War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
On the morning of 11 September 2001, a total of 19 Arab men—15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia—carried out four coordinated attacks in the United States. Four commercial passenger jet airliners were hijacked. The hijackers – members of al-Qaeda's Hamburg cell – intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and more than 2,000 people in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours from damage related to the crashes, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C., to target the White House, or the U.S. Capitol. No one aboard the flights survived. According to the New York State Health Department, the death toll among responders including firefighters and police was 836 as of June 2009. Total deaths were 2,996, including the 19 hijackers.
Bowling Green massacre
On January 29–30, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated that Islamist terrorists perpetrated a terrorist attack in Atlanta, even though Atlanta has never had a terrorist attack carried out by Islamists. The initial comment was made on ABC's "This Week", and then Spicer repeated the claim on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" the following day. Spicer later said that he meant Orlando, referring to the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, which was carried out by U.S.–born Omar Mateen. There have been two terrorist attacks in Atlanta: the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which was carried by domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph, and the 1958 Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing.