This photograph of Fayez Banihammad was released by the
FBI in the days following the attack.
Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al Qadi Banihammad (Arabic: فايز راشد احمد حسن القاضي بني حمد) was named by the FBI as one of the hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 in the September 11, 2001 attacks. He has used aliases and rearrangements of his name, including Fayez Ahmad, Banihammad Fayez Abu Dhabi Banihammad, Fayez Rashid Ahmed, Banihammad Fayez, Rasid Ahmed Hassen Alqadi, Abu Dhabi Banihammad Ahmed Fayez, and others.
Little of Banihammad's history is known. He grew up in the United Arab Emirates and reportedly left home in July of 2000, telling his parents that he wanted to participate in a holy war or relief work. He only called his parents once after that. A man named Fayez Ahmed Banihammad visited the Philippines on October 17, 2000, but it is unknown whether this is the same person.
Banihammad used the controversial program Visa Express to gain entry into the country. Before arriving in the United States on June 27, 2001, Banihammad had opened several bank accounts in the UAE. About $30,000 was deposited by unknown parties only two days before his arrival, and Banihammad was able to withdraw these funds from ATMs. The 9/11 Commission Report notes: "He appears to have played a unique role among the muscle hijackers because of his work with one of the plot's financial facilitators, Mustafa al Hawsawi." (Mustafa al Hawsawi is probably an alias for Saeed Sheikh .) These funds helped to pay for some parts of the attacks, including Banihammad's plane ticket on 9/11.
On September 10, 2001, the night before the suicide attack, Banihammad and several other hijackers called around for prostitutes, but declined to sleep with them or pay them because it was too expensive.[1]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Banihammad boarded Flight 175 around 7:25. About a half an hour into the flight, the plane was hijacked. The plane flew directly into the south tower of World Trade Center in a coordinated attack that killed thousands of people.
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Last updated: 10-29-2005 02:13:46
