English Typing Test - The Attack of 9/11
English Typing Test
9/11 Attacks: A Brief Overview
A tragic day in history that changed the world forever.
The Attacks on 11 September 2001
On the morning of 11 September 2001, 19 hijackers took control of four commercial passenger jets flying out of airports on the east coast of the United States.
Two of the aircraft were deliberately flown into the main two towers (the Twin Towers) of the World Trade Center in New York, with a third hitting the Pentagon in Virginia. The fourth plane never reached its intended target, crashing in Pennsylvania. It is believed that the passengers and crew overpowered the hijackers and took control of the plane.
Symbolic Attacks: The Twin Towers were widely considered to be symbols of America's power and influence. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the US Department of Defense.
Both 110-floor World Trade Center towers subsequently collapsed, and substantial damage was caused to one wing of the Pentagon. Numerous other buildings at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan were destroyed or badly damaged.
The total loss of life on 9/11 was nearly 3,000, including the 19 hijackers. It was the worst loss of life due to a terrorist incident on US soil.
Suspicion Falls on al-Qaeda
Suspicion soon fell on the radical Sunni Islamist group, al-Qaeda ('The Base' in Arabic), founded in 1988 and led by Saudi-born Osama Bin Laden. There was good reason for this.
- 1993: First World Trade Center bombing
- 1993: Shooting down of two American Black Hawk helicopters in Somalia
- 1996: Bombing of military housing in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 Americans
- 1998: US embassy bombings in Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi, killing 223 people
- 2000: Suicide attack on the USS Cole, killing 17 US servicemen
In 1996, Bin Laden called for his followers to "launch a guerrilla war against American forces and expel the infidels from the Arabian Peninsula." After the 1998 embassy bombings, the FBI placed Bin Laden on their Ten Most Wanted list.
A New Kind of Enemy
On the night of 11 September, with al-Qaeda widely believed to have conducted the attacks, President George W. Bush described the events of that day as "evil, despicable acts of terror" and declared that the US was "at war with a new and different kind of enemy."
The attack was denounced by governments worldwide. In October 2001, western coalition forces launched attacks on Afghanistan, in conjunction with the anti-Taliban Afghan Northern Alliance.
Key Events Timeline
The Attacks
- Two planes hit the World Trade Center Towers
- One plane crashes into the Pentagon
- One plane crashes in Pennsylvania
Al-Qaeda's Role
- Founded in 1988 by Osama Bin Laden
- Previously implicated in attacks on US forces
- Placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List in 1998
US Response
- President George W. Bush declares "war" on terrorism
- US launches attacks on Afghanistan in October 2001
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