# Mohand al-Shehri
**Mohand al-Shehri** (also written Mohand al Shehri; 1979 – September 11, 2001) was a Saudi Arabian member of al Qaeda and one of the 19 hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was one of the five "muscle hijackers" assigned to [United Airlines Flight 175](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-airlines-flight-175), which was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.[1](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report_App.htm) • [2](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Muscle (non-pilot) hijacker on United Airlines Flight 175; seat 2B, first class[2](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm) |
| Origin | Saudi Arabia; from Tanumah in Asir province, one of five hijackers from that province[3](https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/mohand-al-shehri) • [4](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT-13.pdf) |
| U.S. visa | Issued October 23, 2000[5](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf) |
| U.S. entry | Arrived in Miami on May 28, 2001, with Hamza al Ghamdi and Ahmed al Nami[6](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.htm) |
| September 11 | Checked in and boarded Flight 175 at Boston Logan between 7:23 and 7:28 a.m.; the flight departed for Los Angeles and was hijacked[2](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm) |
| Status | Not a pilot and not a plot leader; died when the plane crashed into the South Tower[7](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm) • [1](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report_App.htm) |
## Background
Mohand al Shehri came from Tanumah, a town in Saudi Arabia's impoverished Asir province, near the Yemeni border.[3](https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/mohand-al-shehri) The 9/11 Commission identified five hijackers from Asir: Wail al Shehri, Waleed al Shehri, Abdul Aziz al Omari, Ahmed al Nami, and Mohand al Shehri. The Commission described Asir as a poor, weakly policed region sometimes called "the wild frontier."[4](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT-13.pdf) He was not related to the brothers Wail and Waleed al Shehri, who were assigned to [American Airlines Flight 11](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-airlines-flight-11).[8](https://prabook.com/web/mohand.al-shehri/2084641)
He was one of the twelve Saudi "muscle hijackers," the operatives selected to storm cockpits and control passengers while the trained pilots flew the planes.[9](https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch7.htm) According to a CIA report cited by the Counter Extremism Project, he reportedly contacted his family in early 2000 to tell them he was in a refugee camp in [Ingushetia](https://www.edgepedia.org/ingushetia), a Russian republic neighboring Chechnya.[3](https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/mohand-al-shehri)
## Travel and preparation
Mohand al Shehri obtained a U.S. visa on October 23, 2000.[5](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf) Also in October 2000, he flew from Iran to Kuwait together with Hamza al Ghamdi, a hijacker like himself; according to the Commission, several of the hijackers passed through Iran while traveling to or from Afghanistan, exploiting the fact that Iranian authorities did not stamp Saudi passports.[9](https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch7.htm)
FBI records show that on May 23, 2001, he departed Dubai for Muscat, Oman, and that he subsequently entered the United States at Miami on Virgin Atlantic Flight 5 from London-Gatwick, seated in 52H alongside Hamza al Ghamdi.[10](https://vault.fbi.gov/9-11%20Commission%20Report/9-11-fbi-report-2004-02%28feb%29/at_download/file) • [11](https://vault.fbi.gov/9-11%20Commission%20Report/9-11-chronology-part-01-of-02/) The Commission's notes record that Hamza al Ghamdi, Mohand al Shehri, and Ahmed al Nami arrived in Miami on May 28, 2001.[6](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.htm)
Before the attacks, Shehri took a first-class flight on a [Boeing 767](https://www.edgepedia.org/boeing-767), the same aircraft type he would help hijack, on a transcontinental trip that included a layover in Las Vegas. The Commission treated this travel as a possible casing flight but noted that, unlike the pilot hijackers who took such flights, Shehri was neither a pilot nor a plot leader.[7](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm)
## September 11
On the morning of September 11, 2001, at a terminal of Boston's Logan International Airport, Marwan al Shehhi checked in for United Airlines Flight 175 to Los Angeles, joined by [Fayez Banihammad](https://www.edgepedia.org/fayez-banihammad), Mohand al Shehri, Ahmed al Ghamdi, and Hamza al Ghamdi. None of the five had been selected by the CAPPS prescreening system. They boarded between 7:23 and 7:28 a.m., with Shehri in seat 2B and Banihammad in 2A beside him; the aircraft pushed back just before 8:00 a.m.[2](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm)
The flight was hijacked en route and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. Shehri, like all 19 hijackers, died in the attacks.[1](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report_App.htm) • [12](https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/911-investigation)
## References
1. [Appendix: Table of Names, The 9/11 Commission Report](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report_App.htm)
2. [Chapter 1, "We Have Some Planes," The 9/11 Commission Report](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm)
3. [Mohand al Shehri, Counter Extremism Project](https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/mohand-al-shehri)
4. [The 9/11 Commission Report (GPO edition, Chapter 7 excerpt)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-911REPORT/pdf/GPO-911REPORT-13.pdf)
5. [The 9/11 Commission Report (full PDF)](https://911commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf)
6. [Notes to The 9/11 Commission Report](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Notes.htm)
7. [Chapter 7, "The Attack Looms," The 9/11 Commission Report](https://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm)
8. [Mohand al-Shehri, World Biographical Encyclopedia (Prabook)](https://prabook.com/web/mohand.al-shehri/2084641)
9. [Chapter 7, The 9/11 Commission Report (UNT mirror)](https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch7.htm)
10. [9/11 FBI Report, February 2004, FBI Records Vault](https://vault.fbi.gov/9-11%20Commission%20Report/9-11-fbi-report-2004-02%28feb%29/at_download/file)
11. [9/11 Chronology Part 01 of 02, FBI Records Vault](https://vault.fbi.gov/9-11%20Commission%20Report/9-11-chronology-part-01-of-02/)
12. [9/11 Investigation, FBI History](https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/911-investigation)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Terrorists, bombers, and violent extremists (biographies)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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