1993 World Trade Center bombing

Terrorist attack in the United States March 2026 May 2019 1993 World Trade Center bombing infobox 250 1/2/2 WTC 1993 ATF Commons.jpg 1993 World Trade Center bombing debris.jpg Underground damage after the bombing World Trade CenterManhattan, New York City, U.S. 40.711452 N 74.011919 W region:US-NY_type:event title,inline World Trade Center 1993 02 26 12:18 p.m. UTC−05:00 Van bombing, terrorist attack 6 people and one unborn child 1,042 Ramzi Yousef, Ahmed Ajaj, Eyad Ismoil, and co-conspirators Backlash against American foreign policy in the Middle East and U.S. support for Israel On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and associates carried out a van bomb terrorist attack below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The approximately 1500 lb kg on urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced devicehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401814_pf.html Homemade, Cheap and dangerous – Terror Cells Favor from Simple Ingredients In Building Bombs July 5, 2005 Whitlock, Craig The Washington Post September 9, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20081006102225/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401814_pf.html October 6, 2008 live was intended to make the North Tower collapse onto the South Tower, taking down both skyscrapers and killing tens of thousands of people. While it failed to do so, it was successful in killing six people,https://www.911memorial.org/connect/commemoration/February26-1993 February 26, 1993 Commemoration Each year on February 26, victims' families, survivors, downtown residents, and city and state officials gather at the 9/11 Memorial to mark the anniversary of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing with a moment of silence, the tolling of a bell, and a reading of the names of the six victims of the first terror attack at the site. including a pregnant mother, and caused over a thousand injuries.https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/february/tradebom_022608 FBI 100 First Strike: Global Terror in America FBI.gov September 8, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110903024103/http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/february/tradebom_022608 September 3, 2011 live About 50,000 people were evacuated from the buildings that day.http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/childers.htm Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings: Foreign Terrorists in America: Five Years After the World Trade Center January 8, 2008 Childers J. Gilmore Henry J. DePippo February 24, 1998 US Senate Judiciary Committee https://web.archive.org/web/20071227065444/http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/childers.htm December 27, 2007 dead Wright, Lawrence, Looming Tower, Knopf, (2006) p. 178. The attack was planned by a group of terrorists including Yousef, Ahmed Ajaj, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammed A. Salameh, Eyad Ismoil, Nidal Ayyad, and Abdul Rahman Yasin. In March 1994, four men were convicted of carrying out the bombing: Ajaj, Abouhalima, Ayyad, and Salameh. The charges included conspiracy, explosive destruction of property, and interstate transportation of explosives. In November 1997, two more were convicted: Ramzi Yousef, the organizer behind the bombings, and Eyad Ismoil, who drove the van carrying the bomb.1993 World Trade Center Bombing Emad Salem, an FBI informant and a key witness in the trial of Yousef, Abdul Hakim Murad, and Wali Khan Amin Shah, stated that the bomb itself was built under supervision from the FBI.https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/12/15/informant-says-he-built-world-trade-center-bomb/ Informant says he built World Trade Center bomb During his time as an FBI informant, Salem recorded hours of telephone conversations with his FBI handlers. In tapes made after the bombing, Salem alleged that an unnamed FBI supervisor declined to move forward on a plan that would have used a "phony powder" to fool the conspirators into believing that they were working with genuine explosives."Tapes Depict Proposal to Thwart Bomb Used in Trade Center Blast," Ralph Blumenthal, The New York Times, October 28, 1993, Section A; Page 1; Column 4 Planning and organization Yousef arrived illegally in the United States on September 1, 1992, traveling with Ahmed Ajaj from Pakistan, though both sat apart on the flight and acted as though they were traveling separately. Ajaj tried to enter using a forged Swedish passport, though it had been altered and thus raised suspicions among Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials at John F. Kennedy International Airport. When officials put Ajaj through secondary inspection, they discovered bomb-making instructions and other materials in his luggage, and arrested him. The name Abu Barra, an alias of Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, appeared in the manuals. Yousef entered on a false Iraqi passport claiming political asylum, and was given a hearing date.https://fas.org/irp/congress/1998_hr/s980224c.htm Foreign Terrorists in America 1998 Congressional Hearings – Intelligence and Security Federation of American Scientists February 24, 1998 October 27, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090112071542/http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1998_hr/s980224c.htm January 12, 2009 live Yousef set up residence in Jersey City, New Jersey, traveled around New York and New Jersey and called Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a controversial blind Muslim cleric, via cell phone. After being introduced to his co-conspirators by Abdel Rahman at the latter's Al-Farooq Mosque in Brooklyn, Yousef began assembling the 1500 lb kg on urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device for delivery to the WTC. He ordered chemicals from his hospital room when he had been injured in a car crash – one of three accidents caused by Salameh in late 1992 and early in 1993. El Sayyid Nosair, one of the blind sheikh's men, was arrested in 1991 for