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[[Image:National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC fire.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The view of the burning towers of the World Trade Center from Staten Island, New York City, September 11, 2001]]

[[Image:National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC fire.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The view of the burning towers of the World Trade Center from Staten Island, New York City, September 11, 2001]]

[[File:Pentagon sept11.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The damage to the Pentagon, Washington D.C., September 11, 2001]]

[[File:Pentagon sept11.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The damage to the Pentagon, Washington D.C., September 11, 2001]]

The '''Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001''' occurred when [[al Qaeda]], [[Islam|Islamic extremists]] hijacked four transcontinental airliners and used them to strike targets in the [[United States]]; two aircraft destroyed the twin towers of the [[World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]]; the third crashed into a portion of the [[Pentagon]] in Washington, D.C.; and the fourth aircraft - in which the hijackers are believed to have targeted the White House or the Capital Building - crashed into an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers fought back to re-take control.     

The '''Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001''' occurred when [[al Qaeda]], [[Islam|Islamic extremists]] hijacked four transcontinental airliners and used them to strike targets in the [[United States]]; two aircraft destroyed the twin towers of the [[World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]]; the third crashed into a portion of the [[Pentagon]] in Washington, D.C.; and the fourth aircraft - in which the hijackers are believed to have targeted the White House or the Capitol Building - crashed into an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers fought back to re-take control.     

The sheer audacity of the attack and the heavy loss of life that resulted from it caused the U.S. Government to declare a [[War on Terror]] with the determination to hunt down terrorists world-wide; within two months of September 11, [[Afghanistan]] was completely occupied by American forces, driving the ruling Islamo-fascist [[Taliban]] from power and causing the head of al Qaeda and the man who personally approved the attacks - [[Osama bin Laden]] - to flee into hiding.

The sheer audacity of the attack and the heavy loss of life that resulted from it caused the U.S. Government to declare a [[War on Terror]] with the determination to hunt down terrorists world-wide; within two months of September 11, [[Afghanistan]] was completely occupied by American forces, driving the ruling Islamo-fascist [[Taliban]] from power and causing the head of al Qaeda and the man who personally approved the attacks - [[Osama bin Laden]] - to flee into hiding.