Hamburg cell

Hamburg cell

The Hamburg cell was, according to U.S. and German intelligence agencies, a group of radical Islamists that included students who eventually came to be key operatives in the 9/11 attacks. Important members included Mohamed Atta, who led the four hijacking teams in 2001 and piloted American Airlines Flight 11; Ramzi Binalshibh, who conspired with the other three members but was unable to enter the United States; and Marwan al-Shehhi, who piloted United Airlines Flight 175. Less important members included Said Bahaji, Zakariya Essabar, Mounir el Motassadeq, and Abdelghani Mzoudi. Ziad Jarrah, another prominent 9/11 hijacker, is also sometimes listed in the Hamburg cell.

Background

On November 1, 1998, future-hijackers Mohammed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Ramzi Binalshibh moved into a three-bedroom apartment (two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen) together on Marienstraße (alternatively spelled as "Marienstrasse"). Here they formed the secretive "Hamburg cell," which also included other minor participants in the 9/11 plot. They met together three or four times a week to discuss their anti-American and anti-Semitic views, and to decide how best to fight for their cause.

As late as 1999, the four core members of the group had intended to wage jihad in Chechnya, where Islamic jihadists were then and are now rebelling against the parent country of Russia. The 9/11 Commission Report notes in Chapter 5 that "according to Binalshibh [who is now in U.S. custody] , a chance meeting on a train in Germany caused the group to travel to Afghanistan instead. An individual named Khalid al Masri (or Khalid al-Masri) approached Binalshibh and Shehhi (because they were Arabs with beards, Binalshibh thinks) and struck up a conversation about jihad in Chechnya. When they later called Masri and expressed interest in going to Chechnya, he told them to contact Abu Musab in Duisburg, Germany. Abu Musab turned out to be Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a significant al-Qaeda operative who, even then, was well known to U.S. and German intelligence, though neither government apparently knew he was operating in Germany in late 1999."

Binalshibh, Shehhi and Jarrah visited Slahi in Duisburg, where he convinced them that it would be best to train in Afghanistan first, because further experience would be useful, and anyway it was difficult at that time to get into Chechnya. Slahi instructed them to travel to Karachi, Pakistan, then to the Taliban office in Quetta, Pakistan, where they were to contact a man named Umar al Masri. Atta and Jarrah left Hamburg during the last week of November, 1999. Shehhi left by himself around the same time; Binalshibh followed two weeks later.

"Umar al Masri" turned out to be a nonexistent person. The name was a code word that instructed members of the Taliban office to escort the men to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where they were convinced to join the al-Qaeda network and wage jihad against America. They met with Osama bin Laden himself and swore their loyalty to him. Mohamed Atta al Sayed was chosen by Bin Laden as the leader of the group that would attack America; Atta would contact Bin Laden several more times before the attacks. The men then returned to Germany to enroll in flight training school, and later moved on to flight training schools in the United States at the recommendation of one of their German instructors.

The members of the Hamburg Cell were a boon to the 9/11 plot, which Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had proposed to Bin Laden in 1996. The Hamburg students were fluent in English, educated, accustomed to the Western lifestyle, radically Islamic, and capable of learning to pilot aircraft. "Bin Laden and Mohammed Atef wasted no time in assigning the Hamburg group to the most ambitious operation yet planned by al-Qaeda," the 9/11 Commission Report says.

Many al-Qaida members lived in the Hamburg apartment at various times. In all, 29 men listed the apartment as their home address while Mohamed Atta's name was on the lease. Reportedly, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed visited the apartment repeatedly.

German intelligence monitored the apartment, but did not find any evidence against the residents. Both the United States' Central Intelligence Agency and German Intelligence have received criticism for failing to share information on these and other al-Qaida members.

Ziad Jarrah

Hijacker and pilot Ziad Jarrah is listed by the 9/11 Commission Report as being a part of the Hamburg cell as well. He did not live with any of the others, however, and can only be confirmed to have met with any of them in Hamburg on a single occasion: that of Said Bahaji's wedding at the al-Quds Mosque. The closeness of his connections with the others is not known. He left for Aghanistan with the others, can be seen in a video tape with Atta made there.

"Hamburg Cell" film

The film "Hamburg Cell" is a docudrama on the planning and execution of the attacks. A co-production between Channel 4 in the UK and CBC in Canada, it was shown in the UK during September 2004, amid criticism that this was too close to the anniversary of the attack. Using computer-generated imagery, the film's producers were able to show the twin towers of the World Trade Center, before the attack, in the background. Ziad Jarrah is featured calling his girlfriend, Aysel Sengün, from a public telephone at the airport, repeating the words 'I love you' over and over.

ee also

* Planning and execution of the September 11, 2001 attacks

External links

* [http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch5.htm Chapter of the 9/11 Commission Report detailing the history of the Hamburg Cell]
* [http://www.amazon.de/dp/3865506569 Hawala. An Informal Payment System and Its Use to Finance Terrorism by Sebastian R. Müller (Dec. 2006), ISBN: ISBN-10: 3865506569, ISBN-13: 978-3865506566]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cell wall — A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer surrounding a cell, located external to the cell membrane, which provides the cell with structural support, protection, and acts as a filtering mechanism. A major function of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Hamburg — This article is about the German city. For other uses, see Hamburg (disambiguation). Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg   State of Germany   …   Wikipedia

  • History of Hamburg — The history of Hamburg begins with its foundation in the ninth century as a mission settlement to convert the Saxons. Since the Middle Ages Hamburg was an important trading centre in Europe. The convenient location of the port and its… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste von Filmen mit Bezug zu Hamburg — Die Liste von Filmen mit Bezug zu Hamburg enthält Spielfilme mit deutlichem Bezug zu Hamburg, also Filme, die in dieser Stadt spielen, die Hamburg in einer bestimmten Epoche zeigen oder das politische, wirtschaftliche oder kulturelle Leben… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg — Infobox religious building caption= building name=Al Quds Mosque Hamburg location=St. Georg, Hamburg, Hamburg GER geo=coord|53|33|25|N|10|01|10|E|region:DE HH type:landmark religious affiliation=Islam website= architect= architecture type=Mosque… …   Wikipedia

  • University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf — Infobox Hospital Name = University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf Org/Group = Caption = University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf main entrance 2006 map type = latitude = longitude = Logo Size = Location = Hamburg Region = State = Country =… …   Wikipedia

  • Fuel cell — For other uses, see Fuel cell (disambiguation). Demonstration model of a direct methanol fuel cell. The actual fuel cell stack is the layered cube shape in the center of the image A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a… …   Wikipedia

  • Fuel Cell Bus Club — The Fuel Cell Bus Club comprises the participants of the projects CUTE, ECTOS and STEP.Cite web|url=http://www.fuel cell bus club.com/index.php?module=pagesetter func=viewpub tid=1 pid=145|title=Fuel Cell Bus Club: Introduction|accessdate=2008 06 …   Wikipedia

  • 600-cell — Related polychora The snub 24 cell may be obtained from the 600 cell by removing the vertices of an inscribed 24 cell and taking the convex hull of the remaining vertices. This process is a diminishing of the 600 cell.The grand antiprism may be… …   Wikipedia

  • Omnitruncated 120-cell — In geometry, the omnitruncated 120 cell is a convex uniform polychoron composed of 2640 cells: 120 truncated icosidodecahedra, 600 truncated octahedra, 720 decagonal prisms, and 1200 pentagonal prisms.It also has 14400 vertices, 28800 edges, and… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”