the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane. According to prosecutors, "the Red" Mahmud Abouhalima, also convicted in the bombing, told Wadih el Hage to buy the .357 caliber revolver used by Nosair in the Kahane shooting. In the initial court case in NYS Criminal Court, Nosair was acquitted of murder but convicted of gun charges (in a related and follow-up case in Federal Court, he was convicted). Dozens of Arabic bomb-making manuals and documents related to terrorist plots were found in Nosair's New Jersey apartment, with manuals from Army Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, secret memos linked to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and 1,440 rounds of ammunition.Lance 2003 26 According to the transcript of his trial, Yousef hoped that his explosion would topple Tower 1 which would fall into Tower 2, killing the occupants of both buildings, which he estimated to be about 250,000 peoplehttps://books.google.com/books?id=wglOAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT478 City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center Glanz James Lipton Eric January 21, 2014 Times Books 9781466863071 February 18, 2017 478 in revenge for U.S. support for Israel against Palestine.https://archive.org/details/loomingtoweralqa00wrig registration The Looming Tower Wright Lawrence August 8, 2006 Knopf Doubleday 9780307266088 178 February 18, 2017 According to journalist Steve Coll, Yousef mailed letters to various New York newspapers just before the attack, in which he claimed he belonged to "Liberation Army, Fifth Battalion".Coll Steve Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 https://archive.org/details/ghostwarssecreth00coll registration The Penguin Press HC 2004 1-59420-007-6 These letters made three demands: an end to all US aid to Israel, an end to US diplomatic relations with Israel, and a pledge by the United States to end interference "with any of the Middle East countries' interior affairs." He stated that the attack on the World Trade Center would be merely the first of such attacks if his demands were not met. Yousef did not make any religious justification for the bombing. When asked about his religious views, he was evasive.https://www.rand.org/blog/2001/09/religion-isnt-sole-motive-of-terror.html Religion Isn't Sole Motive of Terror Parachini John V. September 16, 2001 www.rand.org en April 13, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190413034959/https://www.rand.org/blog/2001/09/religion-isnt-sole-motive-of-terror.html April 13, 2019 live Attack thumb|Image of the procession of rescue vehicles responding to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. 1 World Trade Center is on the far right of the frame. thumb|Depiction of blast damage On Friday, February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and a Jordanian friend, Eyad Ismoil, drove a yellow Ford EconolineBlumenthal Ralph 1993-03-05 THE TWIN TOWERS: The Investigation; Insistence on Refund for a Truck Results in an Arrest in Explosion en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/05/nyregion/twin-towers-investigation-insistence-refund-for-truck-results-arrest-explosion.html 2022-03-06 0362-4331 Ryder van into Lower Manhattan, and pulled into the public parking garage beneath the World Trade Center around noon. They parked on the underground B-2 level. Yousef ignited the 20 ft m on fuse, and fled. Twelve minutes later, at 12:18 p.m.,9/11 Commission 2004a 89 the bomb exploded in the underground garage, generating an estimated pressure of 150000 psi GPa.Reeve (1999), p. 10. The bomb opened a 100 ft m mid -wide hole through four sublevels of concrete. The detonation velocity of this bomb was about 15000 ft/s mph km/s. The bomb instantly cut off the World Trade Center's main electrical power line, knocking out the emergency lighting system. The bomb caused smoke to rise to the 93rd floor of both towers, including through the stairwells (which were not pressurized), and smoke went up the damaged elevators in both towers.https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DC103DF934A15751C0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Tougher Code May Not Have Helped Barbanel, Josh February 27, 1993 The New York Times September 9, 2009 With thick smoke filling the stairwells, evacuation was difficult for building occupants and led to many smoke inhalation injuries. Hundreds were trapped in elevators in the towers when the power was cut, including a group of 17 kindergarteners on their way down from the South Tower observation deck, who were trapped between the 35th and 36th floors for five hours.http://www.newsweek.com/id/111113 A Shaken City's Towering Inferno Mathews, Tom March 8, 1993 Newsweek October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081030073528/http://www.newsweek.com/id/111113 October 30, 2008 liveA major calamity, a lot of fear Stone, Andrea USA Today March 1, 1993 thumb|Location of the explosion Six people were killed: five Port Authority employees, one of whom was pregnant, and a businessman whose car was in the parking garage. Additionally, over 1,000 people were injured, most during the evacuation that followed the blast.Reeve (1999), p. 15. A report from the US Fire Administration states that "Among the scores of people who fled to the roofs of the towers, 28 with medical problems were airlifted by New York City police helicopters". It is known that 15 people received traumatic injuries from the blast and 20 complained of cardiac problems. One firefighter was hospitalized, while 87 others, 35 police officers, and an EMS worker were also injured in dealing with the fires and other aftermath.http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-076.pdf The World Trade Center Bombing: Report and Analysis February 1993 US Fire Administration, DHS October 25, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20111216064409/http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-076.pdf December 16, 2011 dead Also as a result of the loss of power, most of New York City's radio and television stations (except WCBS-TV (channel 