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On September 11th,2001, the Islamist terrorists from al-Queda attacked the United States of America. The 9/11 attacks are one of the most impactful events of the ongoing 21st century.
Tuesday, September 11th, was a clear, sunny day. But, in the morning hours, a total of 19 terrorists planned to change that. The group hijacked four civilian airplanes. All of which took off at the east coast of the USA.
Three years before the attack, the leader of al-Queda, Osama bin Laden, called for a Holy war with America. They stated various American sins. For example, it was the support of Israel, oppression of Muslims, or sanctions against Iraq. But, without a doubt, further motives were a religion.
The decision to strike came then, in the fall of the 20th century. In the following years, the terrorist group planned the attack. Sadly, they decided to attack civilian targets.
WTC in flames on 9/11
Michael Foran, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
September 11th attacks
At 8:46 AM, the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC). Immediately, chaos broke out in the streets of Manhattan, New York. However, at the time, nobody knew what happened. That changed 17 minutes later. At 9:03 AM, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower of WTC. By that time, the whole world knew that the USA was under attack.
The authorities took action right away. The airspace was closed as well as the access routes in and out of Manhattan. The only possibility for evacuation was by water. Another 34 minutes later, at 9:37 AM, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia.
The final plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was bound for Washington D.C. The passengers found out about the attacks and retook control of the airplane. However, it was too late, and the plane struck the ground.
At 9:59 AM, the South Tower of WTC collapsed to the ground. Likewise, 29 minutes later did the North Tower. A few minutes after 10 AM, a part of the Pentagon went to the crumbled. Lastly, the WTC7 building fell in the evening hours. The September 11th terrorist attacks resulted in 2996 casualties, including the 19 hijackers.
The world changed that day. Security, economics, aviation, health, and the general view of the world and everyday life shifted. As a consequence, the USA and NATO started a war on terror. Osama bin Laden was captured and killed in 2011 by the US military.