# Timeline of the September 11 attacks

The following timeline is a chronological list of all the major events leading up to, during, and immediately following the September 11 attacks against the United States in 2001, through the first anniversary of the attacks in 2002.

## Background history

| Day | Month | Year(s) | Location | Notes |
| - | - | 1950 | Egypt | Sayyid Qutb returns to Egypt from a two-year visit to the United States sponsored by the Ministry of Education, and joins the Muslim Brotherhood due to his disgust towards Western culture. |
| - | - | 1951-1965 | | Qutb writes the book Fi Zilal al-Quran while in prison for an assassination attempt against Gamal Abdel Nasser. The book claims that Israel and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf are American satellite states and calls for an Islamist revolution against secularism—including Arab nationalism, socialism, and liberal democracy—to establish a Middle Eastern theocracy rooted in sharia law. The book also concludes that any Muslims who support secularism are kuffar. The book becomes highly influential towards Islamic terrorists. |
| 5 | Aug | 1966 | Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States | Work is started on the original World Trade Center |
| - | - | 1966 | Egypt | Sayyid Qutb is executed in Egypt and his brother Muhammad Qutb flees to Saudi Arabia, acquiring a teaching position at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. |
| - | - | 1973 | Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States | Work is completed on the original World Trade Center |
| - | - | 1976 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Osama bin Laden, son of Saudi billionaire businessman Mohammed bin Laden, is radicalized by Qutb while attending King Abdulaziz University for business administration. |
| - | - | 1979 | United States | The United States first becomes concerned over Islamic extremism after the Iranian Revolution, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Grand Mosque seizure. |
| - | - | 1980 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Bin Laden completes University |
| - | - | 1980 | Pakistan | Bin Laden travels to Pakistan to volunteer and assist the Sunni Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. He will become increasingly radicalised over the course of his participation in the conflict. |
| - | - | 1981 | | Bin Laden's future deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Jama At al-Jihad, is arrested for his role in the assassination of Anwar Sadat and imprisoned for three years. |
| - | - | 1983 | United States Marine Corps barracks, Beirut Airport 'Drakkar' barracks of French 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, Ramlet al Baida, Beirut | The 1983 Beirut barracks bombings targeting the Multinational Force in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War provides inspiration for Bin Laden. |
| - | Oct | 1984 | Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) and Pakistan | Bin Laden cofounds a network, the Maktab al-Khidamat, with Abdullah Yusuf Azzam in Afghanistan and Pakistan to recruit Muslims for the Afghan resistance. |
| - | - | 1986 | Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | Bin Laden travels to Afghanistan to lead MAK forces in combat. |
| - | Feb | 1987 | Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | Al-Qaeda establishes its first training camps in Afghanistan. |
| 25 | May | 1987 | Paktia Province, Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | Bin Laden withstands a Soviet attack during the Battle of Jaji, establishing his reputation in the Arab world. |
| 8 | Dec | 1987 | Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory | The First Intifada begins in Palestine. Bin Laden expresses vocal support for the conflict, and begins to advocate in favor of jihad against the West. |
| - | - | 1988 | | Osama bin Laden forms a computer database of Islamist militants, founding al-Qaeda. He declares that Muslims must protect the holy sites of Mecca and Medina from foreign control as a religious duty. |
| 15 | Feb | 1989 | Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | The Soviet Army completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and bin Laden advocates transforming al-Qaeda into a global network to fund jihad. Azzam prefers to focus on the Afghan Civil War and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. |
