September 11, 2001 attacks, widely known as 9/11 terror attack is regarded as one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of the United States, killing thousands of Americans.
How did 9/11 terror attack take place
19 militants associated with the Islamic terrorist group, al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial planes and crashed two of them into the upper floors of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Centre complex, ultimately causing them to collapse.
A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane, which was aiming to hit White House or Capitol building crashed into an empty field in Western Pennsylvania after passengers fought back with hijackers in the plane.
The attack killed almost 3,000 people, of which 2,753 were killed in New York; 184 at the Pentagon; and 40 people were killed on Flight 93. All 19 terrorists also died.
Impact of 9/11 attack on US and World
The scale and impact of the four coordinated 9/11 attacks shook the United States along with the World, with US President George W Bush declaring a ‘War on Terror’ on September 20.
9/11 attacks also sent shudders across the global markets. The World Trade Centre’s tower collapse, damage to Lower Manhattan’s infrastructure, combined with fears of stock market panic, kept Wall Street closed for four trading days.
Barely a month later, the US launched an invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001; toppling the Taliban regime, which harboured the terrorist group al-Qaeda and provided shelter to Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan who orchestrated the 2001 lethal attack.
Although bin Laden initially denied any involvement, in 2004 he formally claimed responsibility for the attacks. Two years after the 9/11 attack, a decision to invade Iraq was made.
In the years leading to the attack, the threat of international terrorism dominated governments and their foreign policies. The UK government introduced a new anti-terror legislation to combat perceived threats from terrorism.
The 9/11 attacks also altered the American national security bureaucracy. New organizations like the National Counter Terrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence were created to prevent any attacks similar to 9/11.
Motive behind 9/11 attack
In his November 2002 ‘Letter to America’, Osama bin Laden stated a series of al-Qaeda's motives behind the attack.
Some of them were western support for attacking Muslims in Somalia, supporting Russian atrocities against Muslims in Chechnya, supporting the Indian oppression against Muslims in Kashmir, support for Israel in Lebanon, the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, US support of Israel, and sanctions against Iraq.
Al-Qaeda threat
Over the years, Al-Qaida’s presence in Afghanistan withered under the intense pressure of the US military. Even though it is no longer as dangerous a threat as it was in 2001, the militant group developed franchises in Nigeria, Syria, Somalia, Yemen and the Philippines. It continues to exploit insurgencies in weak states.
Now that the Taliban are back in power, the voices of concern are arising that Afghanistan will again become a breeding ground for Islamist radicalism and terror groups like al-Qaeda.
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