9/11

Summary

On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists affiliated with the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes in a coordinated attack against the United States. Two planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York City, causing both to collapse; one hit the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.; and the fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. Nearly 3,000 people from over 90 countries died in the attacks, making it the deadliest terrorist incident in world history. The attacks fundamentally transformed American foreign policy, domestic security practices, and the global conversation about terrorism for decades to come.