September 11 Attacks — 24 Years Ago
Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes, killing nearly 3,000 people in the USA
September 11, 2001
The Morning Everything Changed
On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in the United States. Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; one hit the Pentagon near Washington D.C.; and the fourth — United 93 — crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers. The Twin Towers collapsed within two hours. Nearly 3,000 people died, from 90 different countries.
The Hours That Followed
US airspace was shut down for the first time in history. Fighter jets were scrambled with orders to shoot down any further hijacked aircraft. President George W. Bush was evacuated to Air Force One and kept airborne for hours. Stock markets closed for six days. Around the world, clocks froze as people gathered around televisions. The attacks were live-streamed to a global audience watching in real time across every time zone.
The World After
The September 11 attacks triggered the invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraq War, reshaped global intelligence and security services, created the Department of Homeland Security, and changed air travel permanently. The phrase "9/11" entered every language as shorthand for catastrophic terrorist attack. Two decades on, the reverberations in geopolitics, civil liberties, and international relations continue to be felt worldwide.