2)) lost their over-the-air broadcast signal for almost a week,Mann Virginia M. Ervolino William TV stations scrambled to stay on air https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-tv-stations-scrambled-to-stay/86337340/ November 6, 2025 The Record February 27, 1993 Hackensack, New Jersey A-11 Newspapers.com with television stations only being able to broadcast via cable and satellite via a microwave hookup between the stations and three of the New York area's largest cable companies, Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable. Telephone service for much of Lower Manhattan was also disrupted. Yousef's plan was that the North Tower would fall onto the South Tower, collapsing them both. The tower did not collapse, but the garage was severely damaged in the explosion. Had the van been parked closer to the WTC's poured concrete foundations, Yousef's plan might have succeeded.https://web.archive.org/web/20050316140649/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3069653/ March 16, 2005 http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3069653/ MSNBC An Icon Destroyed dead 2003 Yousef escaped to Pakistan several hours after the bombing. Bomb's characteristics February 2011 First reports described the explosion as "having the characteristics of from 200 to 300 pounds of a plastic explosive called Semtex".https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/28/nyregion/explosion-twin-towers-precautions-with-talk-bomb-security-tightens.html EXPLOSION AT THE TWIN TOWERS: The Precautions; With Talk of a Bomb, Security Tightens Catherine S. Manegold The New York Times February 28, 1993 According to an article published in 1997, Semtex was only used as a detonating charge in the bombBOHUMIL SOLE DIES – The Washington Post but it is unknown how the terrorists would have obtained Semtex (which is not a "homemade" explosive, unlike other supposed components of the bomb). According to the FBI, Yousef was assisted by Iraqi bomb maker Abdul Rahman Yasin, who helped assemble the complex 1310 lb kg on bomb, which was made of a urea nitrate main charge with aluminum, magnesium and ferric oxide particles surrounding the explosive. The charge used nitroglycerine, ammonium nitrate dynamite, smokeless powder and fuse as booster explosives.https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/teryasin.htm Abdul Rahman Yasin Most Wanted Terrorists Federal Bureau of Investigation October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081014074948/https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/teryasin.htm October 14, 2008 live Three tanks of bottled hydrogen were also placed in a circular configuration around the main charge, to enhance the fireball and afterburn of the solid metal particles.https://fas.org/irp/congress/1998_hr/s980224c.htm Foreign Terrorists In America Federation of American Scientists October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090112071542/http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1998_hr/s980224c.htm January 12, 2009 live The use of compressed gas cylinders in this type of attack closely resembles the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing 10 years earlier. Both of these attacks used compressed gas cylinders to create fuel-air and thermobaric bombsPaul Rogers(2000) Politics in the Next 50 Years: The Changing Nature of International Conflict https://web.archive.org/web/20090329054243/http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/peace/publications/papers/psp1full.pdf March 29, 2009 . that release more energy than conventional high explosives. According to testimony in the bomb trial, only once before the 1993 attack had the FBI recorded a bomb that used urea nitrate. Moreover, FBI agent Frederic Whitehurst was strongly critical of the procedures used to determine that the bomb contained urea nitrate; according to his testimony, he urinated in a vial, dried the urine and gave a sample of it to the analysts, who still concluded that the substance handed to them was urea nitrate.http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/death/tscr/whitehur/fw_21.gif Urea nitrate rarely used as explosive. June 2, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060630180649/http://public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/death/tscr/whitehur/fw_21.gif June 30, 2006 usurped Alternate link: If you get a 403 server error, try this link and then click on the link for "Page 16335".Frederic Whitehurst, FBI Lab Whistleblower Testifying at the World Trade Center Bombing Trial August 14, 1995 https://web.archive.org/web/20160730002833/http://www.web-ak.com/waco/death/tscr/whitehur/fw_test.html July 30, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160807041039/http://www.web-ak.com/waco/death/tscr/whitehur/fw_21.gif August 7, 2016 The Ryder van used in the bombing had 295 cuft m3 of space, which would hold up to 2000 lb kg of explosives. However, the van was not filled to capacity. Yousef used four 20 ft m mid -long fuses, all covered in surgical tubing. Yasin calculated that the fuse would trigger the bomb in twelve minutes after he had used a cigarette lighter to light the fuse. Yousef wanted the smoke to remain in the tower, smothering people inside, killing them slowly. There was a popular belief at the time that there was cyanide in the bomb, which was reinforced by Judge Duffy's statement at sentencing, "You had sodium cyanide around, and I'm sure it was in the bomb." However, while the bomb's true composition was not able to be ascertained from the crime scene, Robert Blitzer, a senior FBI official who worked on the case, stated that there was "no forensic evidence indicating the presence of sodium cyanide at the bomb site." Furthermore, Yousef is said only to have considered adding cyanide to the bomb, and to have regretted not doing so in Peter Lance's book 1000 Years for Revenge. Victims Six people were killed: John DiGiovanni, age 45, a dental products salesperson. Robert "Bob" Kirkpatrick, age 61, Senior Structural Maintenance Supervisor. Stephen Knapp, age 47, Chief Maintenance