Saeed al-Ghamdi (21 November 1979-11 September 2001) was a Saudi Arabian member of al-Qaeda who was responsible for the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 alongside Ziad Jarrah, Ahmed al-Haznawi, and Ahmed al-Nami on 11 September 2001. He was killed when the plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
Biography[]
al-Ghamdi's visa photo
Saeed al-Ghamdi was born on 21 November 1979 in Al-Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia, to the same tribe as Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Haznawi, although he was not related to the other Ghamdis. He was very observant of Islam and attended college in al-Qasim Province, but later dropped out and stopped contacting his family - he became a follower of Imam Sulayman al-Alwan.
Joining al-Qaeda[]
In 1999 he came into contact with the Ghamdis and Haznawi and he headed to Chechnya to fight in the Second Chechen War against Russia, seeing it as his duty to his religion to fight against the Christians. At the time, Chechens turned away foreigners because they were inexperienced, so Ghamdi traveled to the Al Farouq training camp at an airport near Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he and Wail al-Shehri, Ahmed al-Nami, and Waleed al-Shehri were trained by al-Qaeda.
Arrival in America[]
al-Ghamdi (left) and Ahmed al-Nami (right) on the plane
On 27 June 2001 he arrived in the United States with Fayez Banihammad and he lived with Ahmed al-Nami in Delray Beach in Florida. Saeed, Ahmed al-Haznawi, Ahmed al-Nami, and Lebanese Ziad Jarrah were chosen to hijack United Airlines Flight 93 and destroy the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. They headed to Newark International Airport and boarded the plane on 11 September 2001, and that day, al-Ghamdi assembled a fake bomb in his belt. He scared the passengers as the others took over the plane from LeRoy Homer, the pilot, and the copilot. When the passengers started a planned uprising, al-Ghamdi crashed the plane in a Shanksville field when it became apparent that the passengers would take over the plane and fly it to safety. All lives aboard the plane perished, including Ghamdi.
Gallery[]
