September 11, 2021 marked the 20th anniversary of the attack on World Trade center towers in New York, which is also known as “9/11 attack”.
Key Points
- This incident had sent shockwaves across the world 20 years ago.
- It showed the ugly head of terror aided and abetted by Al Qaeda, in the name of radical Islam.
History of 9/11
- On this day in 2001, AL Qaeda terrorists had hijacked four aircrafts in United States with a sinister design.
- Two aircrafts crashed into the World Trade Center towers, New York while one aircraft crashed into Pentagon outside Washington.
- Fourth aircraft crashed into rural Pennsylvania because passengers tried to take back the control from hijackers.
- In the incident, about 2977 people were killed, raising the spectre of terrorism.
- Most of the dead passengers were American nationals but citizens of about 100 countries lost their lives as well.
- Mastermind of these attacks was the founder of terror outfit Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden.
Who trained these hijackers?
Most of these hijackers were of Saudi origin. They were trained in Afghanistan. Four of them received training at flight training schools in United States.
Operation Enduring Freedom
Following the incident, US troops were sent to Afghanistan under the Operation Enduring Freedom. This operation led to ouster of the then regime in Kabul. Terrorists were hunted down while Osama Bin Laden was killed on 2nd May 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Destruction of the World Trade Center
Destruction of World Trade Center and nearby infrastructure harmed the economy of New York City and resulted in a global economic recession. Clean-up of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002 while the Pentagon was repaired within a year. Construction of the World Trade Center complex’s replacement started in November 2006 and was opened in November 2014 again.