The deadliest terrorist attack in history, killing 2,977 people and triggering a decades-long global war on terror.
Key Facts
- Total killed
- 2,977 people
- Hijackers
- 19 terrorists
- Aircraft hijacked
- 4 airliners
- Infrastructure damage
- at least 10 billion USD
- Firefighters killed
- 343 personnel
- Bin Laden killed
- May 2011, Abbottabad, Pakistan
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, organized the attacks citing grievances including U.S. support of Israel, American military bases in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq. Nineteen operatives received training and planning support to hijack commercial airliners as weapons.
On September 11, 2001, hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Virginia, and a fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers revolted. Both towers collapsed within hours, destroying the entire complex.
The U.S. launched a global war on terror, invading Afghanistan and later Iraq. NATO invoked Article 5 for the only time in its history. Bin Laden was killed in 2011. Governments worldwide expanded anti-terrorism laws, and the Costs of War Project estimates total deaths from ensuing conflicts exceeded 4.5 million.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Osama bin Laden, Mohamed Atta (ringleader).
Side B
1 belligerent
George W. Bush.