23 Years After 9/11 Attacks: US War On Terror And How It Changed The World

President George Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan. the objective was to destroy Al Qaeda and kill or capture its leader, Osama bin Laden, and other senior figures in the terrorist group and the Taliban.

At 5:45 am (US time) Mohammed Atta and Abdul Aziz al-Omari pass through security at Portland Airport in Maine and board a commuter flight - American Airlines Flight 11 - to Boston airport. Five hijackers were on board when the flight took off at 7:59 am.

At 8:15 am, United Airlines Flight 175 took off from Boston and headed for Los Angeles. There are 51 passengers, nine crew members and five hijackers on the aircraft. Four minutes later, the ground personnel are alerted by flight attendant Betty Ann Ong of the hijacking. At 8:20 am, American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles outside Washington DC for Los Angeles with five hijackers on board. 

At 8:42 am, United Flight 93 took off from Newark, New Jersey, and headed for San Francisco, with four hijackers in the plane. Four minutes later, Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Centre's North Tower, killing all passengers. Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 am, Flight 175 crashed into WTC's South Tower.