Supervisor, Mechanical Section. Bill Macko, age 57, General Maintenance Supervisor, Mechanical Section. Wilfredo Mercado, age 37, a receiving agent for Windows on the World restaurant. Monica Rodríguez Smith, age 35, a secretary, who was seven months pregnant. At the time of the bombing, Smith was checking time sheets in her office on the B-2 level; Kirkpatrick, Knapp and Macko were eating lunch together in an employees' break room next to Smith's office; Mercado was checking in deliveries for the restaurant; and DiGiovanni was parking in the underground garage.1993 WTC Bombing Victims https://www.911memorial.org/1993-wtc-bombing-victims live https://web.archive.org/web/20180219235002/https://www.911memorial.org/1993-wtc-bombing-victims February 19, 2018 January 30, 2018 Memorials Memorial fountain 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Memorial A granite memorial fountain honoring the victims who died during the bombing was designed by Elyn Zimmerman and dedicated on May 25, 1995, on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza, directly above the site of the explosion.Zimmerman Elyn September 11th: ART LOSS, DAMAGE, AND REPERCUSSIONS -The World Trade Center Memorial, 1993 https://www.ifar.org/nineeleven/911_memorial1.htm ifar.org 21 July 2023 28 February 2002 It contained the names of the six adults who were killed in the attack, as well as an inscription written both in English and Spanish that read: "On February 26, 1993, a bomb set by terrorists exploded below this site. This horrible act of violence killed innocent people, injured thousands, and made victims of us all."9/11 Living Memorial – 1993 WTC Bombing – Memorials http://voicesofseptember11.org/dev/content.php?idtocitems=1,6,1261283132,142752208 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120720120842/http://www.voicesofseptember11.org/dev/content.php?idtocitems=1,6,1261283132,142752208 July 20, 2012 March 10, 2012 Voices of September 11Zimmerman Elyn World Trade Center Memorial 1995 https://www.elynzimmerman.com/world-trade-center-memorial-1995 11 February 2022 www.elynzimmerman.com en-US The fountain was destroyed with the rest of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. A recovered fragment of the fountain marked "John D", from the name of John DiGiovanni, was later incorporated into a temporary memorial designed by Port Authority architect Jacqueline Hanley, and erected on the Liberty Street side of the site following the September 11 attacks. The memorial was visible across a fence barrier but was not open to the public.Watal Divya March 4–11, 2005 WTC Memorial for '93 victims unveiled Downtown Express http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_95/wtcmemorial.html live September 9, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090409120916/http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_95/wtcmemorial.html April 9, 2009 Today, the fountain fragment is currently located at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.April 18, 2023 A Fragment of History National September 11 Memorial & Museum https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/fragment-history April 18, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230418015634/https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/fragment-history April 18, 2023 The rest of the fountain was never recovered, and any of its remains were removed from Ground Zero along with the rest of the rubble.Quay Sara E. https://books.google.com/books?id=mgtSLkKxIpEC&q=ideogram+world+trade+center&pg=PA265 September 11 in Popular Culture: A Guide: A Guide Damico Amy M. 2010 ABC-CLIO 978-0-313-35505-9 United States of America 265 Post-9/11 memorials thumb|Reflecting Absence, the names of the 1993 victims inscribed in panel N-73 of the North Pool at the 9/11 Memorial At the 9/11 Memorial, which opened on the tenth anniversary of the 2001 attacks, the people who died in the 1993 bombing are memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-73.North Pool: Panel N-73 http://names.911memorial.org/#lang=en_US&page=person&id=4959 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130727095710/http://names.911memorial.org/#lang=en_US&page=person&id=4959 July 27, 2013 December 9, 2011 National September 11 Memorial & Museum The recovered fragment of the memorial fountain is on display among other artifacts1993 World Trade Center Bombing Artifacts https://www.911memorial.org/1993-world-trade-center-bombing-artifacts dead https://web.archive.org/web/20180131080907/https://www.911memorial.org/1993-world-trade-center-bombing-artifacts January 31, 2018 January 30, 2018 related to the bombing inside the museum's historical exhibition. The Postcards memorial in Staten Island contains the name of Stephen Knapp, the sole person from that borough who died in the bombing.Wrobleski Tom 2010-09-11 Stephen Knapp, 47, died in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center https://www.silive.com/september-11/2010/09/stephen_knapp_age_47_of_great.html 2022-03-20 silive On September 8, 2026, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey dedicated a new memorial at Liberty Park, to honor to the four workers killed in the February 1993 bombing and the 84 who died in the 9/11 attacks. That includes 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department, which is the largest loss of life by any police force in the U.S. in a single event. The memorial also has the names of agency workers who got sick or died while working on post 9/11 recovery efforts.Port Authority dedicates new memorial to employees killed in World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 and in 1993 abc7ny.com https://abc7ny.com/amp/post/port-authority-dedicates-new-memorial-employees-killed-world-trade-center-attacks-911-1993/19806208/ 2026-10-02 abc7ny.com Criminal cases Investigations Though the cause of the blast was not immediately known, agents and bomb technicians from the ATF, FBI, and the NYPD quickly responded to the scene. The FBI Laboratory Division technician, David Williams, who took charge of the crime scene, claimed to know prior to scientific testing the nature and size of the bomb which other lab specialists such as Stephen Burmeister and Frederic Whitehurst contradicted and later challenged with embarrassing consequences for the FBI Laboratory.Newton, Michael. (2003). The FBI encyclopedia. