9/11 Memorial

11 years on- we remember the tragedy of 9/11 as if it were yesterday. We all remember sitting in disbelief watching the shocking footage streaming in from the US on our breakfast television programs.

The heart-wrenching visuals had to be seen to be believed- no one could imagine something of this magnitude and devastation happening in a cosmopolitan city such as New York. The whole western world was shaken to its core and the sheer disaster of that ill-fated day created an after-shock that will always be remembered.

Today we remember the lives that 'The War on Terror' has effected and honour the victims and heroes of the September 11 attacks.

Background on the September 11 attacks:

The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/11) were a series of four suicide attacks that were committed in the United States on September 11, 2001, coordinated to strike the areas of New York City and Washington, D.C. On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally piloted two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours.

The hijackers also intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and intended to pilot the fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, into the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.; however, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to take control of the jet from the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 246 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes.

Suspicion quickly fell on al-Qaeda, and in 2004, the group's leader, Osama bin Laden, who had initially denied involvement, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives for the attacks.

The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, which had harbored al-Qaeda. Many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. In May 2011, after years at large, bin Laden was located and killed.

For more information see the 9/11 Memorial site.