| - | May-June | 1989 | Jalalabad, Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | Al-Qaeda forces are badly defeated by the Afghan National Army in the Battle of Jalalabad, leading to a drop in membership and reorientation of tactics. |
| 30 | Jun | 1989 | Sudan, North Africa | Omar al-Bashir and Hassan Al-Turabi's National Islamic Front seize control of Sudan in a coup d'état. Al-Turabi would invite bin Laden to stay in the country. |
| - | Nov | 1989 | Saudi Arabia | Bin Laden returns to Saudi Arabia and Prince Turki bin Faisal rejects his offer to send al-Qaeda to overthrow the Communist government in South Yemen. |
| 24 | Nov | 1989 | Peshawar, Pakistan | Azzam is assassinated in a car bombing, allowing bin Laden to dominate the organization. |
| 22 | May | 1990 | South and North Yemen | The governments of South and North Yemen merge into the unified Republic of Yemen. Bin Laden runs afoul of the Saudi Interior Ministry for attempting to violently disrupt the unification process. |
| 2 | Aug | 1990 | Kuwait, West Africa | Ba'athist Iraq invades and annexes Kuwait. Fearing an Iraqi threat to Eastern Province oilfields, King Fahd rapidly accepts American military assistance to the opposition of Bin Laden. |
| - | Sept | 1990 | | Bin Laden makes an offer to Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to defend Saudi Arabia from Ba'athist Iraq with 100,000 fighters after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. He is turned down, and becomes embittered by the intervention of non-Islamic troops from the U.S.-led international coalition in the Gulf War. |
| 5 | Nov | 1990 | New York Marriott East Side, Midtown Manhattan, New York City | El Sayyid Nosair commits the assassination of Meir Kahane at the New York Marriott East Side, one of the first Islamist terrorist attacks in the United States. The FBI subsequently finds documents linking the attack to al-Qaeda, making it the organization's first involvement in attacks in the United States. |
| - | Apr | 1991 | Sudan, East Africa | Bin Laden moves to Sudan and begins expanding al-Qaeda using legitimate businesses as front organizations. |
| - | - | 1992 | Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa | Bin Laden begins to target U.S. military forces in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, as well as to consider alliances with Shiite Iranian-backed organizations such as Hezbollah. |
| 27 | Apr | 1992 | Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) | The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan collapses after Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin seizes Kabul, but a new stage of civil war begins when the Peshawar Accords collapse. |
| 29 | Dec | 1992 | Aden, Yemen, West Africa | Al-Qaeda attacks U.S. military forces for the first time in the Yemen hotel bombings in Aden. |
| 26 | Feb | 1993 | World Trade Center New York City, New York, U.S. | Ramzi Yousef carries out the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. |
| 3-4 | Oct | 1993 | Mogadishu, Somalia, Horn of Africa | 18 American servicemen are killed by al-Qaeda-trained forces in the Battle of Mogadishu. |
| 9 | Apr | 1994 | | Bin Laden's Saudi citizenship is revoked. |
| - | Sept | 1994 | Kandahar, Kandahar Province, Islamic State of Afghanistan | Mohammed Omar founds the Taliban in Kandahar. |
| 24-26 | Dec | 1994 | Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria and Marseille Provence Airport, Marseille, France | Armed Islamic Group of Algeria militants attempt to crash Air France Flight 8969 into the Eiffel Tower, influencing al-Qaeda's future planning. |
| 6 | Jan | 1995 | Doña Josefa apartments in Manila, Philippines, | Operation Bojinka, a planned terrorist attack, is discovered by the Filipino police in Manila on a laptop computer in an apartment after a fire. |
| 7 | Feb | 1995 | Pakistan | Ramzi Yousef is arrested in Pakistan, and is discovered to have financial links to Bin Laden. |
| - | Jun | 1995 | | U.S. intelligence links al-Qaeda to an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. |
| 8 | Jan | 1996 | | As Bin Laden makes bellicose statements regarding United States and Saudi Arabia. Michael Scheuer creates a CIA unit, the Bin Laden Issue Station, to gather intelligence on Bin Laden. |
| 18 | May | 1996 | Islamic State of Afghanistan | Heading from Africa to Asia, Bin Laden moves to Afghanistan providing him a safe haven for al-Qaeda activities. |
