World Trade Center (2001–present)
The buildings are among many created by the World Trade Centers Association. The original World Trade Center featured the landmark Twin Towers, which opened in 1973, and were the tallest buildings in the world at the time of their completion. They were destroyed on the morning of September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda-affiliated hijackers flew two Boeing 767 jets into the complex in a coordinated act of terrorism. The attacks on the World Trade Center killed 2,753 people. The resulting collapse of the World Trade Center caused structural failure in the surrounding buildings as well. The process of cleaning up and recovery at the World Trade Center site took eight months, after which rebuilding of the site commenced.
List of military operations in the war in Afghanistan (2001–present)
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, investigators rapidly accumulated evidence implicating Osama bin Laden. In a taped statement, bin Laden publicly acknowledged his and al-Qaeda's direct involvement in the 9-11 attacks. In an audiotape posted on a website that the U.S. claims is "frequently used by al-Qaeda", on May 21, 2006, bin Laden said he had personally directed the 19 hijackers.