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co. p. 376. 9780786417186. In the days after the bombing, investigators surveyed the damage and looked for clues. About 300 FBI agents were deployed under the codename TRADEBOM.Poveda Tony The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide Greenwood 978-0897749916 94 Powers, Richard Rosenfeld, Susan Theoharis, Athan G. 1999 https://archive.org/details/fbicomprehensive0000theo/page/94 While combing through the rubble in the underground parking area, Donald Sadowy, Bomb Squad Detective at New York City Police Department, located some internal component fragments from the vehicle that delivered the bomb. Detective Sadowy was also an automotive specialist, and his efforts led to the discovery of the license plate number as recounted in Rendered Safe by Jeff Ingber.Rendered Safe: Tales of an NYPD Bomb Tech A vehicle identification number (VIN), found on a piece from an axle, gave investigators crucial information that led them to a Ryder van rented from DIB Leasing in Jersey City. Here they found the number of the yellow Ford Econoline Ryder van, XA 70668, on an Alabama number plate. The Ford Econoline had been reported stolen in Jersey City on February 25, one day before the bombing, as per FBI's National Crime Information Center computer. The Cell: inside the 9/11 plot and why the CIA and FBI failed to stop it, 2002, Hyperion in English - 1st ed. Page 104 Investigators determined that the vehicle had been rented by Mohammed A. Salameh, one of Yousef's co-conspirators.Reeve (1999), pp. 27–32. Salameh had reported the van stolen, and when he returned on March 4, 1993 to get his deposit back, authorities arrested him.Reeve (1999), pp. 32–26. thumb|270x270px|Timeline of perpetrators' activity and consequences of 1993 World Trade Center bombing and conspiracy from 1992 to 1998, including New York City landmark bomb plot, Manila Airlines, and Bojinka plot Salameh's arrest led police to the apartment of Abdul Rahman Yasin at 40 Pamrapo Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey, which Yasin was sharing with his mother, the same building as Ramzi Yousef's apartment. Yasin was taken to the FBI's Newark field office in Newark, New Jersey, and was then released. The next day, he flew back to Iraq, via Amman, Jordan. Yasin was later indicted for the attack, and in 2001 he was placed on the initial list of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, on which he remains today. He disappeared before the U.S. coalition invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2003. The capture of Salameh and Yasin led authorities to Ramzi Yousef's apartment, where they found bomb-making materials and a business card from Mohammed Jamal Khalifa. Khalifa was arrested on December 14, 1994, and was deported to Jordan by the INS on May 5, 1995. He was acquitted by a Jordanian court and lived as a free man in Saudi Arabia until he was killed in 2007.Fielding Nick March 2, 2007 Gems, al-Qaida and murder. Mystery over killing of Osama Bin Laden's friend https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/02/alqaida.saudiarabia live https://web.archive.org/web/20170208134614/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/02/alqaida.saudiarabia February 8, 2017 September 25, 2014 The Guardian In 2002, it was made public that Yasin, the only person involved in the bombing who was never convicted by US authorities,Kohn David May 31, 2002 60 Minutes: The Man Who Got Away https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-the-man-who-got-away/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20071012121849/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/31/60minutes/main510795.shtml October 12, 2007 February 4, 2012 60 Minutes mdy-all was being held as a prisoner on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq since 1994. When journalist Lesley Stahl interviewed him there for a segment on 60 Minutes on May 23, 2002, Yasin appeared in prison pajamas and handcuffs. Yasin has not been seen or heard from since the interview. He was not located during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trial and sentencing In March 1994, Salameh, Nidal Ayyad, Mahmud Abouhalima and Ahmad Ajaj were each convicted in the World Trade Center bombing. In May 1994, they were sentenced to 240 years in prison. In the years since, they have received several sentencing reductions, which could allow them to walk free in their 90s or 100s.https://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/us/1993-world-trade-center-bombing-fast-facts/ 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Fast Facts November 5, 2013 September 17, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150419021013/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/us/1993-world-trade-center-bombing-fast-facts/ April 19, 2015 live Neumeister Larry February 26, 2021 4 men convicted in 1993 WTC bombing have had sentences cut https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/men-convicted-1993-wtc-bombing-sentences-cut-76138211 2022-04-04 ABC News Associated Press en dead https://web.archive.org/web/20220404005818/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/men-convicted-1993-wtc-bombing-sentences-cut-76138211 2022-04-04 Aftermath Reopening and cost The South Tower did not reopen for tenants until March 18, 1993,Lueck Thomas J. One Tower Is to Reopen After Blast https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/18/nyregion/one-tower-is-to-reopen-after-blast.html 11 February 2022 The New York Times 18 March 1993 New York City 1 en-US (the World Trade Center Observation Deck reopened on April 17, 1993)Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : View Deck Reopens at Bombing Site https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-04-18-mn-24484-story.html Los Angeles Times 