Hamburg cell

The Hamburg cell (German: Hamburger Zelle; Arabic: خلية هامبورغ, Khaliyyat Hāmbūrġ) was a network of Islamist extremist activists based in Hamburg, Germany, during the second half of the 1990s. Its members had come to Hamburg to pursue higher education in engineering or related fields. This cell played a central role in the operational planning of the September 11 attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States. Three of the pilots of the four hijacked planes involved in these coordinated attacks—Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Ziad Jarrah—were members of this cell. Their source of motivation was their belief that they would be recognized as martyrs after their deaths.

In 1999, the cell left Hamburg to join the Chechenjihadists fighting Russia in the Second Chechen War, but redirected to Afghanistan to meet al-Qaeda's leadership. They then worked on the hijacking plan at a Hamburg apartment owned by the cell's ringleader, Mohamed Atta. Twelve men were members: Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Ziad Jarrah—who died as the hijacker-pilots of American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, and United Airlines Flight 93, respectively—plus Abdelghani Mzoudi, Ahmed Taleb, Mamoun Darkazanli, Mohammed Haydar Zammar, Mounir el-Motassadeq, Naamen Meziche, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Said Bahaji, and Zakariya Essabar.

As the cell dissolved and 9/11 was carried out, four members disappeared in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while the others were captured or arrested in various countries. Most were imprisoned, while Mzoudi was acquitted, and bin al-Shibh and Darkazanli never faced full trials. The U.S. accused Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian businessman, of helping the cell visit al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He was arrested, sent to the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and tortured by camp officials. After 14 years, he was freed when a court found him to be innocent. Bin al-Shibh, held at Guantanamo for 19 years, was also tortured there.