Planning of the September 11 attacks

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In the United States on September 11, 2001 (9/11), 19 terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes in an attempt to crash them into landmarks that symbolized American political and economic power. American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center, and American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon. United Airlines Flight 93 was intended to be crashed likely into the U.S. Capitol or White House, but the hijackers intentionally crashed it into a field in Pennsylvania instead, due to a passenger revolt. Initially, al-Qaeda official Khalid Sheikh Mohammed planned to bomb multiple airliners departing Asia for the U.S. in 1995; the plot was foiled by Manila police before it was enacted. In 1996, he redesigned the plan, wanting nine U.S. airliners to be crashed into U.S. landmarks; al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, rejected the plan over its complexity. In 1999, the pair and Mohammed Atef reworked it into what was ultimately carried...

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