America Under Attack

Sept 11,2001 8:45am A Us. Jetliner Hijacked From Boston slams into the World Trade Center's North tower.

Sept 11,2001 9:03am A second plane, An American Airlines jetliner, crashes into the WTC's South Tower, causing a massive explosion.

Jet fuel and debris engulf the towers.

9:30am President Bush calls the explosions an "apparent terrorist attack" and leads the nation in a moment of silence for the victims.

As the towers burn, debris rains down on the streets of Manhattan.

Weakened and billowing with smoke, the south tower collapses.

With the south tower down, the north tower continues to burn.

Chaos ensues on the streets below as emergency workers try to get people out of the city.

Shocked onlockers can only watch in horror.

The WTC's North tower collapses.

The north tower begins to crumble.

People run in terror as smoke from falling debris billows behind them.

Clouds of smoke obstruct the place where the WTC once towered over the New York skyline.

A thick layer of ash and soot blankets the city.

Covered with ash and soot, shocked survivors flee in New York.

Billowing smoke trails out to the Statue of Liberty. President Bush states:" We will do whatever necessary to proteact America and Americans...The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

An American Airlines Flight from Washington to Los Angeles plowed into the Pentagon with 64 passengers and crew aboard. The jet, which had just taken off from Dulles Airport, set the worldsn largest office building ablaze.

A portion of the Petagon collapes.

The jet struck a section of the building that housed Army Offices.

Firefighters fought hard to extinguish the flames. Recent renovations included improved fire suppression materials, which hyelped decrease the spread of flames.

Washington's hospitals reported more than 50 injured, and the number increased as the day went on.

One Witness told CNN she saw a commerial jet flying "too fast, too low" and then she saw an explosion at the building.

"Huge explosion, great ball of fire, smoke started billowing out, and then it was just chaos."-- Mike Walter, an eyewitness, told CNN.

Lisa Burgess, a reporter for the Stars and Stripes newspap, said she was walking in a corridor near the blast site and was thrown to the ground by the force of the blast.

Pentagon officials said all U.S. military sites around the world went to ThreatCon Delta, which means that a terrorist attack has occurred or an attack at a specific location was likely.

Damage includes a Hugh hole cut through the smoldering wreckage of the Pentagon. Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calkled the attacks " Barbaric Terrorism carried out by fanatics."

Despite the massive damage, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the Pentagon would open for Business today.

Emergency workers look at the crater created when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. Radar showed the Boeing 757, bound for San Francisco, Ca. from Newark, New Jersey, had nearly reached Cleveland when it made a sharp left turn and headed back towards Pennsylvania, crashing in a grassy field edge by woods about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. There were no survivors.

Two men survey the scene near Shanksville, Pa., where Hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed while heading from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, Ca.

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