11 February 2022 New York City en-US 18 April 1993 while the North Tower remained closed until April 1, 1993. The cost to repair both buildings was estimated at $250 million.9/11 Memorial Timeline https://timeline.911memorial.org/#Timeline/4 National September 11 Memorial & Museum 6 September 2021 New York City en-US The Vista International Hotel at 3 World Trade Center remained closed until November 1, 1994, after extensive repairs and renovations that amounted to $65 million.Deutsch Claudia H. 20 Months After Bombing, Vista Hotel to Finally Reopen https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/31/nyregion/20-months-after-bombing-vista-hotel-to-finally-reopen.html 29 January 2022 The New York Times 31 October 1994 New York City 3 en-US The concourse level was reopened on March 27, 1993, while the parking garage reopened on September 1, 1993, for some government employees’ vehicles. Commercial tenants' employees were not allowed until spring 1994.Mitchell Alison TRAVEL ADVISORY; Twin Towers Restaurant Set To Open Soon https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/28/travel/travel-advisory-twin-towers-restaurant-set-to-open-soon.html 11 February 2022 The New York Times 28 March 1993 New York City 3 en-USPerez-Pena Richard Parking Garage at Trade Center To Reopen for Some Vehicles https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/29/nyregion/parking-garage-at-trade-center-to-reopen-for-some-vehicles.html 11 February 2022 The New York Times 29 July 1993 New York City 4 en-US Also, new security measures were introduced including identification tags for approved cars and drivers, surveillance cameras and a barrier rising out of the roadway to stop rogue vehicles. Even though Windows on the World on the North Tower's 107th floor wasn't damaged, the explosion damaged receiving areas, the air-conditioning system, storage, and parking spots used by the restaurant complex. As a result, the restaurant was forced to shut down. The Port Authority decided to hire Joseph Baum, the restaurant's original designer, to renovate the space at a cost of $25 million. The restaurant reopened on June 26, 1996https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/19/garden/new-windows-on-a-new-world-can-the-food-ever-match-the-view.html New Windows on a New World; Can the Food Ever Match the View? Fabricant Florence June 19, 1996 May 18, 2018 The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/19/dining/windows-that-rose-so-close-to-the-sun.html Windows That Rose So Close To the Sun Grimes William September 19, 2001 May 18, 2018 The New York Times and Cellar in the Sky reopened after Labor Day of that same year.Siano Joseph TRAVEL ADVISORY;World Trade Center Restaurant to Reopen https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/23/travel/travel-advisory-world-trade-center-restaurant-to-reopen.html 1 January 2022 The New York Times 23 June 1996 New York City 3 en-US FBI involvement In the course of the trial, it was revealed that the FBI had an informant, a former Egyptian army officer named Emad Salem. Salem claimed FBI involvement in building of the bomb. He secretly recorded hundreds of hours of telephone conversations with his FBI handlers. Federal authorities denied Salem's view of events and the New York Times concluded that the tapes "do not make clear the extent to which Federal authorities knew that there was a plan to bomb the World Trade Center, merely that they knew that a bombing of some sort was being discussed".Blumenthal, Ralph https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DF1138F93BA15753C1A965958260 Tapes Depict Proposal to Thwart Bomb Used in Trade Center Blast The New York Times October 28, 1993 Section A, Page 1, Column 4 October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090201195746/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DF1138F93BA15753C1A965958260 February 1, 2009 live U.S. Diplomatic Security Service involvement thumb|Aftermath of the bombing, photographed by DSS agents Although the FBI received the credit, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) special agents actually found and arrested Ramzi Yousef, the architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Special Agents Bill Miller and Jeff Riner were given a tip by an associate of Ramzi Yousef about his location. In coordination with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), DSS arrested Ramzi Yousef.Katz, Samuel M. "Relentless Pursuit: The DSS and the manhunt for the al-Qaeda terrorists", 2002. After his arrest, Ramzi Yousef is alleged to have said to investigators "this is only the beginning." Allegations of Iraqi involvement In October 2001 in a PBS interview, former CIA Director James Woolsey claimed that Ramzi Yousef worked for Iraqi intelligence.https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/woolsey.html Frontline: Gunning for Saddam PBS Interviews: R. James Woolsey October 16, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081029173805/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/woolsey.html October 29, 2008 live November 8, 2001 He suggested the grand jury investigation turned up evidence pointing to Iraq that the Justice Department "brushed aside". But Neil Herman, who headed the FBI investigation, noted "The one glaring connection that can't be overlooked is Yasin. We pursued that on every level, traced him to a relative and a location, and we made overtures to get him back." However, Herman says that Yasin's presence in Baghdad does not mean Iraq sponsored the attack: "We looked at that rather extensively. There were no ties to the Iraqi government." CNN terrorism reporter Peter L. Bergen writes, "In sum, by the mid-'90s, the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, the F.B.I., the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of New York, the C.I.A., the N.S.C., and the State Department had all found no evidence implicating the Iraqi government in the first Trade Center attack."Bergen, Peter http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.bergen.html Armchair Provocateur December 2003 