| 25 | Jun | 1996 | Khobar Towers,Khobar, Saudi Arabia | Al-Qaeda commits the Khobar Towers bombing targeting American servicemen in Saudi Arabia to participate in Operation Southern Watch. |
| 23 | Aug | 1996 | | Bin Ladin issues a fatwa declaring war on the United States, which is published in the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi in London. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York open a criminal file on him under the charge of seditious conspiracy. |
| 27 | Sept | 1996 | Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | The Taliban, a radical Islamic movement, rises to power by conquering Kabul and declares the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. |
| - | Nov | 1996 | | Informant Jamal al-Fadl reveals the existence of al-Qaeda to the FBI. |
| 23 | Nov | 1996 | Grande Comore, Comoros | Attackers hijack Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 and most of the passengers die in the resulting crash landing. |
| - | - | 1998 | | An embassy bombing suspect claims that an 'extensive network of al-Qaeda sleeper agents' is planning a 'big attack' inside the United States. |
| - | - | 1998 | Hamburg, Germany | 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and associates are monitored some by US and Germany in their Hamburg apartment. |
| - | Feb | 1998 | | Bin Laden expands religious edict against US and allies by issuing a second fatwa calling on Muslims to join a jihad against Jews and Christians until the United States and Israel evacuate the Middle East, and reiterates the themes in a televised interview with ABC News. |
| 8 | Jun | 1998 | | A U.S. grand jury delivers a sealed indictment of bin Laden for "conspiracy to attack defense utilities of the United States." |
| 7 | Aug | 1998 | Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | The 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania bring al-Qaeda to US public attention for the first time. |
| 8-10 | Aug | 1998 | Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | In Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban and Al Qaeda's 055 Brigade massacred between 4,000 and 8,000 people, including 11 Iranian diplomats. Iran threatened to intervene, but relented after mediation by the United Nations. |
| 20 | Aug | 1998 | Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | Operation Infinite Reach, U.S. cruise missile strikes on Al-Qaeda training camp in Khost, Afghanistan, in retaliation of Al-Qaeda's U.S. embassy bombings two weeks earlier. |
| 8 | Oct | 1999 | United States | Al-Qaeda is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the U.S. State Department. The Federal Aviation Administration instructs airlines to maintain "a high degree of alertness" against the organization. |
| 15 | Oct | 1999 | New York City, New York, United States | The United Nations Security Council passes a resolution demanding that the Taliban extradite Bin Ladin. |
| 31 | Oct | 1999 | Atlantic Ocean, 100 km (62 mi; 54 nmi) south of Nantucket | Suicide pilot crashes EgyptAir Flight 990 into the ocean. |
| - | Nov-Dec | 1999 | | The 2000 millennium attack plots for bombings in Jordan and Los Angeles International Airport are discovered and prevented. |
| - | Dec | 1999 | Hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal and Delhi, India; landed at Amritsar, India; Lahore, Pakistan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Kandahar, Afghanistan. | Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacked. One passenger dies while the others are released. |
| 12 | Oct | 2000 | Yemen, West Africa | The USS Cole is bombed in Yemen by Al-Qaeda. |
| 10 | Jul | 2001 | | FBI Agent Kenneth Williams writes a memo warning that al-Qaeda members are training at flight schools in the United States, and CIA Director George Tenet briefs officials such as National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. |
| 6 | Aug | 2001 | | President George W. Bush receives the President's Daily Brief Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US warning of an imminent attack on the United States by al-Qaeda. |
| 4 | Sept | 2001 | | The United States National Security Council prepares a $200 million plan to aid opponents of the Taliban in the Afghan Civil War, but it is not presented to President Bush. |
| 9 | Sept | 2001 | Khwājah Bahā ud Dīn (Khvājeh Bahāuḏḏīn), Takhar Province in northeastern Afghanistan | Al-Qaeda assassinates Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander of the Northern Alliance. |

