
Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four planes on that nearly cloudless day in 2001. Two jets slammed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, causing the iconic 110-story buildings to collapse. A third plane struck the Pentagon, while a fourth crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back.
The 9/11 attacks claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, sparking decades of war — including the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, where al Qaeda leaders were based — and changing the way the world looked at terrorism.