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Template:Sep11

The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11 ) were a series of coordinated terrorist vgggg upon the United States of America carried out on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen men affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The attackers crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane into each tower, causing the collapse of both towers within two hours. Hijackers of the third aircraft crashed that plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers on the fourth hijacked aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers, which crashed into a field in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Approximately 3,000 people died in these attacks. Affected property owners and their insurers incurred billions of dollars in damages.

The attacks

Main article: September 11, 2001 attacks timeline for the day of the attacks.

The attacks started with the hijacking of 4 commercial airliners. With jet fuel capacities of nearly 24,000 U.S. gallons (91,000 liters), each aircraft became a flying incendiary bomb. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north side of the north tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) at 8:46:40 a.m. local time (12:46:40 UTC). At 9:03:11 a.m. local time (13:03:11 UTC), United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower, an event covered live by television broadcasters that had their cameras trained on the North Tower. American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37:46 a.m. local time (13:37:46 UTC). The fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a field in southwest Pennsylvania, at 10:03:11 a.m. local time (14:03:11 UTC), with parts and debris found up to eight miles away. The crash in Pennsylvania is believed to have resulted from the hijackers either deliberately crashing the aircraft or losing control of it as they fought with the passengers. No one survived in any of the hijacked aircraft.

The fatalities were in the thousands: 265 on the four planes; 2,595, including 343 New York City firefighters, 23 NYPD police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers, in the towers and on the ground; and 125 civilians and military personnel at the Pentagon. At least 2,986 people were killed in total. In addition to the 110-floor Twin Towers of the World Trade Center itself, five other buildings at the WTC site, including WTC building 7, and four subway stations were destroyed or badly damaged. In total, on [

1. The attacks are often referred to simply as September 11th, 9/11, or 9-11. The latter two are from the U.S. style for writing short dates, in which the month precedes the day. Both are pronounced "nine-eleven." With the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks on March 11, 2004, called "M11" or "3/11", and the Jordan Bombings on November 9, 2005 often called "11/9", the convention has been extended. The 7 July 2005 London bombings occurred on a day when the month and the day were the same so the speaker can decide if the US or European convention (day, then month) is implied. (In the UK these events are more generally referred to as the 'London bombings' or '7th July bombings' in any event.) 9-1-1 also happens to be the telephone number used in the United States and Canada to dial for emergency assistance (police, ambulance, and fire department).
2. See Organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks
3. Recently In Focus: Profile: Osama bin Laden."
4. "Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11". CBC News. 2004, October 29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Boeing"Commercial Airplanes; Technical Characteristics: Boeing 767-200ER."
6. "September 11: Chronology of terror." CNN. September 12, 2001.