In a historic announcement, U.S. President Barack Obama on late Sunday evening announced that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. operation in Pakistan.
United Airlines Flight 175 hits World Trade Center. (Photo by upstateNYer)
Obama made the announcement from the White House, giving confirmation that Bin Laden was killed on Sundsay and that the United States is in possession of his body. People outside the White House were seen chanting in celebration, shouting “USA! USA!”
Osama and the terrorist organization he led is believed to be behind a number of major terrorist attacks, and his death is an enormous blow to al-Qaeda. Most notably, al-Qaeda is believed to have been behind the attacks on the United States in 2001.
On September 11, 2001, two hijacked airliners crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another airliner crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., while a fourth crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eventually declared that the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people from scores of countries, was considered an attack on all NATO nations. It led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