Washington Monthly October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081101154056/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.bergen.html November 1, 2008 dead Claims of direct Iraqi involvement come from Dr. Laurie Mylroie of the American Enterprise Institute and former associate professor of the U.S. Naval War College, with the claims rejected by others. CNN reporter Peter Bergen has called her a "crackpot" who claimed that "Saddam was not only behind the '93 Trade Center attack, but also every anti-American terrorist incident of the past decade, from the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania to the leveling of the federal building in Oklahoma City bombing to September 11 itself." Daniel Benjamin, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, writes: "The most knowledgeable analysts and investigators at the CIA and at the FBI believe that their work conclusively disproves Mylroie's claims."Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon The Next Attack Times Books 2005 145 0-8050-7941-6 https://archive.org/details/nextattackfailur00benj/page/145 In March 2008, the Pentagon released its study of some 600,000 documents captured in Iraq after the 2003 invasion (see 2008 Pentagon Report). The study "found no 'smoking gun' (i.e., direct connection) between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda."https://fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/v1.pdf Woods, Kevin M. and James Lacey Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents – Executive Summary; Volume 1 Institute for Defense Analysis / Federation of American Scientists November 2007 16, 18, 51 October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081031075111/https://fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/v1.pdf October 31, 2008 live Among the documents released by the Pentagon was a captured audio file of Saddam Hussein speculating that the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center had been carried out by Israel or American intelligence, or perhaps a Saudi or Egyptian faction. Saddam said that he did not trust the bomber Yasin, who was in Iraqi custody, because his testimony was too "organized." The Pentagon study found that Yasin "was a prisoner, and not a guest, in Iraq."Eli Lake http://www.nysun.com/foreign/report-details-saddams-terrorist-ties/72906/ Report Details Saddam's Terrorist Ties dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080618130630/http://www.nysun.com/foreign/report-details-saddams-terrorist-ties/72906/ June 18, 2008 New York Sun March 14, 2008 Mylroie denied that this was proof of Saddam's non-involvement, claiming that "one common purpose of such meetings was to develop cover stories for whatever Iraq sought to conceal."Laurie Mylroie http://www.nysun.com/opinion/more-to-uncover-on-saddam/73991/ More To Uncover on Saddam dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081123103650/http://www.nysun.com/opinion/more-to-uncover-on-saddam/73991/ November 23, 2008 New York Sun April 2, 2008 Improved security In the wake of the bombing and the chaotic evacuation which followed, the World Trade Center and many of the firms inside of it revamped emergency procedures, particularly with regard to evacuation of the towers. The New York Port Authority was to govern as the main security for the World Trade Center buildings. All packages were scanned at various checkpoints then sent up to the proper addressee. These policies played a role in evacuating the building during the September 11 attacks, which destroyed the towers. Free access to the roofs, which had enabled evacuation by police helicopter in the 1993 bombing, was ended soon after.February 2013 Eclipsed by the September 11 attacks right 340 John O'Neill.jpg Gary hart.jpg Warren Rudman.jpg During the period between the 1993 bombing and 2001 terrorist attacks, FBI Special Agent John O'Neill, as well as former Senators Gary Hart and Warren Rudman, attempted to alert high-ranking U.S. government officials of a future terrorist attack. Since the September 11 attacks, which succeeded in destroying the World Trade Center, the 1993 bombing has been described as "forgotten" and "unknown."Bashinsky Ruth At World Trade Center Memorial, a Bombing Is Forgotten https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/nyregion/world-trade-center-memorial-1993-bombing-forgotten.html The New York Times 27 April 2021 20 February 2017Peltz Jennifer 'Precursor to 9/11': Trade center bomb echoes after 25 years https://apnews.com/article/north-america-bombings-new-york-ap-top-news-us-news-ef2094670c454917831ae081c5a516a0 AP NEWS April 22, 2021 27 April 2021 Although the 1993 bombing made the World Trade Center a publicly known terrorist target,Locker Ray September 10, 2016 10 things you may have forgotten about 9/11 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/09/10/10-things-you-may-have-forgotten-911/90007376/ USA TODAY 27 April 2021World Trade Center Bombing 1993 https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/world-trade-center-bombing-1993 Federal Bureau of Investigation 27 April 2021 en-us with the possibility of another attack suspected as early as 1995 by FBI Special Agent John O'Neill,Wright Lawrence The Counter-Terrorist https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2002/01/14/the-counter-terrorist The New Yorker January 7, 2002 27 April 2021A Chronology of John O'Neill's Life and FBI Career https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-chronology-of-john-oneills-life-and-fbi-career/ FRONTLINE 27 April 2021Kolker Robert O'Neill Versus Osama – Nymag http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/sept11/features/5513/ New York Magazine December 17, 2001 13 April 2022 en-us as well as by former Senators Gary Hart and Warren Rudman of the Hart-Rudman Commission in January 2001,Talbot David Condi Rice's other wake-up call https://www.salon.com/2004/04/02/hart_4/ Salon 13 April 2022 en 3 April 2004Bauch Hubert Terror risk real: Hart http://www.canada.com/montreal/story.asp?id={ED508362-1BF2-4F9A-912D-EDADDA9216B7} Montreal Gazette