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The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/11, in combination with the attacks' side effects on that day) were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and thousands of those working in the buildings. Both towers collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. A third airliner was crashed into the Pentagon. Hijackers had redirected the fourth plane toward Washington, D. C. , targeting either the Capitol Building or the White House, but crashed it in a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the airliner. There were no survivors from any of the flights. Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks. Among the 2,753 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority, and 8 private emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Another 184 people were killed in the attack on the Pentagon. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries.

(Reuters) - NATO planners are finding it harder to isolate targets in Tripoli due to rebel movement throughout the city, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, as Defence Secretary Leon Panetta voiced hopes the alliance could soon start winding down its Libya mission.

The United States, which is providing Predator drones and other air capabilities to the NATO mission, had sharply stepped up the tempo of its air strikes on Libya over the past week and a half, according to Pentagon data.

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/08/23/uk-libya-usa-pentagon-idUKTRE77M8TM20110823