Ziad Jarrah . Bin al-Shibh was worried that Jarrah might even abandon the plan. The 9/11 Commission Report speculated that the now-convicted terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was being trained as a possible replacement for Jarrah. From 13 to 16 July, Atta stayed at the Hotel Sant Jordi in Tarragona. After bin al-Shibh returned to Germany on 16 July 2001, Atta had three more days in Spain. He spent two nights in Salou at

7030-648: The same year. Although the marriage never happened, Atta's father said they liked each other. Atta graduated from Cairo University with marks insufficient for the graduate program. As his father insisted that he go abroad for graduate studies , Atta, to this end, entered a German-language program at the Goethe-Institut in Cairo. In 1992, his father overheard a German couple who were visiting Egypt's capital. The couple explained at dinner that they ran an exchange program and invited Atta to continue his studies in Germany; they also offered him room and board at their home in

7125-575: The seats," Bryant told ABC's World News Tonight . He insisted that she write his name as ATTA, that he originally was from Egypt but had moved to Afghanistan, that he was an engineer and that his dream was to go to a flight school. He asked about the Pentagon and the White House . He said he wanted to visit the World Trade Center and asked Bryant about the security there. He mentioned Al Qaeda and said

7220-494: The show was developed by Sean Spence from the University of Sheffield . It uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the activity in the brain's pre-frontal cortex to view how a subject reacts to questioning. Critics of the test have included neuroscientists and legal scholars, who have said the technique is unlikely to accurately measure truth-telling, as there are too many variables affecting results. They think

7315-584: The specific date until the last minute. During the meeting, Atta and bin al-Shibh also decided on the targets to be hit, ruling out a strike on a nuclear plant . Bin al-Shibh passed along bin Laden's list of targets; bin Laden wanted the United States Capitol , the Pentagon , and the World Trade Center to be attacked, as they were deemed "symbols of America." If any of the hijackers could not reach their intended targets, Atta said, they were to crash

7410-412: The technique may be useful for additional research. Although he earlier said that he had entered Afghanistan to do charity work, on the programme, Ahmed said he had visited an Islamist training camp, where he handled weapons and learned how to use an AK47 . Rasul refused to go through the test. In January 2010, Ruhal Ahmed and Shafiq Rasul were interviewed on Five Live . They both said they had visited

7505-509: The weeks after his arrest in September 2002. Bin al-Shibh explained that he passed along instructions from Osama bin Laden, including his desire for the attacks to be carried out as soon as possible. Bin Laden was concerned about having so many operatives in the United States. Atta confirmed that all the muscle hijackers had arrived in the United States, without any problems, but said that he needed five to six more weeks to work out details. Bin Laden also asked that other operatives not be informed of

7600-441: The world's media, financial, and political institutions from New York City . These beliefs were even stronger during Operation Infinite Reach , as he believed that Monica Lewinsky was a Jewish agent influencing American president Bill Clinton against aiding Palestine, which would later play a key role in creating the Hamburg cell. On 1 August 1995, Atta returned to Egypt for three months of study. Before this trip he grew out

7695-409: Was believed to have used a payphone at the airport to phone a number "linked to al-Qaeda" after Qahtani was denied entry. On 6 August, Atta and Shehhi rented a white, four-door 1995 Ford Escort from Warrick's Rent-A-Car, which was returned on 13 August. On 6 August, Atta booked a flight on Spirit Airlines from Fort Lauderdale to Newark, leaving on 7 August and returning on 9 August. The reservation

7790-584: Was caught when war broke out. They were captured by soldiers of the Northern Alliance and transferred to the custody of the US Army, as they had purportedly lost all their identification and luggage. They were detained there and transported to Guantanamo Bay detention camps on US territory in Cuba, where they were severely interrogated and treated as enemy combatants. The Associated Press quoted Ahmed following

7885-493: Was decided. Asif Iqbal (born 24 April 1981 in West Bromwich , West Midlands) is a British citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention as a terror suspect in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in Cuba. Iqbal's Guantanamo detainee ID number was 87. Iqbal married on 2 July 2005. On 4 August 2004 Iqbal, Ahmed and Rasul released a report on their abuse and humiliation while in US custody. In it, according to

7980-635: Was dismissed in April 2009 by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, based on "limited immunity" of government officials; the court ruled that such treatment had not been legally defined at the time as prohibited. In December 2009 the US Supreme Court declined to accept the case for hearing, so the lower court ruling stands. The three men were featured as the subjects of The Road to Guantánamo (2006),

