On 12 September, 2001, the world was reeling in shock. The day before, al-Qaeda terrorists had hijacked commercial planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing 2,977 people. Americans were gripped with grief for the dead and fear of a potential next attack. The United States’ image of invincibility had been shattered. People of all nations were stunned.
Around the globe, newspapers struggled to capture the full scope of the tragedy on their front pages. Twenty-one years later, they provide a glimpse of the world’s first reactions to that day of horror.
