NEW YORK (WCSC) — A thunderous explosion rocked lower Manhattan, marking the first major act of Middle Eastern terrorism on American soil nearly eight years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
At about 17 minutes past noon on Feb. 26, 1993, a massive eruption in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center carved out a nearly 100-foot crater. Six people were killed almost instantly, and more than 1,000 were injured as smoke and flames filled the building.
FILE – In this Feb. 26, 1993 file photo, emergency vehicles and personnel fill New York’s West Street following an underground explosion that rocked the World Trade Center. It was a terror attack that foreshadowed Sept. 11: the deadly World Trade Center bombing that happened 25 years ago Monday. (AP Photo/Betsy Herzog, File)(Betsy Herzog | AP)
The FBI and its partners on the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force quickly launched a massive investigation. They uncovered a key piece of evidence: a vehicle identification number on a piece of wreckage. This led to the arrest of Mohammad Salameh, who had rented the van used in the attack.
Further investigation led to the capture of three more suspects and the discovery of the apartment where the bomb was built, along with dangerous chemicals. All four men were tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.
The mastermind of the attack, Ramzi Yousef, was captured in Pakistan in 1995. He later revealed his plot was intended to topple one tower, causing it to collapse onto the second.
Eight years after this bombing, the World Trade Center would again be a target for another terror attack, one that would topple both towers, killing more than 2,700 people.
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