Editing Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta

{{Short description|American militant}}
'''Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta''' ({{langx|ar|محمود محمود عطى }}) (born 1954) is an [[United States|American]]<ref>International Law Reports, Volume 104, By Elihu Lauterpacht, C. J. Greenwood, A. G. Oppenheimer, p.54</ref> and alleged militant from the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] who was suspected to be responsible for bombing a bus in 1986,<ref>The Terrorist List by Edward F. Mickolus, Susan L. Simmons, p. 24</ref> on the [[West Bank]], killing one and severely injuring three.

==Biography==
A naturalized [[United States|US]] citizen, Mahmoud Atta arrived at [[Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela)|Simon Bolivar Airport]], Venezuela's main international airport in June 1987. He was coming from [[Mexico]], and was monitored by the DISIP Venezuelan Counterintelligence Service. Mahmoud Atta was responsible for [[Abu Nidal Organisation|Abu Nidal]] clandestine terrorist operations in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]] countries. From the airport, Atta took a taxi to the city of [[Valencia, Carabobo|Valencia]], State of Carabobo, Venezuela, where he had high level Abu Nidal officials contacts.

After seven days of surveillance and monitoring his calls, the apartment was raided by the DISIP commandos unit, and Atta was arrested, and transferred to Caracas, Venezuela. With all the information collected by the surveillance, Atta was interrogated by the Venezuelan DISIP Counterintelligence Department. 
Venezuelan Counterintelligence officials found a false bottom in his suitcase, finding two false US passports, and letters hand-written by Atta. Addresses, telephone numbers, names, and countries of the Abu Nidal Terrorist Organization were found in the false bottom of his suitcase. Atta was deported by the government of Venezuela to the U.S. and arrested by the FBI. 
After that, Atta was extradited to Israel in 1990, tried and sentenced to [[life in prison]].<ref>Jerusalem Post: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001002751/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/89293132.html?dids=89293132:89293132&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+8,+2001&author=ARIEH+O%27SULLIVAN&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=03&desc=Internet+rumors+aside,+WTC+attacker+not+held+by+Israel Internet rumors aside, WTC attacker not held by Israel], November 8, 2001</ref>

==Disappearance==
Following the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States, it was initially thought that Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta was one of the hijackers on board the first plane to hit the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]].<ref name="ADL2001">Anti-Defamation League: [http://www.adl.org/rumors/atta%5Frumors.asp A Case of Mistaken Identity: Mohammad Atta Not Linked to Bus Bombing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917063644/http://www.adl.org/rumors/atta_rumors.asp |date=2008-09-17 }}, 2001</ref> This led to the harsh questioning of US immigration authorities and the intelligence community, because it was felt that they had failed to stop a known terrorist from entering the country under his true name. However, his identity was confused with the Egyptian militant leader [[Mohamed Atta]] who was actually on board the flight.<ref name="ADL2001"/>

Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta's current whereabouts are unknown.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Shocking Twist: Mahmoud's Location Unknown Amid ICE Confusion! |url=https://countylocalnews.com/2025/03/10/shocking-twist-mahmouds-location-unknown-amid-ice-confusion/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=countylocalnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: 1990–present|List of people who disappeared]]

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atta, Mahmoud Mahmoud}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:2000s missing person cases]]
[[Category:American people imprisoned abroad]]
[[Category:Missing people]]
[[Category:Missing person cases in the United States]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:People deported from Venezuela]]
[[Category:People extradited from the United States]]
[[Category:People extradited to Israel]]