This Day in History:, 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
September 11, 2001.
Masterminded by Saudi national Osama bin Laden,
four American airplanes were hijacked by
19 members of the terrorist group, al Qaeda. .
The terrorists flew two of the planes
into the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center in New York City. .
Hours later,
a deeply shocked nation watched the
collapse of the Twin Towers live on national television. .
A third plane was flown into the
west side of the
Pentagon military headquarters. .
Passengers on the fourth plane,
United Flight 93, overtook the terrorists.
The plane crashed into a Shanksville, PA, field
rather than its unknown target. .
Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks,
the most significant in American history. .
Nearly 10,000 people who were exposed
to the debris of the fallen towers have been
diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer. .
The economic toll of the attacks
has approached $1 trillion. .
In response to 9/11,
the Department of Homeland Security
was created. .
On the ten-year anniversary of the attack,
the World Trade Center memorial
"Reflecting Absence" was opened to the public
