America Attacked: 18 years on, 9/11 still haunts world

The deadly 911 attack claimed 3,000 lives and left 6,000 wounded. Later, many died of cancer and respiratory related aliments months after the attack. The city suffered USD 10 billion loss in the attack.

Hyderabad:Eighteen years after the deadliest terrorist attacks on New York, the world is yet to recover from the trauma it underwent on the ill-fated 11th September 2001. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners all of which departed from airports in the northeastern part of the United States bound for California. Yet, few questions boggle even to this day: How did the terrorists sneak into the heavily fortified US airports and succeeded in executing their evil machinations? What was the American secret service CIA doing? How come the Pentagon had no clue whatsoever about the al-Qaeda plans? Not least, could a similar attack occur in America in future?

Calm Before the Devastation

New York wore a mild and agreeable weather on the night of 10th September 2001. But the next morning, the megapolis woke up to such unheard of devastation. Four California bound commercial passenger planes operated by United Airlines and American Airlines were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists to attack the Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world.

The Blitz

Out of the four planes, two aircraft – American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 – were crashed into the the main two towers: North and South Towers of the World Trade Center at Lower Manhattan in the city. The crash was so intense that the skyscraper with more than 110 story collapsed with an hour and 42 minutes. The attack also resulted in the collapse of 10 other skyscrapers including the 47-storey 7 World Trade Center tower.

The third plane, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the US Department of Defense Pentagon headquarters resulting in the partial collapse of the west side of the building. However, the fourth aircraft-United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Pennsylvannia before hitting the target. It is believed that the flight met with accident as its crew and passengers thwarted the hijackers.

Flights Used in Attack

American Airlines Flight 11: The Boeing 767 aircraft en route to Los Angeles with 11 crews and 76 passengers on board was used to hit the northern facade of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The plane crashed into the tower at 8.46 am.

United Airlines Flight 175: The Boeing 767 aircraft en route to Los Angeles with a crew of nine and 51 passengers crashed into the southern facade of the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9.03 am.

American Airlines Flight 77: The Boeing 757 aircraft en route to Los Angeles with a crew of six and 53 passengers was crashed into the western facade of the Pentagon at 9.37 am.

United Airlines Flight 93: The Boeing 757 aircraft en route to San Francisco, with a crew of seven and 33 passengers never met the target as the passengers and crew overpowered the hijackers. The plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania at 10.03 am.

Causalities

The deadly attack claimed 3,000 lives and left 6,000 wounded. Later, many died of cancer and respiratory related aliments months after the attack. The city suffered USD 10 billion loss in the attack.

Who were the Hijackers

Soon after the attack, a Federal Bureau of Investigation team swung into action and found al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden's link in the attack. According to the investigation, out of the 19 hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, two from United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon.

Money Spent on Attacks

The 9/11 Commission that spent years of investigation into the attack found the 9/11 plotters spent somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000 to execute the attack. However, the origin of the funds still remains unknown. The Commission did not find any evidence of any foreign government or foreign government official-funding the attack.

Motive Behind the Attack

The investigation team found Osama bin Laden's holy war against the Americans as the reason behind the attack. The letter which Laden sent to the US in 2002 states the following were few reasons behind the 9/11 attack:

• US support of Israel
  
• The sanctions against Iran
  
• Support of Philippines against Muslims in the Moro conflict
  
• Support for the "attacks against Muslims" in Somalia
  
• Support of Indian "oppression against Muslims" in Kashmir
  
• Support for Israeli "aggression" against Muslims in Lebanon
  
• Support of Russian "atrocities against Muslims" in Chechnya
  
• Pro-American governments in the Middle East which acted against Muslim interests