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On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial jetliners and turned them toward targets chosen for destruction, killing thousands. Two of the planes struck and brought down the towers of the World Trade Center. A third plane hit the Pentagon, headquarters of the United States military. Passengers on the fourth airliner fought back against the hijackers, who apparently intended to hit another target in Washington, D.C. This airplane crashed in rural Pennsylvania.
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A fireball erupts from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 |
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The 19 men who carried out the hijackings were affiliated with the al-Qaeda network, a radical Islamic group led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden and dedicated to waging a holy war against the United States. The targets they chose to destroy symbolized U.S. financial, political, and military power. Years in the planning, the attacks constituted the first major foreign assault on the continental United States since 1814, when the British army invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the White House. More people were killed on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001, than on any day since the American Civil War.
The government responded to the attacks by focusing its attention on enhancing national security and soon embarked on a "war on terror" directed against al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. This special guide offers several perspectives on September 11, including views of the attacks themselves, the aftermath, and the recovery from 9/11.
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The "Tribute in Light" memorial marks the 6-month anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
