On September 11, 2001, four passenger airliners bound for California were hijacked by members of the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda and flown into four major buildings located in New York City and Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers took control of the aircraft and steered it away from its target in D.C.

The attack left a permanent impression on the American conscious, launching the country into a prolonged "War on Terror" that was initially waged against the fundamentalist group known as the Taliban and later expanded over the course more than 10 years. After years of hiding, Osama bin Laden, who claimed responsibility for orchestrating the attack, was located and killed by American servicemen in 2011.

Although no military achievement can take away the pain induced by the terrorist attacks, Americans have at least found some sense of peace in remembering and honoring the more than 2,900 lives that were lost on 9/11. With that in mind, we look back on some of the images captured during the historic tragedy.

Here are eight powerful images from September 11, 2001.

The Attack.

Flickr/9-11 Photos - staticflickr.com

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The Response.

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The Recovery.

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Wikimedia - wikimedia.org