It’s been 16 years of Sep11th 2001, this fateful day has left scares on many hearts in America. The Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda with its 19 militants hijacked four airplanes and carried out a series of terrorist attacks in United States. This attack has killed over 2,997 people and injured over 6000 people.
Four passenger airliners operated by 2 major U.S airlines departed from northeastern United States bound to land at California were hijacked by 19 militants of Al-Qaeda. Two of these planes were crashed into The Twin Towers at World Trade Center complex in New York, Within one hour 42 minutes both 110 story building collapsed leading to fire and collapse of other buildings.
Third plane was crashed in Pentagon the headquarters in Arlington County leading to partial collapse of building’s left side. And the last plane was crashed into a field in Stony-creek Township. 9/11 was a deadliest incident in United States history, around 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers were killed.
After sixteen years of 9/11 attacks, good news is that United States has not suffered any other Horrifying attack from a foreign terrorist organization. Al-Qaeda’s core group also didn’t launch any successful attack after Suicide Bombing on London’s transportation system in 2005 which killed 52 commuters.
According to US special Operations Command’s Gen, US led coalition has killed an estimate of 60,000 to 70,000 ISIS fighters. Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition said, ISIS has lost control of more than three-quarters of the territory that it had once held in Iraq and more than half of what it once had in Syria.
But there still some threats from foreign terrorist, since 2014 there have been six lethal Jihadist terrorist attacks in U.S, killing around 74 people. Those attacks were carried out by American citizens and legal residents, not by foreign terrorists as was the case on 9/11. These terrorists were inspired by ISIS Propaganda online and has no direct contact with the group.
The Israeli counter-terrorism expert Gabriel Weimann rightly points out that the “Lone Wolf” is now part of a virtual pack. Trump administration’s Temporary Travel Ban for six Muslim countries does not address homegrown militant threat by Jihadist propaganda online.
As foreign terrorist groups are still active and are continuing their activities, this shows that there is still a long way to go to end this global terrorism.
By A.s
