Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

WORLD TRADE CENTER AND PENTAGON ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 • 705and Razmi Ahmad Yousef both had guerrilla training with Afghanrebels and possessed several false passports. Investigations by theFBI led to discovery of contacts of the suspects with Osama binLaden and the Maktab al Khidamat, which was the original nameof the al Qa’eda organization. At the time of his arrest, Yousef wasliving in a guest house where his expenses were being paid by Osamabin Laden. Following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacksof September 11, 2001, it was learned that Ramzi Yousef wasthe nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the al Qa’eda mastermindbehind the 9/11 attacks. The defendants denied outside state support,however, when questioned by U.S. interrogators. See also BROOK-LYN BOMBING PLOT.WORLD TRADE CENTER AND PENTAGON ATTACKS OFSEPTEMBER 11, 2001. On 11 September 2001, three teams offive-man suicide bombers and one four-man team hijacked fourAmerican domestic flights, crashing one into the World Trade Centernorth tower, another into the south tower, and another into the eastside of the Pentagon. At 8:46 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11, fromBoston to Los Angeles, crashed into the north tower of the WorldTrade Center, and at 9:02 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175, also aBoston-to-Los Angeles run, crashed into the south tower, causing amassive explosion and fireball. Then, at 9:40 a.m., American AirlinesFlight 77, which had taken off from Dulles Airport in Virginia,crashed into one side of the Pentagon, causing portions of that structureto collapse and burn. The fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93from Newark to San Francisco, crashed at 10:07 a.m. following anapparent struggle between the hijackers and the passengers. At 9:59a.m. the World Trade Center’s south tower collapsed and at 10:28a.m. the north tower also collapsed. The falling debris of these buildingsengulfed and killed many of the emergency first responders, aswell as thousands of civilians who had not yet been evacuated. Thecatastrophic collapse of these structures also destroyed four otherbuildings in the World Trade Center complex, namely, No. 4 WorldTrade Center, Southeast Plaza Building; No. 5 World Trade Center,Northeast Plaza Building; No. 6 World Trade Center, U.S. CustomsHouse; and No. 7 World Trade Center.At least 2,603 people were killed at the World Trade Center and125 at the Pentagon. Altogether, 2,993 people were killed, including