Timeline

Timeline of the U.S- Led War on Terror

America Responds to 9/11:

• Sept. 11, 2001: Terrorists hijack four U.S. planes, crashing two into the two towers of the World Trade Center

• Sept. 12, 2001: Bush addresses the nation, declaring war and stating: “The United States of America will use all our resources to defeat this enemy.

• Sept. 20, 2001: In a speech addressing Congress and the nation, Bush announces the War on Terror, saying, “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”

• Sept. 25, 2001: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld announces the anti-terror campaign as “Operation Enduring Freedom,”

War in Afghanistan Begins:

• Oct. 7, 2001: Airstrikes by the United States and Great Britain are launched in Afghanistan at Taliban and Al Qaeda training camps and targets.

• Oct. 19-20, 2001: The ground war begins

Iraq War Begins:

• May 1, 2003: Bush delivers a speech, “Mission Accomplished,” saying that major combat efforts in Iraq will end.

• Aug. 19, 2003: Twenty-three people, including a top United Nations official, are killed and 100 wounded after a suicide bomber drives a truck into UN headquarters in Baghdad.

• March 11, 2004: A coordinated bombing of four commuter trains in Madrid kills 191 people and injures more than 2000. Islamic militants, based in Spain but inspired by al Qaeda, are later considered the prime suspects.

• July 7, 2005: Terrorist bombings on the London Underground and atop a double-decker bus kill 52 people and injure more than 700.

Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden Killed:

• Dec. 30, 2006: After being sentenced to death by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity

• Aug. 30, 2010: President Barack Obama declares an end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq.

• May 2, 2011: Osama bin Laden is killed by U.S. Special Forces during a raid at an Abbottabad, Pakistan compound.