Khalid al-Mihdhar

Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar (خالد المحضار; also transliterated as AL Mihdhar; 16 May 1975 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi terrorist hijacker.

He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the 11 September attacks.

Al-Mihdhar was born in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Mihdhar was born on 16 May 1975, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to a prominent family that belonged to the Quraysh tribe of Mecca.

Little is known about his life before the age of 20, when he and childhood friend Nawaf al-Hazmi went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to fight with the mujahideen in the Bosnian War.

After the war, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi went to Afghanistan where they fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, and al-Qaeda would later dub al-Hazmi his "second in command".

In the late 1990s, al-Mihdhar married Hoda al-Hada, who was the sister of a comrade from Yemen, and they had two daughters.

Through marriage, al-Mihdhar was related to a number of individuals involved with al-Qaeda in some way.

Al-Mihdhar, who had spent time in al-Qaeda camps in the 1990s, was known and highly regarded by Bin Laden.

In 1997, al-Mihdhar told his family that he was leaving to fight in Chechnya, though it is not certain that he actually went to Chechnya.

The same year, both men attracted the attention of Saudi Intelligence, who believed they were involved in arms smuggling, and the following year they were eyed as possible collaborators in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in East Africa after it emerged that Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali had given the FBI the phone number of al-Mihdhar's father-in-law; 967-1-200578, which turned out to be a key communications hub for al-Qaeda militants, and eventually tipped off the Americans about the upcoming Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit.

Based on information uncovered by the FBI in the 1998 United States embassy bombings case, the National Security Agency (NSA) began tracking the communications of Hada, al-Mihdhar's father-in-law.

In early 1999, he traveled to Afghanistan where, as an experienced and respected jihadist, he was selected by Osama bin Laden to participate in the attacks.

In Spring 1999, al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden committed to support the 9/11 attacks plot, which was largely organized by prominent al-Qaeda member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were among the first group of participants selected for the operation, along with Tawfiq bin Attash and Abu Bara al Yemeni, al-Qaeda members from Yemen.

Al-Mihdhar was so eager to participate in jihad operations in the United States that he had already obtained a one-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) multiple-entry visa from the consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 7 April 1999, one day after obtaining a new passport.

Al-Mihdhar listed the Los Angeles Sheraton as his intended destination.

Once selected, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were sent to the Mes Aynak training camp in Afghanistan.

In late 1999, al-Hazmi, bin Attash and al Yemeni went to Karachi, Pakistan to see Mohammed, who instructed them on Western culture and travel; however, al-Mihdhar did not go to Karachi, instead returning to Yemen.

He was known as Sinaan during the preparations.

The CIA was aware of al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi's involvement with al-Qaeda, having been informed by Saudi intelligence during a 1999 meeting in Riyadh.

In late 1999, the NSA informed the CIA of an upcoming meeting in Malaysia, which Hada mentioned would involve "Khalid", "Nawaf", and "Salem", who was al-Hazmi's younger brother, Salem al-Hazmi.

Al-Mihdhar arrived in California with fellow hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi in January 2000, after traveling to Malaysia for the Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit.

At this point, the CIA was aware of al-Mihdhar, and he was photographed in Malaysia with another al-Qaeda member who was involved in the USS Cole bombing.

In June 2000, al-Mihdhar left the United States for Yemen, leaving al-Hazmi behind in San Diego.

On 4 January 2000, al-Mihdhar left Yemen and flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he spent the night.

The CIA broke into his hotel room and photocopied his passport, which gave them his full name, birth information and passport number for the first time, and alerted them that he held an entry visa to the United States.

The photocopy was sent to the CIA's Alec Station, which was tracking al-Qaeda.

On 5 January 2000, al-Mihdhar traveled to Kuala Lumpur, where he joined al-Hazmi, bin Attash and al-Yemeni, who were all arriving from Pakistan.

Hamburg cell member Ramzi bin al-Shibh was also at the summit, and Mohammed possibly attended.

The group was in Malaysia to meet with Hambali, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Asian al-Qaeda affiliate.

During the Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit, many key details of the 9/11 attacks may have been arranged.

At the time, the attacks plot had an additional component involving hijacking aircraft in Asia, as well as in the United States.

The CIA did not inform the FBI when it learned that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi had entered the United States, and al-Mihdhar was not placed on any watchlists until late August 2001.

Upon arriving in San Diego County, California, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were to train as pilots, but spoke English poorly and did not do well with flight lessons.

Al-Mihdhar spent some time in Afghanistan in early 2001 and returned to the United States in early July 2001.

He stayed in New Jersey in July and August, before arriving in the Washington, D.C., area at the beginning of September.

On the morning of 11 September 2001, al-Mihdhar boarded American Airlines Flight 77, and assisted in the hijacking of the plane which was hijacked approximately 30 minutes after takeoff.

al-Mihdhar and his team of hijackers then deliberately crashed the plane into the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard the flight, along with 125 on the ground.

Al-Mihdhar's father-in-law, Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada, helped facilitate al-Qaeda communications in Yemen, and in late 2001, al-Mihdhar's brother-in-law, Ahmed al-Darbi, was captured in Azerbaijan and sent to Guantanamo Bay on charges of supporting a plot to bomb ships in the Strait of Hormuz.