also facilitated some of the operation's financing.
States in Orlando or Miami, Florida; Washington, D.C.; or New York. Those
arriving in Florida were assisted by Atta and Shehhi, while Hazmi and Han-
jour took care of the rest. By the end of June, 14 of the 15 muscle hijackers
had crossed the Atlantic.
Seven muscle hijackers are known to have purchased a total of nearly $50,000
in traveler's checks that were used in the United States. Moreover, substantial
deposits into operatives' U.S. bank accounts immediately followed the entry of
other muscle hijackers, indicating that those newcomers brought money with
them as well. In addition, muscle hijacker Banihammad came to the United
States after opening bank accounts in the UAE into which were deposited the
equivalent of approximately $30,000 on June 25, 2001.After his June 27 arrival
in the United States, Banihammad made Visa and ATM withdrawals from his
UAE accounts.
the hijackers opened accounts in their own name, and used passports and other
identification documents that appeared valid on their face. Contrary to numer-
ous published reports, there is no evidence the hijackers ever used false Social
Security numbers to open any bank accounts. While the hijackers were not
experts on the use of the U.S. financial system, nothing they did would have
led the banks to suspect criminal behavior, let alone a terrorist plot to commit
mass murder.
family in Yemen. Mihdhar reportedly stayed in Yemen for about a month before
Khallad persuaded him to return to Afghanistan. Mihdhar complained about
life in the United States. He met with KSM, who remained annoyed at his deci-
sion to go AWOL. But KSM's desire to drop him from the operation yielded
to Bin Ladin's insistence to keep him.
In June 2001, Mihdhar returned once more to Mecca to stay with his cousin
for another month. Mihdhar said that Bin Ladin was planning five attacks on
the United States. Before leaving, Mihdhar asked his cousin to watch over his
home and family because of a job he had to do.