The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon changed the world.
On September 11, 2001, passenger planes hijacked by Al Qaeda members crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, and a third plane crashed into the Pentagon.
The attacks organized by Al Qaeda became a turning point in US domestic and foreign policy.
After the World Trade Center collapsed, the US organized a large-scale manhunt to find the leader of Al Qaeda - Osama bin Laden. They offered $25 million, then $50 million as a reward for any information leading to his capture.
It all started that morning when 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked 4 passenger planes. The hijackers deliberately crashed 2 of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, bringing the towers to their knees in less than 2 hours.
The terrorists crashed the third plane into the Pentagon - the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in an open field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after passengers resisted before the plane reached its destination in Washington. According to official statistics, the number of people killed in the attacks is 2,974 people, not including the 19 terrorists. None of the passengers on the hijacked planes survived. The majority of the victims were civilians from 90 countries. Police officers, firefighters, and other emergency workers also died.
The attacks are one of the most large-scale and tragic events of the 21st century, which strongly affected not only the United States, but the entire world in political, psychological, and economic aspects. Suspicion quickly fell on Al-Qaeda, and in 2004, the group's leader Osama bin Laden, who initially denied any involvement, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
As motives for the attacks, Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden cited American support for Israel, the presence of American military forces in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq. In response to the attacks, the United States launched a war on terrorism and invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, who were harboring Al-Qaeda. Many countries around the world tightened security measures and introduced anti-terrorism legislation. In May 2011, Bin Laden was found and killed.
Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein was overthrown in Iraq. The West removed Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Syria is torn apart by civil war.
The unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has caused Europe to be flooded with a wave of refugees. The old continent has also experienced a series of terrorist attacks that have rocked key cities such as Madrid, London, Paris, Brussels and others.