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{{short description|Possible additional terrorist in the September 11 attacks of 2001}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2009}}

The '''20th hijacker''' is a possible additional [[Terrorism|terrorist]] in the [[September 11 attacks]] of 2001 who, for unknown reasons, was unable to participate. The 20th hijacker, though not present during the actual attacks, is said to have been deeply involved in the preparations.<ref name=cnn/> There were many variations of the 9/11 plot, with the number of terrorists fluctuating with available resources and changing circumstances. In the end, there were [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|19 hijackers]]: three of the planes were taken over by five members each and the fourth was hijacked by four people. The latter plane, [[United Airlines Flight 93]], crashed into a field near [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]], due to the resistance from passengers before it could reach its target in [[Washington, D.C.]]

==Suspects==
*[[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] allegedly meant to take part in the attacks and may have been the intended hijacker-pilot of [[American Airlines Flight 77]], but he was repeatedly denied a [[visa (document)|visa]] for entry into the US.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news| last =Smith| first =Elliot Blair| title =U.S. blood 'all over his hands'| publisher =USA Today| url =https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-15-1acover_x.htm| access-date =February 13, 2007| date =September 17, 2002| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120714013129/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-09-15-1acover_x.htm| archive-date =July 14, 2012| url-status =live}}</ref> His role as one of the four hijacker-pilots preceded [[Hani Hanjour]].

*[[Zacarias Moussaoui]], a [[France|French]] citizen of [[Morocco|Moroccan]] origin, has widely been referred to as the 20th hijacker. Moussaoui may have been considered as a replacement for [[Ziad Jarrah]], who at one point threatened to withdraw from the scheme because of tensions amongst the plotters. Plans to include Moussaoui as a "muscle hijacker" were never finalized, as the al-Qaeda hierarchy had doubts about his reliability. Ultimately, Moussaoui did not play a role in the hijacking scheme. He was arrested about four weeks before the attacks.<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|work=[[CNN]]|title=New allegations of Saudi involvement in 9/11|date=4 February 2015|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/03/politics/9-11-attacks-saudi-arabia-involvement/|access-date=23 April 2015|first=Jim|last=Sciutto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301223542/https://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/03/politics/9-11-attacks-saudi-arabia-involvement/|archive-date=March 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>  Moussaoui is now serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. He pleaded guilty in 2005 to collaborating with the other hijackers.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12615601 Moussaoui formally sentenced, still defiant.] NBC News (May 4, 2006).</ref>

*[[Mohammed al-Qahtani]], a [[Saudi Arabia]]n citizen, is often referred to as the 20th hijacker. It's believed that he was sent to the U.S. to replace Moussaoui's role in the attacks as a "muscle hijacker" after Moussaoui's arrest. [[José Meléndez-Pérez]], a [[Immigration and Naturalization Service|U.S. Immigration]] inspector at [[Orlando International Airport]], refused his entry into the U.S. in August 2001. He was later captured in [[Afghanistan]] and imprisoned at the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] prison known as [[Camp X-Ray]] at [[Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp|Guantanamo Bay]], [[Cuba]].<ref name="qahtani">{{cite news| last =Shenon| first =Philip| title =Panel Says a Deported Saudi Was Likely '20th' Hijacker| work =The New York Times| url =https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/27/politics/27TERR.html?ex=1390539600&en=b8103e74d803a2df&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND| access-date =23 April 2015| date =January 27, 2004| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20151022202108/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/27/politics/27TERR.html?ex=1390539600&en=b8103e74d803a2df&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND| archive-date =October 22, 2015| url-status =live}}</ref>  In January 2009, [[Susan J. Crawford]] asserted that Qahtani's interrogation at [[Camp X-Ray]] amounted to torture.

*[[Fawaz al-Nashimi]]. According to the [[BBC]], al-Nashimi claimed to have been the "20th hijacker".   An al-Qaeda video has been released from a US intelligence organization, showing al-Nashimi justifying attacks on the west. The U.S dismissed al-Nashimi's claims as propaganda.<ref name = "BBC">{{cite news| title='Al-Qaeda video' of 20th hijacker| date=June 21, 2006| publisher=BBC| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5101954.stm| access-date=June 21, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820000611/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5101954.stm| archive-date=August 20, 2006| url-status=live}}</ref> He was also known as Turki bin Fuheid al-Muteiry and took part in a [[2004 Khobar massacre|May 29, 2004, attack]] on oil facilities in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. He was killed in a June 2004 shootout with Saudi Arabian security forces.<ref name = "Associated Press">{{cite news| first=Katherine| last=Shrader| title=al-Qaida Video Shows Alleged 20th Hijacker| date=June 21, 2006| publisher=Associated Press| url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?id=2101264| access-date=June 23, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629093912/https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?id=2101264| archive-date=June 29, 2011| url-status=live}}</ref>

*Saeed al-Ghamdi (same name, but a different person than [[Saeed al-Ghamdi|the hijacker who participated in the hijacking of Flight 93]])<ref name="Keen Commission Report">{{cite book|last=Kean|first=Thomas|url=http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/05aug20041050/www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/fullreport.pdf|title=Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=July 22, 2004|publisher=US Government Printing Office|isbn=0-16-072304-3|pages=237|display-authors=etal|author-link=Thomas Kean|access-date=October 5, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831204842/http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/05aug20041050/www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/fullreport.pdf|archive-date=August 31, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

*[[Tawfiq bin Attash]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*[[Ali Abdul Aziz Ali (Guantanamo captive 10018)|Ali Abdul Aziz Ali]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*[[Mushabib al-Hamlan]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*[[Abderraouf Jdey]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*[[Zakariya Essabar]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*[[Khalid Saeed Ahmad al-Zahrani]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*[[Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi]]<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*Saeed al-Baluchi<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

*Qutaybah al-Najdi<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

* Zuhair al-Thubaiti<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

* Saud al-Rashi<ref name="Keen Commission Report"/>

In addition, [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], the attack's alleged mastermind, had wanted to remove [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] from the operation, but he was overruled by [[Osama bin Laden]].<ref name="Keen Commission Report" />

==In popular culture==
The Saudi Arabian novelist [[Abdullah Thabit]] wrote a 2006 novel titled ''Terrorist Number 20'' that became a bestseller. The book recalls his teenage years as a religious extremist and was inspired in part by [[Ahmed al-Nami]], one of the 9/11 hijackers and a fellow resident of [[Abha]] who was vaguely familiar to Thabit. In April 2006, three months after the release of the book, Thabit was forced to move from Abha to [[Jeddah]] with his family after receiving death threats.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Abdullah Thabit in Washington Post - R A Y A - agency for Arabic literature|url=http://www.rayaagency.org/2010/09/interview-with-abdullah-thabit-in-washington-post/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714023950/http://www.rayaagency.org/2010/09/interview-with-abdullah-thabit-in-washington-post/|archive-date=July 14, 2018|access-date=January 9, 2012|work=rayaagency.org|date=September 30, 2010 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[USS Cole bombing#Alleged mastermind|USS ''Cole'' bombing mastermind]] {{ndash}} Multiple individuals were alleged to be the mastermind of the [[USS Cole bombing|USS ''Cole'' bombing]].

==References==
<references />

{{9-11 hijackers}}
{{Sept11}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:20th Hijacker}}
[[Category:September 11 attacks]]