On this day 21 years ago, the country changed forever.
Terrorists hijacked passenger planes and flew them into buildings in New York and near Washington, D.C. One of the hijacked planes crashed into an empty field after a group of brave passengers foiled the hijackers’ plans.
Almost 3,000 people were killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, carried out by the extremist group al-Qaeda. In New York City, over 400 rescue workers rushing to help the burning World Trade Center were lost. Over 83,000 rescue workers have signed up for a program run by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that helps with a range of illnesses, such as cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by being at the site of the attack.
From the archive: When the September 11 attacks occurred, no one knew if there were hijackers on board
September 11, 2001 paved the way for a new “global war on terror,” launched by then-US President George W. Bush. The US military and its allies wanted to eliminate the al-Qaeda terrorist network hosted by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The costly war ended last year with the withdrawal of US troops and the Taliban’s seizure of power in the country.
American counterterrorism operations have eliminated the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks. A Navy SEAL operation in 2011 killed notorious al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and a missile strike in July killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, whom the United States considered a co-planner of the 9/11 attacks.
Opinion: The war on terror took my family to a Muslim country. It was the adventure of a lifetime.
Here are some of the most striking images taken during and after the September 11 attacks.
In this September 11, 2001, file photo, United Airlines Flight 175 collides with the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City as smoke rises from the north tower.
A man covered in ash and debris from the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center coughs near City Hall in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001.
In this September 11, 2001, file photo, two women embrace as they watch the World Trade Center burn following a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York.
Following a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, people flee Lower Manhattan in New York across the Brooklyn Bridge on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
In this file photo, investigators search the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 for debris and evidence, including the plane’s black box, on September 12, 2001 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
In this photo from September 13, 2001, people gather around missing persons posters at a telephone booth following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
President Bush talks with Chief of Staff Andrew Card aboard Air Force One during a flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, following the President’s statement on the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
A monitor shows all canceled flights from Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina on September 12, 2001. Airplanes were grounded across the country.
In this September 11, 2001, file photo, the twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York after terrorists flew two planes into the towers, causing both to collapse.
Justin Eckert comforts his wife, Dorinda, at the American Airlines ticket counter at Portland International Airport while feeding their three-month-old son, Ethan, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, in Portland, Oregon, after they learned that their flight to Missouri was canceled because of the terrorist attacks on New York’s World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.
The graduating class of Murphy High School in Mobile, Alabama, watches news reports of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
From the archive: “Clear the skies”: Background to the unprecedented call to stop air traffic on September 11
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 9/11 photos from World Trade Center, Pentagon, Shanksville in the USA
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