{{Infobox Person
| name = Abdulaziz al-Omari
| image = Abdulaziz al-Omari.png
| image_size = 150px
| birth_name = Abdulaziz al-Omari (in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: عبدالعزيزالعمري)
| birth_place = [[Asir]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
| death_date = {{death date|2001|9|11}}
| death_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York]]
}}
'''Abdulaziz al-Omari''' ({{lang-ar|عبدالعزيزالعمري}}, also [[transliteration|transliterated]] '''Abdul Aziz Alomari''') was named by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] as one of the [[Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks|hijackers]] of the [[American Airlines flight 11|first plane]] which was crashed into the [[World Trade Center]] in the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]].

==History==
Little is known about al-Omari's life, and it is unclear whether some information refers to al-Omari or another person by that name. He has used birth dates of [[December 24]], [[1972]] and [[May 28]], [[1979]]. He came from [['Asir|Asir Province]], a poor region in southwestern [[Saudi Arabia]] that borders [[Yemen]]. According to a 2003 [[CIA]] report, he had graduated with honours from high school, attained a degree from the [http://www.imamu.edu.sa/ Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University], was married, and had a daughter.

He is alleged to have often served as an [[imam]] at his mosque in Saudi Arabia and is believed by American Authorities to have been a student of a [[Extremism|radical]] Saudi cleric named Sulayman al Alwan, whose mosque is located in [[Al Qasim]].

According to [[Tawfiq bin Attash]], al-Omari was one of a group of future hijackers who provided security at [[Kandahar]] airport after their basic training at an al-Qaeda camp. During the [[2000 Al Qaeda Summit]] in [[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia]], American authorities claim that immigration records show that a person named Abdulaziz al-Omari was visiting the country, although they say they are not sure that this was the same person.

[[Image:AbdulazizonAlJazeera.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Abdul Aziz al-Omari in the farewell suicide video]]In the autumn of 2001, after September 11th, al Jazeera television broadcast a tape they claim was made by al-Omari. The speaker made a farewell suicide video. In it, he reads "I am writing this with my full conscience and I am writing this in expectation of the end, which is near. . . God praise everybody who trained and helped me, namely the leader Sheikh [[Osama bin Laden]]."

According to [[FBI]] director [[Robert Mueller]] and the [[9/11 Commission]], al-Omari entered the United States through a [[London]] or [[Dubai]] flight on [[May 28]] with [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]] and [[Mohand al-Shehri]].

On [[June 29]], [[2001]], al-Omari travelled to the U.S. for the first time, landing in [[New York]]. He had used the controversial [[Visa Express]] program to gain entry. He apparently stayed with several other hijackers in [[Paterson, New Jersey]], before moving to his own place at 4032 57th Terrace, [[Vero Beach]] Florida. On his rental agreement form for that house, Omari gave two license-plates authorized to park in his space, one of which was registered to Atta.<ref name=PATERSON>[http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/atta/resources/documents/fbiaffidavit11.htm FBI Affidavit: Page 11] ABC</ref> Al-Omari occasionally trained on simulators at the [[FlightSafety International|FlightSafety Academy]] in [[Vero Beach, Florida]] together with [[Mohand al-Shehri]] and [[Saeed Al-Ghamdi]].

==The Attack==
[[Image:Atta atm.jpg|right|thumb|Abdulaziz al-Omari (center) and [[Mohamed Atta al Sayed]] withdrawing money from an ATM]]
On [[September 10]], [[Mohamed Atta al Sayed]] picked up Omari from the Milner Hotel in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], and the two drove [[1n4dl01d81c212547|their rented Nissan]] to a [[Comfort Inn]] in [[Portland, Maine|South Portland, Maine]], where they spent the night in room 232 for unknown reasons, although it was within sight of [[Portland International Jetport]]. It was initially reported that [[Adnan Bukhari|Adnan]] and [[Ameer Bukhari]] were the two hijackers who had rented and driven the car.<ref name=REPORTED>[http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200109/13/eng20010913_80131.html Two Brothers among Hijackers: CNN Report] People's Daily</ref> [[Image:Atta in airport.jpg|left|thumb|Atta (blue shirt) and al-Omari in the [[Portland, Maine]] airport on the morning of 9/11.]] The two spent their last night pursuing ordinary activities: making an ATM withdrawal, a shared meal at [[Pizza Hut]], and a 15 to 20-minute stop at [[Wal-Mart]].

In the early morning hours of [[September 11]], they boarded a commuter flight to Boston to connect to [[American Airlines Flight 11]]. Al-Omari's luggage never made the connection onto Flight 11, which resulted in his passport and belongings being found after the attacks. On Flight 11, al-Omari helped hijack the plane, and assisted [[Mohamed Atta]] in crashing it into the World Trade Center part of an attack that killed thousands of people.

==Aftermath==
Controversy over al-Omari's identity erupted shortly after the attacks. At first, the FBI had named [[Abdul Rahman al-Omari]], a pilot for [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]], as the pilot of Flight 11. It was quickly shown that this person was still alive, and the FBI issued an apology. It was also quickly determined that [[Mohammed Atta]] was the pilot among the hijackers. The FBI then named Abdulaziz al-Omari as a hijacker.

[[Image:Abdulaziz al-omari alive.jpg|right|frame|The wrongly accused [[Abdul Rahman al-Omari]], photographed after the 9/11 attacks.]]
A man with the same name as those given by the [[FBI]] turned up alive in [[Saudi Arabia]], saying that he had studied at the [[University of Denver]] and his [[passport]] was stolen there in 1995. The name, origin, birth date, and occupation were released by the FBI, but the picture was not of him. "'''I couldn't believe it when the FBI put me on their list'''", he said. "'''They gave my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am alive. I have no idea how to fly a plane. I had nothing to do with this.'''"<ref name=NOFLY>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F2071FF63D5F0C758DDDA00894D9404482][http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=94438][http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1559151.stm ?] The New York Times</ref> This individual was not the same person as the hijacker whose identity was later confirmed by Saudi government interviews with his family, according to the [[9/11 Commission]] Report.

==References==
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"references-small">
<references/></div>

==External links==
*[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html The Final 9/11 Commission Report]
*[http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/widen23.xml portal.telegraph.co.uk] (Article which reports that the Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot named al-Omari was not involved with the terrorist attacks)
{{911hijack}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Omari, Abdulaziz al-
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=عبدالعزيزالعمري (Arabic); Alomari, Abdulaziz (alternate transliteration); Alomari, Abdul Aziz (alternate transliteration); Omari, Abdul Aziz al- (alternate transliteration)
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=9/11 hijacker
|DATE OF BIRTH=unknown
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Asir]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|DATE OF DEATH={{death date|2001|9|11|mf=y}}
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[New York City]], [[United States]]
}}
[[Category:2001 deaths|Omari, Abduraziz]]
[[Category:Participants in the September 11, 2001 attacks|Omari, Abdulaziz]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian terrorists|Omari, Abduraziz]]

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[[it:Abdulaziz al-Omari]]
[[pl:Abdulaziz al-Omari]]