WASHINGTON – United States is remembering nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, a tragedy that reshaped global politics, security, and daily life.
On that morning 24 years ago, four passenger planes were hijacked and turned into weapons. Two planes struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, bringing down the 110-story skyscrapers in less than two hours. A third hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US military, while the fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers resisted the attackers. Investigators believe it was intended for the Capitol.
The coordinated strikes killed 2,977 people, including 246 aboard the four flights, 2,606 in New York, and 125 at the Pentagon. Victims ranged from a two-year-old child to an 82-year-old man, and came from 77 different nations. Among the dead were 441 New York City first responders.
The attacks were orchestrated by the extremist group al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden and planned by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who remains at Guantanamo Bay facing a long-delayed trial. Bin Laden himself was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011.
In response to 9/11, US launched war in Afghanistan, heightened security at home, and created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). U.S. forces finally withdrew from Afghanistan in 2022, raising concerns about a possible resurgence of al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
Today, the former World Trade Center site is home to a memorial, museum, and the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center, also called the Freedom Tower. The Pentagon was rebuilt within a year of the attack, and staff had returned by August 2002.
Ceremonies on Thursday will feature moments of silence, the reading of victims’ names, and the traditional “Tribute in Light” shining into the night sky above Manhattan.
