Marty Lederhandler/AP
- The terror attacks on September 11, 2001, were the deadliest attacks on US soil since the Pearl Harbor bombing that launched the US into World War II. The plane hijackings that struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field killed 2,977 people.
- The attacks started at 8:46 a.m., with American Flight 11 hitting the World Trade Center's North Tower.
- The attacks dramatically changed the US, and started the "War on Terror," which targeted the Al-Qaeda extremist group and its leader, Osama bin Laden.
It's the 18th anniversary of September 11, 2001, the date of the deadliest attacks on US soil since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in World War II.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks, which The New York Times called the "worst and most audacious terror attack in American history."
The nation is still working to move past the tragedy, and to effectively combat the techniques and ideology of terrorism that seeks to kill and maim as many people as possible.
These photos tell the story of what happened that morning, much of which was captured on live television to a shocked nation.