8075-605: Was evidence that Atta met with Osama bin Laden there. A video surfaced in October 2006. The first chapter of the video showed bin Laden at Tarnak Farms on 8 January 2000. The second chapter showed Atta and Ziad Jarrah reading their wills together ten days later on 18 January. On his return journey, Atta left Karachi on 24 February 2000, by flight TK1057 to Istanbul where he changed to flight TK1661 to Hamburg. Immediately after returning to Germany, Atta, al-Shehhi, and Jarrah reported their passports stolen, possibly to discard travel visas to Afghanistan. On 22 March 2000, Atta

8170-435: Was like. That's how we've explained it. But it has been taken out of context, saying that 'Oh, these guys from the UK, they were at that age, 9/11 had just happened, and they were there for terrorist training'. But, but – that's not the case. That's not what happened Ruhal Ahmed Ruhal Ahmed (also spelled Rhuhel Ahmed , born 3 November 1981) is a British citizen who was detained without trial for over two years by

8265-437: Was never heard by ATC, but the context suggests Atta was the one speaking. On the phone with American Airlines after the hijackers had assumed control of the plane, flight attendant Betty Ong reported that the cockpit was unresponsive and inaccessible. At 8:24:38 a.m., a voice believed to be Atta's was heard by air traffic controllers, saying: "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you will be OK. We are returning to

8360-672: Was no longer eligible for university housing in Centrumshaus. Atta, Bahaji and Ramzi moved into a Hamburgian apartment, which they supposedly named bayt al-ansar . By early 1999, Atta had completed his thesis, and formally defended it in August 1999. In mid-1998, Atta worked alongside Shehhi, bin al-Shibh, and Belfas, at a warehouse, packing computers in crates for shipping. The Hamburg group did not stay in Wilhelmsburg for long. The next winter, they moved into an apartment at Marienstrasse 54 in

8455-437: Was not needed" after it bought a CAD system. Among other odd jobs to supplement his income, Atta sometimes worked at a cleaning company and sometimes bought and sold cars. Atta had harbored a desire to return to his native city ever since he finished his studies in Hamburg, but he was prevented by the dearth of job prospects in Cairo, his family lacking the "right connections" to avail the customary nepotism . Further, after

8550-545: Was not used and canceled on 9 August with the reason "Family Medical Emergency". Instead, he went to Central Office & Travel in Pompano Beach to purchase a ticket for a flight to Newark, leaving on the evening of 7 August and scheduled to return in the evening on 9 August. Atta did not take the return flight. On 7 August, Atta checked into the Wayne Inn in Wayne, New Jersey and checked out on 9 August. The same day, he booked

8645-520: Was selected by the Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), which required his checked bags to undergo extra screening for explosives but involved no extra screening at the passenger security checkpoint. The connection between the two flights at Logan International Airport was within Terminal B, but the two gates were not connected within security. Passengers must leave the secured area, go outdoors, cross

8740-616: Was signed by el-Motassadeq and a second person at the mosque. After leaving Plankontor in the summer of 1997, Atta disappeared again and did not return until 1998. He had made no progress on his thesis. Atta phoned his graduate advisor, Machule, and mentioned family problems at home, saying, "Please understand, I don't want to talk about this." At the winter break in 1997, Atta left and did not return to Hamburg for three months. He said that he went on pilgrimage to Mecca again, just 18 months after his first time. This claim has been disputed; American journalist Terry McDermott has argued that it

8835-649: Was still in Germany when he sent an e-mail to the Academy of Lakeland in Florida . He inquired about flight training, "Dear sir, we are a small group of young men from different Arab countries. Now, we are living in Germany since a while for study purposes. We would like to start training for the career of airline professional pilots. In this field, we haven't yet any knowledge but we are ready to undergo an intensive training program (up to ATP and eventually higher)." Atta sent 50–60 similar e-mails to other flight training schools in

8930-464: Was the same day that Israel , much to Atta's fury, attacked Lebanon in Operation Grapes of Wrath ; signing the will "offering his life" was his response. The instructions in his last will and testament reflect both Sunni funeral practices along with some more puritanical demands from Salafism , including asking people not "to weep and cry" and to generally refrain from showing emotion. The will

9025-454: Was to him but "a shabby symbol of Egypt's haphazard attempts to modernize and its shameless embrace of the West." For his thesis, Atta concentrated on the ancient Syrian city of Aleppo . He researched the history of the urban landscape in relation to the general theme of conflict between Arab and modern civilization. He criticized how the newfangled skyscrapers and other modernizing projects disrupted

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