On the morning of September 11th, 2001, terrorists from the Islamic extremist group Al Qaeda hijacked four commercial aircraft in a coordinated attack against targets in the United States. Two planes were intentionally crashed in New York City. A third hit the government’s military and defence headquarters at the Pentagon. The fourth jet plummeted into a field when passengers fought back against hijackers and prevented it from reaching a target in Washington. The atrocity, which became widely known as 9/11, saw almost 3,000 people from 93 different countries lose their lives.

Why did Al Qaeda target the United States? How did they devise a plan to use aircraft as weapons? And why did it take almost a decade to hunt down the terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden?

This is a Short History Of 9/11.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Garrett Graff, historian and author of The Only Plane in the Sky, an Oral History of 9/11.

Written by Jo Furniss | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Mirianna Pitman-Latham | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact check: Sean Coleman

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