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

DayMonthYear(s)LocationNotes
--1950EgyptSayyid 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 American culture.
--1951-1965Qutb 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.
--1966EgyptSayyid Qutb is executed in Egypt and his brother Muhammad Qutb flees to Saudi Arabia, acquiring a teaching position at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.
--1973Lower Manhattan in New York City, United StatesWork is completed on the original World Trade Center.
--1976Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaOsama bin Laden, son of Saudi billionaire businessman Mohammed bin Laden, is radicalized by Qutb while attending King Abdulaziz University for business administration.
--1979United StatesThe United States first becomes concerned over Islamic extremism after the Iranian Revolution, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Grand Mosque seizure.
--1980Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaBin Laden completes university.
--PakistanBin 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.
--1981Bin 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.
--1983United States Marine Corps barracks, Beirut Airport 'Drakkar' barracks of French 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, Ramlet al Baida, BeirutThe 1983 Beirut barracks bombings targeting the Multinational Force in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War provides inspiration for Bin Laden.
-Oct1984Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992) and PakistanBin Laden cofounds a network, the Maktab al-Khidamat, with Abdullah Yusuf Azzam in Afghanistan and Pakistan to recruit Muslims for the Afghan resistance.
--1986Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)Bin Laden travels to Afghanistan to lead MAK forces in combat.
-Feb1987Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)Al-Qaeda establishes its first training camps in Afghanistan.
25MayPaktia Province, Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)Bin Laden withstands a Soviet attack during the Battle of Jaji, establishing his reputation in the Arab world.
8DecIsrael and Occupied Palestinian TerritoryThe First Intifada begins in Palestine. Bin Laden expresses vocal support for the conflict, and begins to advocate in favor of jihad against the West.
--1988Osama 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.
15Feb1989Republic 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-JuneJalalabad, 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.
30JunSudan, North AfricaOmar 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.
-NovSaudi ArabiaBin 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.
24Peshawar, PakistanAzzam is assassinated in a car bombing, allowing bin Laden to dominate the organization.
22May1990South and North YemenThe 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.
2AugKuwait, West AsiaBa'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.
-SeptBin 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.
5NovNew York Marriott East Side, Midtown Manhattan, New York CityEl 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.
-Apr1991Sudan, East AfricaBin Laden moves to Sudan and begins expanding al-Qaeda using legitimate businesses as front organizations.
--1992Arabian Peninsula and Horn of AfricaBin 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.
27AprRepublic 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.
29DecAden, Yemen, West AsiaAl-Qaeda attacks U.S. military forces for the first time in the Yemen hotel bombings in Aden.
26Feb1993World Trade Center, New York City, New York, U.S.Ramzi Yousef carries out the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
3-4OctMogadishu, Somalia, Horn of Africa18 American servicemen are killed by al-Qaeda-trained forces in the Battle of Mogadishu.
9Apr1994Bin Laden's Saudi citizenship is revoked.
-SeptKandahar, Kandahar Province, Islamic State of AfghanistanMohammed Omar founds the Taliban in Kandahar.
24-26DecHouari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria and Marseille Provence Airport, Marseille, FranceArmed Islamic Group of Algeria militants attempt to crash Air France Flight 8969 into the Eiffel Tower, influencing al-Qaeda's future planning.
6Jan1995Doña 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.
7FebPakistanRamzi Yousef is arrested in Pakistan, and is discovered to have financial links to Bin Laden.
-JunU.S. intelligence links al-Qaeda to an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
8Jan1996As 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.
18MayIslamic State of AfghanistanHeading from Africa to Asia, bin Laden moves to Afghanistan providing him a safe haven for al-Qaeda activities.
25JunKhobar Towers, Khobar, Saudi ArabiaAl-Qaeda commits the Khobar Towers bombing targeting American servicemen in Saudi Arabia to participate in Operation Southern Watch.
23AugBin 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.
27SeptIslamic Emirate of AfghanistanThe Taliban, a radical Islamic movement, rises to power by conquering Kabul and declares the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
-NovInformant Jamal al-Fadl reveals the existence of al-Qaeda to the FBI.
23Grande Comore, ComorosAttackers hijack Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 and most of the passengers die in the resulting crash landing.
--1998Hamburg, Germany9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta and associates are monitored some by US and Germany in their Hamburg apartment.
-FebBin 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.
8JunA U.S. grand jury delivers a sealed indictment of bin Laden for "conspiracy to attack defense utilities of the United States."
7AugNairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaThe 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania bring al-Qaeda to US public attention for the first time.
8-10Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh, Islamic Emirate of AfghanistanIn Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban and Al Qaeda's 055 Brigade massacre between 4,000 and 8,000 people, including 11 Iranian diplomats. Iran threatens to intervene, but relents after mediation by the United Nations.
20Islamic Emirate of AfghanistanOperation Infinite Reach, U.S. cruise missile strikes an Al-Qaeda training camp in Khost, Afghanistan, in retaliation of Al-Qaeda's U.S. embassy bombings two weeks earlier.
8Oct1999United StatesAl-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.
15New York City, New York, United StatesThe United Nations Security Council passes a resolution demanding that the Taliban extradite bin Ladin.
31Atlantic Ocean, 100 km (62 mi; 54 nmi) south of NantucketSuicide pilot crashes EgyptAir Flight 990 into the ocean.
-Nov-DecThe 2000 millennium attack plots for bombings in Jordan and Los Angeles International Airport are discovered and prevented.
-DecHijacked 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.
12Oct2000Yemen, West AfricaThe USS Cole is bombed in Yemen by Al-Qaeda.
10Jul2001FBI 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.
19JulAt the G8 summit in Genoa, anti-aircraft missile batteries were installed following intelligence reports that Osama bin Laden would try to crash a plane into a building to kill George Bush.
6AugPresident 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.
4SeptThe 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.
9Khwājah Bahā ud Dīn (Khvājeh Bahāuḏḏīn), Takhar Province in northeastern AfghanistanAl-Qaeda assassinates Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander of the Northern Alliance.

