Satam al-Suqami

Infobox Person
name = Satam al-Suqami


image_size = 150px
birth_date = Birth date|1976|6|28
birth_name = Satam al-Suqami (in Arabic: سطام السقامي)
birth_place = Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
death_date = death date and age|2001|9|11|1976|6|28
death_place = Manhattan, New YorkA law student, Satam M. A. al-Suqami (Arabic: سطام السقامي) (born June 28 1976; died September 11, 2001), was one of five men named by the FBI as hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11 in the September 11 attacks.

History

A native of the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh, al-Suqami was a law student at the King Saud University. While there he joined a (possible) former roommate named Majed Moqed in training for al-Qaida at Khalden, a large training facility near Kabul that was run by Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi. In November 2000, the two flew into Iran from Bahrain together.

The FBI says al-Suqami first arrived in the U.S. on April 23, 2001, with a Visa that allowed him to remain in the country until May 21; though six residents of the "Spanish Trace Apartments" claim to recognize the photographs of both al-Suqami and Salem al-Hazmi as living in the San Antonio complex earlier in 2001. Interestingly however, these residents and several others who claim to have known the hijackers, claim that the FBI photographs of al-Suqami and al-Hazmi are reversed. Other reports conflictingly suggested that al-Suqami was staying with Waleed al-Shehri in Hollywood, Florida and rented a black Toyota Corolla from Alamo Rent-A-Car agency .

On May 19, al-Suqami and Salem al-Hazmi took a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport, Bahamas where they had reservations at the "Princess Resort". Lacking proper documentation however, they were stopped upon landing, and returned to Florida the same day and rented a red Kia Rio from Avis Rent-A-Car agency.

He was one of nine hijackers to open a SunTrust bank account with a cash deposit around June 2001, and on July 3 he was issued a Florida State Identification Card. Around this time, he also used his Saudi license to gain a Florida drivers' license bearing the same home address as Wail al-Shehri. (A Homing Inn in Boynton Beach). Despite this, the 9/11 Commission claims that al-Suqami was the only hijacker to not have any US identification.

During the summer, al-Suqami and both Wail and Waleed al-Shehri purchased one month passes to a Boynton Beach gym owned by Jim Woolard. (Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi also reportedly trained at a gym owned by Woolard, in Delray Beach.)

Al-Suqami was called one of the "muscle" hijackers, who were not expected to act as pilots. CIA director George Tenet later said that they "probably were told little more than that they were headed for a suicide mission inside the United States." [cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/09/eveningnews/main525012.shtml|title=Sept. 11 Hijacker Made Test Flights|publisher=CBS|date=October 9, 2002]

Since the attacks, al-Suqami and Ahmed al-Ghamdi have both been tied to Boston cab driver Nabil al-Marabh, whom the FBI claimed was a Saudi follower of Osama bin Laden, through financial records.

The attack

On September 10, 2001, he was one of four hijackers (Marwan, Banihammad, Mohand, and al-Suqami) sharing a room at the Milner Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, where one of them called around for prostitutes, but eventually canceled, possibly based on finances.

On the day of the attacks, al-Suqami checked in at the flight desk using his Saudi passport, and boarded American Airlines flight 11. At Logan International Airport, he was selected by CAPPS, [cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm |title=9/11 Commission Report (Chapter 1) |month=July | year=2004] which required his checked bags to undergo extra screening for explosives and involved no extra screening at the passenger security checkpoint.cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_3.pdf |title=The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3 |publisher=9/11 Commission|format=PDF]

An FAA memo, circulated in February 2002, claimed that al-Suqami shot passenger Daniel Lewin (Seat 9B), co-founder of Akamai Technologies and a former member of the Israeli Sayeret Matkal, for attempting to foil the hijacking. While based on the frantic phonecall received from a stewardess of the flight, the report has been a matter of some controversy, since both the FAA and FBI have strongly denied the presence of firearms smuggled aboard. It is now believed that al-Suqami stabbed Lewin as he attempted to intervene in the hijacking.

Al-Suqami's passport was found by a passerby, reportedly in the vicinity of Vesey Street [cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/17/inv.investigation.terrorism/|title=Ashcroft says more attacks may be planned|work=CNN|date=September 18, 2001] , before the towers collapsed. 9/11 Commission hearings, January 26, 2004, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/ame/911/911tr/012604.htm Opening staff statement] , Susan Ginsburg] (This was mistakenly reported by many news outlets to be Mohammed Atta's passport.) Some news organizations openly doubted the authenticity of this report, [cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,669961,00.html |title=Uncle Sam's lucky finds|publisher=The Guardian|date=March 19, 2002] , questioning whether a paper passport could survive the inferno unsinged when the plane's black boxes were never found. According to testimony before the 9/11 Commission by lead counsel Susan Ginsburg, his passport had been "manipulated in a fraudulent manner in ways that have been associated with al Qaeda." Passports belonging to Ziad Jarrah and Saeed al Ghamdi were found at the crash site of United Airlines flight #93.

References

External links

* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]

Persondata
NAME=Suqami, Satam al-
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=سطام السقامي (Arabic); Alsuqami, Satam (alternate transliteration)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=9/11 hijacker
DATE OF BIRTH=June 28, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH=Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
DATE OF DEATH=September 11, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH=New York City, United States