Homeland Security


Khalid al-Mihdhar

9-11 Suicide Hijacker

Dead

Khalid al-MihdharKhalid al-MihdharKhalid al-Mihdhar

Details
ImportanceMedium
Means of DeathSuicide Hijacker
Date of DeathSept. 11, 2001
Location of DeathArlington, Virginia, United States
Affiliation9-11 plotters
RoleSenior Member
SupervisorMohamed Atta
AffiliationAmerican Airlines Flight 77 Hijackers
AffiliationAl-Qaeda
AffiliationIslamic Army of Aden1
Full Given NameKhalid bin Muhammad bin Abdallah al-Mihdhar
NationalitySaudi
Alias(es)Sannan al-Makki, Khalid Mohammed al-Saqaf
Alternate Spelling(s)Khalid Almihdhar, Khalid al-Midhar, Khalid Almidhar
Age at Death26
Date of BirthMay 5, 19753
Alternate Date of BirthMay 16, 19754
Place of BirthMecca, Saudi Arabia
GenderMale
 
 
Narrative and Notes
 
Reliable
  • Assisted in hijacking American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 bound from Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, to Los Angeles, on Sept. 11, 2001. It crashed into the Pentagon.
  • Along with his friend Nawaf al-Hazmi, he was one of two veteran al-Qaeda operatives among the 19 suicide hijackers.
  • Khalid al-Mihdhar was probably al-Qaeda's weakest link in the 9-11 plot. After arriving in the United States in January 2000, he left later that year to see his family in Yemen. The CIA had by then connected him to al-Qaeda, but the information wasn't shared around the U.S. government, and he was allowed to re-enter in July 2001.
  • On Aug. 28, 2001, the FBI began looking for him, based on his connection to the Kuala Lumpur meeting and USS Cole bombing facilitator Tawfiq bin Attash. Few resources were assigned to the effort, and he was not located.2
    •  
     
    Sources
    1 The 9-11 Commission Final Report, July 22, 2004, Chapter 7.1.
    2 The 9-11 Commission Final Report, July 22, 2004, Chapter 8.2.
    3 CIA handout before congressional testimony of Director George Tenet; possibly taken from al-Mihdhar's Saudi passport.
    4 Al-Mihdhar's New York identification card lists the alternate date of birth.
    Photos (left to right): FBI; Government exhibit, United States vs. Moussaoui; Government exhibit, United States vs. Moussaoui
     
     
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