World Trade Center Attack on September 11, 2001. Ataque a las Torres Gemelas en septiembre 11 del 2001.

1. Erika Garza Elorduy
“World Trade Center attacks on September 11,
2001”
The September 11 attacks also referred to as 9/11,
were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks upon the
United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C.
areas on September 11, 2001. On that Tuesday morning, 19
terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaedahijacked
four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally flew two of
those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines
Flight 175, into the North and South towers of the World
Trade Center complex in New York City; both towers
collapsed within two hours.
Debris from the collapsing towers fell onto or initiated
fires in several surrounding buildings leading to the partial or
complete collapse of all the other buildings in the complex.
Debris also caused major damage to ten other large
structures in the immediate area. The hijackers also
intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the
Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and intended to pilot the
fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, into the United
States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Its passengers

2. Erika Garza Elorduy
tried to overcome the hijackers and the plane crashed into a
field near ShanksVille, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people
died in the attacks, including all 227 civilians and 19
hijackers aboard the four planes.
Hijackers & Al-Qaeda:
Suspicion quickly fell on al-Qaeda, and in 2004, the
group's leader, Osama bin Laden, who had initially denied
involvement, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Al-Qaeda
and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of
U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as
motives for the attacks. The United States responded to the
attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading
Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, which had harbored al-
Qaeda. Many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism
legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. Having
evaded capture for years, bin Laden was located and killed
by U.S. forces in May 2011.
Deaths:
The attacks resulted in the death of 2,996 people,
including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. The victims

3. Erika Garza Elorduy
included 246 on the four planes (from which there were no
survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the
ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. Nearly all of the victims
were civilians; 55 military personnel were among those killed
at the Pentagon.
The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the
Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden
traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab
mujahideen to resist the Soviets.Under the guidance of
Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical. In 1996
bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers
to leave Saudi Arabia.
Motives:
Al-Qaeda explicitly cited three motives for its activities
against Western countries: the presence of U.S. troops in
Saudi Arabia, U.S. support of Israel, and sanctions against
Iraq. After the attacks, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri released
additional videotapes and audiotapes, some of which
repeated those reasons for the attacks.
Memorials:

4. Erika Garza Elorduy
The first memorials to the victims of the September 11,
2001, attacks began to take shape online, as hundreds of
webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red
Cross, and other rescue agencies, photos and eyewitness
accounts. Numerous online September 11 memorials began
appearing a few hours after the attacks, although many of
these memorials were only temporary.
The destruction of the Twin Towers and other
properties caused serious damage to the economy of Lower
Manhattan and had a significant effect on global markets.
Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in
May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a year.
Numerous memorials have been constructed, including the
National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York,
the Pentagon Memorial, and the Flight 93 National Memorial
in Pennsylvania. After a lengthy delay, the 1,776-foot-tall
(541 m) One World Trade Center is expected to be
completed at Ground Zero in New York City in 2013.
The Tribute in Light was the first major physical
memorial at the World Trade Center site. A permanent
memorial and museum, the National September 11
Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site are

5. Erika Garza Elorduy
planned, as part of the design by overall WTC site
redevelopment.
The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88
searchlights placed next to the site of the World Trade
Center to create two vertical columns of light in
remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It is produced
annually by The Municipal Art Society of New York. It initially
ran as a temporary installation from March 11 to April 14,
2002, and was launched again in 2003 to mark the second
anniversary of the attack. As of 2010, it has been repeated
every year on September 11.