Timeline

Al Qaeda was established in 1989 by Osama Bin Ladin. By 1993, he had started up a militant training camp in Sudan and looking for unclear weaponry. Also in 1993 his associate set off their first bombing in New York and was sentenced to life without parole. In the same year Al Qaeda supporters attacked UN troops in Somalia and killed 18 U.S. servicemen. In 1995 the group unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the Egyptian president in Ethiopia. Within the same year seven people were killed in Saudi Arabia after two bombs exploded, Ladin accused of the bombings. In 19196 the organization moved its base from Sudan to Afghanistan and is re-organized with Ladin as it's official leader. On June 25, followers of Bin Ladin bombed a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia killing 19 American soldiers and wounding hundreds. In September, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and later offered refugee to Osama Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda. On February 22, 1998 Osama bin Laden called for attacks on American citizens. In August of 1998, bombs were exploded in the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killing over 200 people and injuring 5,000. The U.S. retaliated with air strikes against suspected training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan. On November 4th, a federal grand jury indicted Bin Ladin for the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa.

On October 12, 2000 two suicide bombers suspected to be associated with bin Laden, attacked the navy destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, and killed 17 sailors. On May 29th, a District Court jury found four of Osama bin Laden's followers guilty of conspiring to kill Americans, including those killed in the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. On June 19th, Laden released a taped message, which may have triggered the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. In August, Osama threatened to attack the U.S. On September 11, 2001 attacks on World Trade Center in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania occurred killing close to 3,000 people. Al-Qaeda was blamed within days of the attacks. On October 7th, the United States launched air strikes in Afghanistan aimed at Al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban bases. Laden, in a videotaped message, praised God for September,11th attacks and swears America will never "dream of security" until "the infidels' armies leave the land of Muhammad." On October 9th, Al Qaeda's spokesman made a statement calling for a "holy war" against the United States. Friction between America and Al Qaeda continued for years and sill is an issue. On May 11, 2011 Osama bin Laden, head of al-Qaeda, was killed when CIA paramilitaries and a Navy SEAL team attacked his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.