Fighting Al-Qaeda: 2001-06

Rescuers at work amid the ruins of the World Trade Center on September 13, 2001 (AFP) - Some 3,000 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack on U.S. territory when Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial airliners on September 11, 2001. The hijackers managed to fly two of the planes into New York's World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers apparently overpowered the hijackers.

Northern Alliance fighters preparing to attack Taliban positions in Khala Zahi, Afghanistan, on October 19, 2001 (AFP) - U.S. President George W. Bush announced the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001. The goal of the operation was to root out Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and to remove the Taliban government that had harbored the network.

Two Canadian tourists mourn in Denpasar, Bali, on October 13, 2002 (epa) - Al-Qaeda-associated terrorists exploded a massive car bomb in a tourist area of the Indonesian island of Bali on October 12, 2002. In all, 202 people – mostly Australian tourists -- were killed in the attack.

A woman surveys the damage caused by a bomb at a Jewish center in Casablanca, Morocco, on May 17, 2003 (AFP) - At least five bombs exploded simultaneously in Casablanca, Morocco, on May 17, 2003, killing 45 people and injuring scores more. The authorities blame the attacks on Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom (right) lays a wreath outside an Istanbul synagogue on November 16, 2003 (AFP) - Terrorists killed 23 people in two, near-simultaneous car-bomb attacks on synagogues in Istanbul on November 7, 2003. Six weeks later, on December 20, 2003, two bombings against British targets in Istanbul leave 27 dead and some 450 injured.

A passenger car that was ripped apart by the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004 (epa) - In the worst terrorist attack in Spanish history, more than 190 people were killed and some 1,700 injured when 10 bombs exploded in coordinated attacks against four crowded commuter trains. In general elections shortly afterward, Spaniards rejected their pro-U.S. government in favor of one that advocated pulling Spanish troops out of Iraq.

A bus destroyed in the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks against the London transport system (epa) - In a rush-hour attack on July 7, 2005, two bombs exploded in the London metro and a third on a bus, killing 52 people and injuring more than 700. Most of the perpetrators are believed to have been Al-Qaeda-inspired British-Muslim citizens.

A composite of photographs of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that was entered into evidence against Zacarias Moussaoui (epa) - On May 6, 2006, Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. In March, Moussaoui testified that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had ordered him to fly a hijacked airliner into the White House. In April, he entered a guilty plea in his trial.

A man in Baghdad reads on June 10, 2006, about the death of Al-Qaeda in Iraq head Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi (epa) - On June 8, 2006, Jordanian-born terrorist and Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike north of Baghdad. Al-Zarqawi was responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in Iraq, as well as the simultaneous bombings of three hotels in Amman, Jordan, on November 9, 2005. More than 50 people were killed and more than 100 injured in those attacks.