From Wikipedia:
Theย September 11 attacks, often referred to asย 9/11,ย were a series of four coordinatedย terrorist attacksย by the militant Islamist terrorist groupย al-Qaeda against theย United States of Americaย on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
On that morning, four commercialย airlinersย traveling from theย northeastern United Statesย toย Californiaย wereย hijackedย mid-flight byย 19 al-Qaeda terrorists. The hijackers were organized into three groups of five hijackers and one group of four. Each group had one hijacker who had receivedย flight trainingย and took over control of the aircraft. Their explicit goal was to crash each plane into a prominent American building, causingย mass casualtiesย and partial or complete destruction of the targeted buildings.
Above Copyright Photo: American Airlines Boeing 767-223 ER N334AA (msn 22332) IAD (Rob Rindt Collection). Image: 955280.
The first plane to hit its target was American Airlines Flight 11 (N334AA) (above). It was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan at 8:46 am. Seventeen minutes later at 9:03 am, the World Trade Center’s South Tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 (N612UA).
Above Copyright Photo: Delivery livery of United’s N612UA which operated the ill-fated flight UA175 that crashed into the South Tower. United Airlines Boeing 767-222 N612UA (msn 21873) LGB (Tim Williams – Bruce Drum Collection). Image: 954969.
Above Copyright Photo: United Airlines Boeing 767-222 N612UA (msn 21873) JFK (Michael F. McLaughlin – Rob Rindt Collection). Image: 955268.
Both 110-story towersย collapsedย within an hour and forty-two minutes, leading to the collapse of the other World Trade Center structures includingย 7 World Trade Center, and significantly damaging surrounding buildings.
A third flight, American Airlines Flight 77 (N644AA), flown from Dulles International Airport, was hijacked over Ohio. At 9:37 am, it crashed into the west side of the Pentagon (the headquarters of the American military) in Arlington County, Virginia, causing a partial collapse of the building’s side.
The fourth, and final flight, United Airlines Flight 93 (N591UA), was flown in the direction of Washington, D.C. The plane’s passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft away from the hijackers and ultimately diverted the flight from its intended target; it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 am. Investigators determined that Flight 93’s target was either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, suspicion quickly fell onto al-Qaeda. The United States formally responded by launching theย War on Terrorย andย invading Afghanistanย to depose theย Taliban, which had not complied with U.S. demands to expel al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and extradite al-Qaeda leaderย Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden escaped to theย White Mountainsย where he cameย under attackย by U.S.-led forces, but managed to breakout. Although bin Laden initially denied any involvement, in 2004 he formally claimedย responsibility for the attacks. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden citedย U.S. support of Israel, the presence ofย U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, andย sanctions against Iraqย asย motives. After evading capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located in a hideout inย Abbottabad,ย Pakistanย and subsequentlyย killed during Operation Neptune Spear.
The destruction of theย World Trade Centerย and nearby infrastructure seriously harmed the economy of New York City and created a globalย economic recession. Many countries strengthened theirย anti-terrorism legislationย and expanded the powers ofย law enforcementย andย intelligence agenciesย to prevent terrorist attacks. The U.S. and Canadian civilian airspaces were closed until September 13, whileย Wall Streetย trading was closed until September 17. Manyย closings, evacuations, and cancellationsย followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of theย World Trade Center siteย was completed in May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a year. Theย constructionย of the World Trade Center complex’s replacement began in November 2006, andย the buildingย opened in November 2014.
RIP 2,977 Brave Souls
The attacksย resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences, in addition to at least $10ย billion in infrastructure and property damage. It remains theย deadliest terrorist attack in human historyย and theย single deadliest incident for firefightersย andย law enforcement officersย in the history of the United States, with 340 and 72 killed, respectively.
Numerous memorialsย have been constructed, including theย National September 11 Memorial & Museumย in New York City, theย Pentagon Memorialย in Arlington County, Virginia, and theย Flight 93 National Memorialย at the Pennsylvania crash site.
Visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum:
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