## Planning

| Day | Month | Year(s) | Location | Notes |
| - | - | 1992 | Germany | Mohamed Atta arrives in Germany. |
| - | - | 1994 | Philippines | Planning on Operation Bojinka begins |
| - | - | 1995 | Germany | Operation Bojinka foiled, Said Bahaji and Ramzi bin al-Shibh arrive in Germany. |
| - | - | 1996 | Germany | Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah arrive in Germany. |
| - | - | 1997 | Germany | Zakariyah Essabar arrives in Germany. |
| - | - | 1998 | Germany | Recruitment of terrorists in Germany starts. |
| - | - | 1998 | United States | Bill Clinton warned 'bin Laden preparing to hijack US aircraft' inside US. |
| - | - | 1999 | Hamburg, Germany | Hamburg cell is fully formed. |
| - | - | 1999 | Germany | German authorities monitors call to 9/11 hijacker al-Shehhi, shares information with CIA. |
| - | - | 1999 | Germany | Germans monitor call mentioning key al-Qaeda Hamburg cell members, including 9/11 hijacker Atta's full name and number. |
| - | - | 1999 | | 9/11 hijacker Jarrah has unofficial wedding; photograph later suggests German intelligence has informant. |
| - | - | 1999 | | Three 9/11 hijackers obtain US visas. |
| - | - | 1999 | | Hani Hanjour obtains pilot's license despite dubious skills. |
| - | - | 1999 | Germany | German intelligence records calls between 9/11 hijacker al-Shehhi and others linked to al-Qaeda. |
| - | - | 1999 | | Saudi ambassador's wife gives funds that are possibly passed to 9/11 hijackers. |
| - | - | 1999 | United States | President Clinton warned about al-Qaeda operatives living in US. |
| - | - | 1999 | | Watch list importance is stressed but procedures are not followed. |
| - | - | 1999 | United States | NSA tells CIA about planned al-Qaeda summit involving future hijackers. |
| - | - | 2000 | Malaysia and United States | 2000 al-Qaeda Summit in Malaysia, pilots head to the United States and attend flight training schools. |
| - | - | 2001 | United States | Remaining hijackers go to the United States, Zacarias Moussaoui goes to the United States and is arrested, other cell members flee Germany. |

## September 11, 2001

All times are in local time (EDT or UTC−4).
| Time (a.m) H:M: | Location | Notes |
| 7:59 | Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts | American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston Logan, bound for Los Angeles. |
| 8:14 | Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts | United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Boston Logan, also bound for Los Angeles. |
| 8:20 | Washington Dulles International Airport, Dulles, Virginia | American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport, also bound for Los Angeles. |
| 8:42 | Newark International Airport, Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey | United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport, bound for San Francisco International Airport. |
| 8:42–8:46 | United States airspace | Flight 175 is hijacked. |
| 8:46:40 | North Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New York | Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center between the 93rd and 99th floors. |
| 8:50–8:54 | United States airspace | Flight 77 is hijacked. |
| 9:03:02 | South Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New York | Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors. |
| 9:28 | United States airspace | Flight 93 is hijacked. |
| 9:37:46 | The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia | Flight 77 crashes into The Pentagon. |
| 9:59:00 | South Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New York | The South Tower collapses. |
| 10:03:11 | Shanksville, Pennsylvania | Flight 93 crashes into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. |
| 10:28:25 | North Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New York | The North Tower collapses. |

## Rest of September

* September 13: On the personal orders of Queen Elizabeth II, The "Star-Spangled Banner" is played during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace in London, marking the first time a foreign national anthem was played outside Buckingham Palace on an occasion other than a state visit. Russia observes a minute's silence. Further information: Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks
* September 14 to September 21: Worldwide stock markets plummet. Further information: Economic effects of the September 11 attacks
* September 15: CIA director George Tenet presents the Worldwide Attack Matrix.
* September 20: George W. Bush announces that the US is at war. Further information: U.S. government response to the September 11 attacks

## October

* October 1: Rudy Giuliani speaks to the United Nations General Assembly.
* October 7: U.S. Attack on Afghanistan commences.

## Beyond October

* March 2002: The Tribute in Light project begins.
* September 11, 2002: First anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks commemorations are held throughout the world, particularly the U.S.