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Home / Complete 9/11 Timeline / March 2004: CIA Finds 9/11 Hijackers Used 364 Aliases and Name Variants

March 2004: CIA Finds 9/11 Hijackers Used 364 Aliases and Name Variants

Entity Tags: 9/11 Commission, Abdulaziz Alomari, Ahmed Alghamdi, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Ahmed Alnami, Central Intelligence Agency, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, Hamza Alghamdi, Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed, Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Mohand Alshehri, Nawaf Alhazmi, Saeed Alghamdi, Salem Alhazmi, Satam Al Suqami, Wail Alshehri, Waleed Alshehri, Ziad Jarrah
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Hani Hanjour, Hijacker Visas and Immigration, Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Other 9/11 Hijackers, Other 9/11 Investigations, Ziad Jarrah

After investigating the 9/11 hijackers, the CIA finds that the 19 operatives used a total of 364 aliases, including different spellings of their own names and noms de guerre. Although some examples are made public, the full list is not disclosed. [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 1, 5 pdf file; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 pdf file] However, an FBI timeline of hijacker movements made public in 2008 will mention some of the aliases. For example:
bullet Hani Hanjour and Ahmed Alghamdi rent a New Jersey apartment using the names Hany Saleh and Ahmed Saleh. (Saleh is Hanjour’s middle name.) [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/2001, pp. 144, 205 pdf file]
bullet Fayez Ahmed Banihammad uses the aliases Abu Dhabi Banihammad and Fayey Rashid Ahmed. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/2001, pp. 167, 174 pdf file]
bullet Nawaf Alhazmi uses the aliases Nawaf Alharbi and Nawaf Alzmi Alhazmi. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/2001, pp. 60 pdf file; Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/2001, pp. 248 pdf file]
bullet Mohamed Atta frequently likes to use variants of the name El Sayed, for instance calling himself Awaid Elsayed and even Hamburg Elsayed. Marwan Alshehhi also uses the Elsayed alias. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/2001, pp. 125, 126 pdf file]
bullet When Majed Moqed flies into the US on May 2, 2001, the name Mashaanmoged Mayed is on the flight manifest. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/2001, pp. 139 pdf file]
In contrast to this, many reports emphasize that the hijackers usually used their own names. For example, the 9/11 Commission will say, “The hijackers opened accounts in their own names, using passports and other identification documents.” [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 22 pdf file] In addition, a Commission staffer will tell UPI: “They did not need fake passports. The plotters all used their own passports to get into the country and once here, used US-issued ID documents whenever possible.” [United Press International, 8/17/2005]