Ex-San Diegan Suspected As Terrorists' Advance Man

by Kelly Thornton
The San Diego Union-Tribune
October 25, 2001

Omar Al-Bayoumi was prominent in San Diego's Muslim community, socializing almost exclusively with fellow Saudi nationals at mosques in Clairemont, La Mesa and El Cajon.

So it seemed natural for the graduate student to have a party in early 2000 at a Clairemont apartment to introduce two newcomers -- Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid al-Midhar -- into his large circle of friends.

At the mixer, Al-Bayoumi welcomed the men who would later hijack a jet and crash it into the Pentagon. As he often did at social functions, he videotaped his guests. "It was a big deal," said someone familiar with the party, who did not want his name associated with the event. "It meant that everyone accepted them without question. (Al-Bayoumi) knew everyone. He interacted with all the mosques. He was widely accepted in the local community, and if he vouched for some people, they would be accepted."

Al-Bayoumi, 44, lived in various Clairemont apartments with his wife and four children -- including the same complex as the hijackers -- before moving to England several months ago. He has become an important figure in the massive terror probe.

According to British press reports, Al-Bayoumi has strongly denied any connection to the hijackers and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Nonetheless, authorities are investigating whether he arrived in San Diego as early as 1996 as the advance man, sent to make plans for the hijackers and prepare for the mission, according to FBI and community sources familiar with the investigation.

Authorities say Al-Bayoumi aided the San Diego-linked terrorists financially by renting and paying for a unit in the Parkwood Apartments for Alhazmi and al-Midhar, neighbors said.

Though Al-Bayoumi had no job, he had an office at the Al-Madina Al-Munawara mosque on Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon, said sources in the Muslim community familiar with Al-Bayoumi. They asked to remain anonymous for fear of being associated with terrorists.

About a month ago, FBI agents searched what was once Al-Bayoumi's office at the mosque -- a rare occurrence at a house of worship -- looking for evidence linking him to the hijackers, the sources said. They left with "a lot of stuff," said a source.

A spokesman at the mosque declined to comment, saying the FBI asked him not to discuss the matter.

An FBI spokesman could not be reached last night. In the past, the agency has declined to comment on details of the investigation.

Members of the Islamic community said Al-Bayoumi was a prominent figure at the El Cajon mosque. "He had an office over there, he was always over there," said a San Diego Muslim leader who asked not to be identified for fear of being associated with terrorists.

Al-Bayoumi moved from the Parkwood complex to Birmingham, England, but the timing is sketchy. Neighbors at the Parkwood Apartments said Al-Bayoumi left for England before his wife, Manal Ahmed Bagader, and their children.

Press reports in England indicated Al-Bayoumi arrived there a year ago, living in student housing for six months and then renting a home about the time his family joined him.

Al-Bayoumi -- also known as Abu Imard -- was studying for a doctorate at Aston University in Birmingham, England, when he was arrested at gunpoint Sept. 22 under Britain's Terrorism Act of 2000, which allows terror suspects to be held up to a week without being charged, according to Sunday Mercury, a Birmingham newspaper. That city has Britain's second-biggest Muslim population.

Police searched Al-Bayoumi's home, yards from Birmingham's Central Mosque, and removed floorboards and dug up his garden with pickaxes and shovels, looking for evidence. Anti-terrorist cops took away bags of possessions and a silver BMW car, the newspaper said.

Al-Bayoumi was released after a week in custody without being charged with a crime. During that time, Al-Bayoumi reportedly denied any ties to hijackers. He has not returned to his residence in Birmingham and it is not clear whether authorities know his whereabouts. FBI sources said he is still under investigation.

In its Oct. 19 edition, The Times of London reported that British intelligence officials are frustrated with FBI counterparts for failing to produce information that would have enabled them to hold a man who was not identified but is believed to be Al-Bayoumi.

The paper reported that British authorities are coming to San Diego for a meeting with senior FBI officials about three men alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's lieutenants who were based in Britain.

The Times referred to a man matching Al-Bayoumi's description as a "major figure suspected of involvement in planning the suicide hijacks in America."

The other two men were identified as Lotfi Raisi, 27, an Algerian pilot arrested Sept. 21 near Heathrow, who is suspected of instructing four hijackers, including at least one with San Diego ties who crashed into the Pentagon and Zacarias Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French-Moroccan being held in New York.

Moussaoui, thought to be the 20th hijacker, lived in Brixton, South London, until February, when he traveled to the United States to take flying lessons. But he was arrested before the Sept. 11 attacks, after flight instructors became suspicious that he demanded to learn only how to turn and not how to take off and land.

Al-Bayoumi's name appears on an FBI list of people with connections to the hijackers. The broad list includes suspects, material witnesses, people who were acquainted with the hijackers but are not considered suspects and the hijackers themselves. Al-Bayoumi's wife is also on the list.

Al-Bayoumi applied in 1998 for a doctoral program at Case Western Reserve University's school of executive management, said Tom Shrout, a spokesman for the Cleveland university. Newsweek magazine reported in this week's edition that Al-Bayoumi identified himself on his application as "assistant to the director of finance" at Dallah AVCO, an aviation services company based in Saudi Arabia.

The FBI is investigating possible links between Dallah AVCO and al-Qaeda, though the company's owner, Saudi billionaire Saleh Abdullah Kamel, denied any connection, Newsweek said.

In San Diego, Al-Bayoumi was known as a friendly man, even a "social butterfly," who would videotape parties. Some people speculated that his behavior meant he was a spy for the Saudi government. But rumors only added to his intrigue, and his social functions were not to be missed.

He told some people he attended San Diego State University, but a spokesman found no one with either of Al-Bayoumi's names ever registered there. Al-Bayoumi told people that he did not work and that he received a stipend from Saudi Arabia so that he could study.

On a rental application for an apartment on Beadnell Way in Clairemont, where Al-Bayoumi lived from 1996 until August 2000, he wrote that he was a student who received $2,800 monthly income from family in India. A manager verified his bank account information and found a $12,800 balance. He indicated he was in the United States on a student visa.

However, several people acquainted with Al-Bayoumi said he was a Saudi national. He was often seen with Saudi students.

Copyright 2001 The San Diego Union-Tribune

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of criminal justice, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.