Remembering the Costs of September 11

At 8:46 AM, American Airlines flight 11 struck the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. A second plane, United Airlines flight 175, struck the south tower 17 minutes later.

A third plane, American Airlines flight 77, struck the Pentagon at 9:37 AM. A fourth plane, United Airlines flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania at 10:03 AM after its passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.

The attacks were carried out by 19 terrorists associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda, and were — and remain — the deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the country’s history.

The attacks were planned by members of the so-called “Hamburg Cell.” It was located in Hamburg, Germany, and included the ringleader, Mohamed Atta.

15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Saudi Arabia was also the birthplace of al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden.

Some 2,753 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 in Pennsylvania. All 19 hijackers were also killed.

An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants, risk of physical injury and physically and emotionally stressful conditions in the days and months following the attacks.

In response to the attacks, instead of pursuing targeted counter-terrorism operations, U.S. President George W. Bush announced the ill-fated Global War on Terror. The United States began military operations in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001.

The war in Afghanistan was the longest war in U.S. history. It lasted for 20 years and cost the lives of 2,443 U.S. soldiers.

Since the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban, who had given al-Qaeda safe haven, are once again in control of the country.

On March 20, 2003, President George W. Bush announced that U.S. forces had begun military operation against Iraq. The goal was to topple dictator Saddam Hussein and confiscate his alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

No weapons of mass destruction were found, and the gradual U.S. withdrawal led to the rise of the Islamic State. Saddam Hussein was executed for crimes against humanity by the new Iraqi government on December 30, 2006.

The mastermind behind the attacks, Osama bin Laden, was killed in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.

More than 7,000 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with more than 8,000 contractors. The financial cost of the War on Terror to the United States is estimated to be over $8 trillion.

Globally, it is estimated that over 940,000 people have died in the post-September 11 wars due to direct war violence. An estimated 3.6-3.8 million people died indirectly in post-September 11 war zones, bringing the total death toll to approximately 4.5-4.7 million.