Urban terrorism
Encyclopedia
Urban Terrorism, is the targeted use of terrorism
in urban
populations in order to cause the most harm, injury, death, or property damage. Since urban areas have significantly higher population densities
than rural
areas, targeting those areas can maximize the effect of the terrorist attack.
On February 26, 1993, at 12:17 p.m., a Ryder
truck filled with 1500 pounds (680.4 kg) of explosives, planted by Ramzi Yousef
, detonated in the underground garage of the North Tower. The blast opened a 100 foot (30 m) hole through five sublevels with the greatest damage occurring on levels B1 and B2 and significant structural damage on level B3. Six people were killed, over 1,000 were injured and 50,000 other workers and visitors were left gasping for air within the 110 story towers. Many people inside the North Tower were forced to walk down darkened stairwells that contained no emergency lighting, some taking two hours or more to reach safety.
Yousef fled to Pakistan after the bombing but was arrested in Islamabad
in February 1995, and was extradited back to the United States to face trial. Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman was convicted in 1996 for involvement in the bombing and other plots. Yousef and Eyad Ismoil
were convicted in November 1997 for their carrying out the bombing. Four others had been convicted in May 1994 for their involvement in the 1993 bombing. According to a presiding judge, the conspirators' chief aim at the time of the attack was to destabilize the north tower and send it crashing into the south tower, toppling both landmarks.
s by al-Qaeda
. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists
hijacked
four commercial passenger jet airliner
s. 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 many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon
in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville
in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. in an attempted attack on the United States Capitol Building. There were no survivors from any of the flights.
The death toll of the attacks was 2,995, including the 19 hijackers. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. In addition, there is at least one secondary death – one person was ruled by a medical examiner to have died from lung disease
due to exposure to dust from the World Trade Center's collapse.
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
in urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
populations in order to cause the most harm, injury, death, or property damage. Since urban areas have significantly higher population densities
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
than rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas, targeting those areas can maximize the effect of the terrorist attack.
Examples
A variety of methods for committing urban terrorism have been employed in recent history including car bombs, explosive vests, and in the case of the September 11 attacks, hijacked airplanes.February 26, 1993 World Trade Center Bombing
Ryder
Ryder System, Inc. , or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products, and is especially known for its fleet of rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage. Ryder operates in North...
truck filled with 1500 pounds (680.4 kg) of explosives, planted by Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
, detonated in the underground garage of the North Tower. The blast opened a 100 foot (30 m) hole through five sublevels with the greatest damage occurring on levels B1 and B2 and significant structural damage on level B3. Six people were killed, over 1,000 were injured and 50,000 other workers and visitors were left gasping for air within the 110 story towers. Many people inside the North Tower were forced to walk down darkened stairwells that contained no emergency lighting, some taking two hours or more to reach safety.
Yousef fled to Pakistan after the bombing but was arrested in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
in February 1995, and was extradited back to the United States to face trial. Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman was convicted in 1996 for involvement in the bombing and other plots. Yousef and Eyad Ismoil
Eyad Ismoil
Eyad Ismoil , also transliterated as Eyad Ismail, is a Jordanian citizen who, for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was convicted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of conspiracy in 1997.-World Trade Center bombing:On February 26, 1993, Ismoil,...
were convicted in November 1997 for their carrying out the bombing. Four others had been convicted in May 1994 for their involvement in the 1993 bombing. According to a presiding judge, the conspirators' chief aim at the time of the attack was to destabilize the north tower and send it crashing into the south tower, toppling both landmarks.
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attackSuicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
s by al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
four commercial passenger jet airliner
Jet airliner
A jet airliner is an airliner that is powered by jet engines. This term is sometimes contracted to jetliner or jet.In contrast to today's relatively fuel-efficient, turbofan-powered air travel, first generation jet airliner travel was noisy and fuel inefficient...
s. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Shanksville is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 245, as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area and is approximately 60 miles southeast from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. in an attempted attack on the United States Capitol Building. There were no survivors from any of the flights.
The death toll of the attacks was 2,995, including the 19 hijackers. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. In addition, there is at least one secondary death – one person was ruled by a medical examiner to have died from lung disease
Respiratory disease
Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...
due to exposure to dust from the World Trade Center's collapse.