9/11 attacks: Decade of terrorism at its peak

Paul Arhewe

Published 08/09/2011

The first tower of the World Trade Centre collapses after being hit by a hijacked plane How time flies! It was just like yesterday when the world was shocked by the terrorist attacks on the New York Twin Towers and the Pentagon where nearly 3,000 lives were lost. Sunday would make it a decade since that gory experience, which shock Americans in no small measure and tore a once serene environment to one of fear and suspicions.

Two fuel loaded planes were crashed straight into World Trade Centre- housing the two tallest buildings in U.S. within interval of 17 minutes, third plane after about one hour plunged into Pentagon in Virginia (destroying a wing of government’s military headquarters) and a fourth one heading to Washington D.C. about 30 minutes later was prevented from carrying out the suicide mission, as it crashed half way in Pennsylvania, following the interventions of passengers that rushed the terrorists after hearing of previous attack through their cell phones. The attacks killed 2,977 people. The vast majority, 2,753, died in New York, while 184 people were killed at the Pentagon and another 40 at Shanksville. Those figures exclude the 19 terrorists.