The
September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11) were a series of
coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States. On that
morning, terrorists
affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet
airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the
airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City, resulting in
the collapse of both buildings soon afterward and extensive damage to
nearby buildings.
The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into
a field near Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania after
passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft
attempted to retake control of their plane.
Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died as an immediate result of the attacks with another 24 missing and presumed dead. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals from over 90 different countries. In addition, the death of at least one person from lung disease was ruled by a medical examiner to be a result of exposure to dust from the World Trade Center's collapse, as rescue and recovery workers were exposed to airborne contaminants following the World Trade Center's collapse.