An Overview On The September 11 Attacks

The September 11 Attacks (more commonly known as 9/11) marked the start of the war between the United States and Al Qaeda. On its own, 9/11 is the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history and is responsible for the death of almost 3,000 civilians along with approximately 6,000 injured. Furthermore, it was the greatest incident for police officers and firemen, with 343 and 72 killed respectively.

The attacks involved the coordinated hijacking of 4 planes by 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists. The first plane (United Airlines Flight 93) crashed in a field in Pensylvania and the second plane (American Airlines Flight 77) crashed in the Pentagon in Virginia. The two crashes caused 189 and 44 deaths respectively. The other two planes (American Airlines Flight 11 & United Airlines Flight 175) crashed in the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. These two planes caused the most devastating aftermath because the crash lead to the collapse of both towers, which resulted in the death of 2,606 people.

The attack was almost immediately blamed on Al Qaeda and later lead to the US launching what is known as "The War on Terror" against Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden initially denied the accusations but later admitted in 2004 that he was responsible for the attack. The attack has also expanded the power of law enforcement and intel agencies to prevent terrorist attacks.