The
September 11 attacks (often referred to as
nine-eleven, written 9/11) were a series of
coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the
United States on September 11, 2001. On that
morning, 19 Islamist terrorists affiliated with
al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet
airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two
of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World
Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on
board and many others working in the building. Both
buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying at
least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The
hijackers crashed a third airliner into the
Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near
Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania,
after some of its passengers and flight crew
attempted to retake control of the plane, which the
hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C.
There are no survivors from any of the flights.
Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the
attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead.
The overwhelming majority of casualties were
civilians, including nationals of over 90 different
countries. In addition, the death of at least one
person from lung disease was ruled by a medical
examiner to be a result of exposure to dust from the
World Trade Center's collapse.
The United States responded to the attacks by
launching a War on Terrorism, invading Afghanistan
to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda
terrorists, and enacting the USA PATRIOT Act. Many
other states also strengthened their anti-terrorism
legislation and expanded law enforcement powers.
Some American stock exchanges stayed closed for the
rest of the week, and posted enormous losses upon
reopening, especially in the airline and insurance
industries. The economy of Lower Manhattan ground to
a halt, as billions of dollars in office space was
damaged or destroyed.
The damage to the Pentagon was cleared and repaired
within a year, and the Pentagon Memorial was built
on the site. Rebuilding the World Trade Center site
has proven more difficult, with controversy over
possible designs as well as the pace of
construction. Construction delays, revised cost
estimates, security concerns, and public criticism
have all led to changes and delays to the final
plans in rebuilding the complex to this day.
Photos of the terrible attack (some never before seen) are available by clicking below. Be cautioned that some of the pictures are extremely graphic and may be upsetting to you.