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= The Attack on the World Trade Center = On September 11, 2001 two planes were flown into the Twin Towers in New York, New York. The planes are officially considered to be taken over by terrorists affiliated with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. The group has expressed their dislike for the United States and then way the government and policies work within the country. The group was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden along with several other volunteers; the United States government tracked down bin Laden after the incident.

The Hit on the Towers
The way the incident it told throughout the United States, and remember by the world, is that suicide bombers from the group took control of the flight American Airlines Boeing 767 and crashed it into the first tower of the World Trade Center near the 80th floor of the 110-story building. Then, a short 18 minutes later a second flight, United Airlines Flight 175 - Boeing 767, was reported to be taken over by more suicide bombers associated with the group and was flown into the second tower near the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion, leaving two burning holes in the towers. The towers were evacuated, and the event was immediately seen as an act of terrorism. The buildings continued to burn, leaving a massive cloud of ash, smoke, and debris to flood into the city. In a short amount of time, millions watched as the south tower began to collapse into a giant cloud of smoke, followed by the collision of the second tower.

Attack on the Pentagon
While the events in New York were shocking millions of Americans and people all around the world, there was a 3rd flight becoming hijacked as well. American Airlines Flight 77 was headed for the Pentagon after being taken over by another group of hijackers. It ended up crashing into the west side of the Pentagon, killing 125 military personnel inside the Department of Defense and all 64 people aboard the flight.

Fourth Hijacked Plane
A fourth flight departing from Newark Airport was then reported to be hijacked heading for California. The passengers of this flight had gotten word of the events occurring in Washington and New York, and quickly realized their flight was in danger. Many passengers aboard the plane made goodbye calls to loved ones as they leaned the terrorist group was too aboard their flight. The passengers fought the hijackers the best they could, the cockpit was stormed into using a fire extinguisher. The flight then crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania that morning. The crash was fatal for all 44 passengers on the flight; it is still not known what the true destination of the flight was once it was hijacked.

Results and Fatalities
This attack caused a total of 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers involved in the incident. The grief was felt nationwide, and the United States quickly took action. The search was on to find Osama bin Laden and inflict was on the Al-Qaeda group. He was tracked down and assassinated by U.S military forces hiding out in Pakistan. This conflict has caused a long dispute between the United States and Middle Eastern nations due to the constant battle and presence of U.S troops in the region.