1998 Embassy Bombings

The 1998 Embassy Bombings were a series of terrorist attacks orchestrated by Al Qaeda under the command of Osama Bin Laden. The attacks were created by planting car bombs in specific locations and took the lives of over 200 people while injuring approximately 4000. Although the majority of casualties were civilians, 12 Americans were killed in the attack. The bombings took place in Tanzania and Kenya almost simultaneously. More specifically, they occurred at the United States Embassies and were targeted at United States embassy members. The reason why those places were targeted specifically was because Al Qaeda wanted to take revenge on the United States for the alleged torture of four members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. As a response to the attack, President Bill Clinton ordered the launch of a series of cruise missiles strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan. The Embassy Bombings foreshadowed the increased threat that Al Qaeda posed to the United States and how there would certainly be conflicts in the future.
Below is one of the collapsed buildings caused by the detonation of one of the bombs.