9/11: The Day of the Attacks

Ten years ago, 19 men trained by al-Qaeda carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on the United States that had been planned for years. The attackers simultaneously hijacked four large passenger aircraft with the intention of crashing them into major landmarks in the United States, inflicting as much death and destruction as possible. Three of the planes struck their targets; the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. In a single day, these deliberate acts of mass murder killed nearly 3,000 human beings from 57 countries. More than 400 of the dead were first responders, including New York City firefighters, police officers, and EMTs. It was one of the most-covered media events of all time, and after a decade, the images are still difficult to view. These attacks and the global reaction to them have profoundly shaped the world we live in, so it remains important to see the images and remember just what happened on that dark day. This entry is part two of a three-part series on the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks -- (see also Part 1: The Week Before and Part 3: The Decade Since). [50 photos]

The Statue of Liberty, seen from a vantage point in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the lower Manhattan skyline is shrouded in smoke following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Photo taken on September 15, 2001. (AP Photo/Dan Loh)  

Stunned Norway mourns assault victims

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Signs of normality began to return to Oslo on Monday after the peaceful, liberal 

country was stunned on Friday by the bombing in downtown Oslo and the shooting massacre at a youth 

camp outside the capital. Over the weekend, Oslo mourned the victims. Norway's King Harald V and 

his wife Queen Sonja and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg crowded into Oslo Cathedral on Sunday,

where the pews were packed, and people spilled into the plaza outside the building. The area was

strewn with flowers and candles, and people who could not fit in the grand church huddled under 

umbrellas in a drizzle.
Afterward, people sobbed and hugged one another in the streets, as many lingered over the memorial

of flowers and candles. The royal couple and prime minister later visited the site of the bombing in Oslo.

(25 images)

 People embrace and mourn at the massive flower field laid in memory of victims of Friday's twin attacks in front of the Oslo Cathedral in Oslo, Norway, Monday, July 25, 2011. AP / Frank Augstein