Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden led al-Qaeda and orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed 2,977 victims, including eight children. The youngest was two-and-a-half-year-old Christine Lee Hanson. His organization also carried out the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa and the USS Cole bombing in 2000.
At a glance
- What happened
- Al-Qaeda hijackers crashed four passenger aircraft into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field on September 11. Victims included passengers, workers, and emergency responders. Bin Laden later admitted orchestrating the attacks. The 1998 embassy bombings killed more than 200 people and injured approximately 4,500; the USS Cole attack killed 17 sailors.
- When
- Embassy bombings: August 7, 1998. USS Cole: October 12, 2000. September 11 attacks: September 11, 2001. Bin Laden killed: May 2, 2011, local time.
- Where
- Nairobi, Kenya; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Yemen; New York City; Arlington, Virginia; Pennsylvania. Killed in Pakistan.
- Why / motive
- Bin Laden promoted violent extremist attacks against the United States and its citizens and opposed U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
- Outcome
- Indicted over the East African embassy bombings and placed on FBI wanted lists. U.S. special operations forces killed him in Pakistan on May 2, 2011; he was never brought to trial.
Who is involved
- Osama bin Laden — subject
Sources
- FBI: Osama bin Laden“Paraphrase: FBI documents the attacks, bin Laden's admission, indictment, and death in Pakistan.”
- FBI: Osama bin Laden“he opposed the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia and Somalia”
- Osama bin Laden“Paraphrase: The Memorial honors 2,977 people killed on September 11, 2001.”
- Osama bin Laden“Paraphrase: Christine Lee Hanson, aged two and a half, was the youngest of eight children killed on 9/11.”
Sources last checked: Not recorded · Dossier last changed: · Editorially reviewed: Not yet reviewed.