On This Day In History: Terrorist Attacks On World Trade Center And Pentagon – On Sep 11, 2001

AncientPages.com - On September 11, 2001, the hijackers abducted four planes and simultaneously attacked multiple targets in the United States.

A series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, including firefighters and police officers, and injured over 6,000 others.

 Left: The north face of Two World Trade Center (South Tower) immediately after being struck by United Airlines Flight 175 Robert - CC BY-SA 2.0; Right: Rebuilt One World Trade Center nearing completion in July 2013. Image credit: Joe Mabel - CC BY-SA 2.0

Left: The north face of Two World Trade Center (South Tower) immediately after being struck by United Airlines Flight 175: Image credit: Robert - CC BY-SA 2.0; Right: Rebuilt One World Trade Center nearing completion in July 2013. Image credit: Joe Mabel - CC BY-SA 2.0

The victims were citizens of 77 countries.

Four passenger airliners operated by two major U.S. passenger air carriers (United Airlines and American Airlines)—all of which departed from airports in the northeastern United States bound for California—were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists.

Two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City.

Within an hour and 42 minutes, both 110-story towers collapsed. Debris and the resulting fires caused a partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the World Trade Center complex, including the 47-story 7 World Trade Center tower, and significant damage to ten other large surrounding structures.

A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia, leading to a partial collapse of the building's western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was initially steered toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers.

It was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the United States, with 343 and 72 killed, respectively.

Suspicion for the attack quickly fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, which had harbored al-Qaeda. Many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks.

Although al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied involvement in 2004, he claimed responsibility for the attacks. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U.S. military in May 2011.

The cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a year. On November 18, 2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The official opening of the building took place opened on November 3, 2014.

Numerous memorials have been constructed, including the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

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