Planning

DayMonthYear(s)LocationNotes
--1992GermanyMohamed Atta arrives in Germany.
--1994PhilippinesPlanning on Operation Bojinka begins.
--1995GermanyOperation Bojinka foiled, Said Bahaji and Ramzi bin al-Shibh arrive in Germany.
--1996Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah arrive in Germany.
--1997Zakariyah Essabar arrives in Germany.
--1998Recruitment of terrorists in Germany starts.
--United StatesBill Clinton warned bin Laden preparing to hijack US aircraft' inside US.
--1999Hamburg, GermanyHamburg cell is fully formed.
--GermanyGerman authorities monitors call to 9/11 hijacker al-Shehhi, shares information with CIA.
--Germans monitor call mentioning key al-Qaeda Hamburg cell members, including 9/11 hijacker Atta's full name and number.
--9/11 hijacker Jarrah has unofficial wedding; photograph later suggests German intelligence has informant.
--Three 9/11 hijackers obtain US visas.
--Hani Hanjour obtains pilot's license despite dubious skills.
--GermanyGerman intelligence records calls between 9/11 hijacker al-Shehhi and others linked to al-Qaeda.
--United StatesPresident Clinton warned about al-Qaeda operatives living in US.
--Watch list importance is stressed but procedures are not followed.
--United StatesNSA tells CIA about planned al-Qaeda summit involving future hijackers.
--2000Malaysia and United States2000 al-Qaeda Summit in Malaysia, pilots head to the United States and attend flight training schools.
--Saudi ambassador's wife gives funds that are possibly passed to 9/11 hijackers.
--2001United StatesRemaining 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:LocationNotes
7:59Logan International Airport, Boston, MassachusettsAmerican Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston Logan, bound for Los Angeles.
8:14Logan International Airport, Boston, MassachusettsUnited Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Boston Logan, also bound for Los Angeles.
8:14–8:18United States airspaceFlight 11 is hijacked.
8:20Washington Dulles International Airport, Dulles, VirginiaAmerican Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport, also bound for Los Angeles.
8:42Newark International Airport, Newark and Elizabeth, New JerseyUnited Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport, bound for San Francisco International Airport.
8:42–8:46United States airspaceFlight 175 is hijacked.
8:46:40North Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New YorkFlight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center between the 93rd and 99th floors.
8:50–8:54United States airspaceFlight 77 is hijacked.
9:03:02South Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New YorkFlight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors.
9:28United States airspaceFlight 93 is hijacked.
9:37:46The Pentagon, Arlington, VirginiaFlight 77 crashes into the western side of The Pentagon.
9:59:00South Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New YorkThe South Tower collapses.
10:03:11Shanksville, PennsylvaniaFlight 93 crashes into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
10:28:25North Tower, World Trade Center, New York City, New YorkThe North Tower collapses.

Rest of September

October

Beyond October

External links