Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group. Terrorists use violence to bring attention to their ideas. The members of al-Qaeda share a particular view of the religion of Islam. They believe that the United States and other non-Islamic countries have interfered in the affairs of Islamic countries. Their attacks have often been against citizens of these non-Islamic countries.
Al-Qaeda has thousands of members. Experts believe that the group operates in 40 to 50 countries throughout the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America. A wealthy Saudi Arabian named Osama bin Laden and other fighters started al-Qaeda in the late 1980s. In about 1996 bin Laden set up al-Qaeda's headquarters in Afghanistan.
Experts believe that al-Qaeda planned a bombing at the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993. They also accuse al-Qaeda of bombing U.S. embassies and military sites in other countries.
Al-Qaeda became widely known in 2001. On September 11 of that year it attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Nineteen al-Qaeda members hijacked four U.S. passenger airplanes. They crashed two of the airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people died in these attacks.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda. U.S. forces destroyed many of al-Qaeda's bases. The group, including bin Laden, went into hiding. Nevertheless, al-Qaeda continued its activities.
