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Images: A day that was — 11 September 2001

Sep 11, 2012   (5 images)

Almost three thousand people were dead. The iconic twin towers were lost forever. The super power status of the world's most powerful country was at stake. And it was the rise of the planet's most dreadful terrorist - Osama bin Laden. All these came together when the Osama-headed Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four domestic passenger planes in the US on 11 September 2001 to ram right into the business and security heart of the US -- the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia respectively. The attack not only shook the global security scenario but also started America's still continuing war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. After a decade long search, the US did manage to kill Osama bin Laden on 2 May 2011, at Abbottabad in Pakistan. But the war against terror and the fear of next strike by terrorist groups is far from over. Here are some images taking us back to the fateful day of 11 September 2001, what we popularly call it as 9/11 attacks:

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Smoke pours from the World Trade Center after being hit by two planes 11 September 2001 in New York City. Craig Allen/Getty Images

 

 


Fireman heading south on the West Side Highway towards the remains of the World Trade Center where smoke continued hours after the colapse. Streets of lower Manhattan with fireman, police, and rescue crews after the colapse of the World Trade Center after being hit by two airplanes on 11 September 2001. Gabe Palacio/ImageDirect

 

 


Smoke and flames rise over the Pentagon at about 10am EST on 11 September 2001 following a suspected terrorist crash of a hijacked commercial airliner into the south side of the Pentagon in Arlington. US Navy/Getty Images

 

 


A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed on 11 September 2001 after two hijacked airplanes slammed into the twin towers in a terrorist attack. Mario Tama/Getty Images

 

 


Debris covers the streets around at the World Trade Center after two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001 in New York. Ron Agam/Getty Images