September 6, 2001 8A https://web.archive.org/web/20011218002224/http://www.canada.com/montreal/story.asp?id=%7BED508362-1BF2-4F9A-912D-EDADDA9216B7%7D December 18, 2001 dead the 9/11 attacks went largely unforeseen by U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement agencies.Maranzani Barbara How U.S. Intelligence Misjudged the Growing Threat Behind 9/11 https://www.history.com/news/9-11-attacks-america-missed-warning-signs HISTORY September 11, 2018 27 April 2021 enHorowitz Craig The NYPD's War on Terror – Nymag https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/n_8286/ New York Magazine January 24, 2003 27 April 2021 en-usNYPD Commissioner: 1993 WTC Attack Was Missed Wake Up Call https://www.audacy.com/articles/news/27-years-after-wtc-bombing-nyc-remains-a-target www.audacy.com 27 April 2021 en 26 February 2020 While victims' family members and injured survivors of the 2001 terrorist attack received compensation from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, no such compensation was given to those affected by the 1993 bombing.Schapiro Rich Victims of first WTC terror bombing still tormented as the attack is overshadowed by 9/11 https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/victims-1993-wtc-terror-bombing-tormented-article-1.3841905 nydailynews.com February 25, 2018 27 April 2021Rich Schapiro First World Trade Center bombing, long since overshadowed by 9/11, is remembered on 25th anniversary https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-world-trade-center-1993-htmlstory.html Los Angeles Times 27 April 2021 26 February 2018 Legal responsibility Some of the victims (which included families of the killed victims) of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings sued the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for damages. A decision was handed down in 2005, assigning liability for the bombings to the Port Authority.https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/nyregion/port-authority-found-negligent-in-1993-bombing.html Port Authority Found Negligent in 1993 Bombing August 23, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170701135532/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/27/nyregion/port-authority-found-negligent-in-1993-bombing.html July 1, 2017 live The New York Times October 27, 2005 Hartocollis Anemona The decision declared that the agency was 68 percent responsible for the bombing, and the terrorists bore only 32 percent of the responsibility. In January 2008, the Port Authority asked a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan to throw out the decision, describing the jury's verdict as "bizarre".Blame for 1993 Attack at Center Is Still at Issue https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/nyregion/10wtc.html The New York Times January 14, 2008 October 26, 2008 Anemona Hartocollis https://web.archive.org/web/20081209231438/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/nyregion/10wtc.html?fta=y December 9, 2008 live On April 29, 2008, a New York State Appeals Court unanimously upheld the jury's verdict. Under New York law, a defendant who is more than 50 percent at fault can be held fully financially liable.https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/nyregion/30bombing.html?ref=nyregion" Port Authority Liable in 1993 Trade Center Attack Hartocollis, Anemona April 30, 2008 The New York Times October 26, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20190118181037/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/nyregion/30bombing.html?ref=nyregion%22 January 18, 2019 live On September 22, 2011, the New York Court of Appeals, in a four to three ruling, excluded the Port Authority from claims of negligence related to the 1993 bombing.https://www.nycourts.gov/REPORTER/3dseries/2011/2011_06501.htm In the Matter of World Trade Center Bombing Litigation 17 NY3d 428 September 22, 2011 It has been argued that the problem with the apportionment of responsibility in the case is not the jury's verdict, but rather New York's tort-reform-produced state apportionment law. Traditionally, courts do not compare intentional and negligent fault. The Restatement Third of Torts: Apportionment of Liability recommends a rule to prevent juries from having to make comparisons like the terrorist–Port Authority comparison in this case.https://www.ali.org/publications/show/torts-apportionment-liability/ Torts: Apportionment of Liability The American Law Institute February 26, 2020 However, if a jurisdiction does compare these intentional and negligent torts, courts' second-best position is to do what the NYS Appeals Court did—to uphold all jury apportionments, even those that assign greater, or perhaps far greater, responsibility to negligent than intentional parties.Bublick Ellen M. Upside Down? Terrorists, Proprietors, and Civil Responsibility for Crime Prevention in the Post-9/11 Tort-Reform World Summer 2008 https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2638&context=llr 1128414 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 41 4 1483–1544 May 7, 2008 The Port Authority sued (189 F.3d 305) Arcadian Corporation, Hydro-Agri North America, and Dyno Nobel, Inc. on theories of products liability and negligence, alleging that these companies manufactured the fertilizer products used to make the bomb without taking appropriate, available precautions to neutralize the explosiveness of the substances. The case was dismissed by the New Jersey Federal District Court for failure to state a claim, a judgment which was affirmed on appeal by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.Goldberg John C. P. Tort law: responsibilities and redress Kendrick Leslie Sebok Anthony James Zipursky Benjamin C. 2026 Aspen Publishing 979-8-89207-504-6 6th Aspen casebook series Burlington, MA 340-350 See also New York City 1990s Attacks on the United States New York City landmark bomb plot (thwarted June 24, 1993) CIA headquarters shooting (January 25, 1993) Bojinka plot (planned for January 1995) 1998 United States embassy bombings (August 7, 1998) USS Cole bombing (October 12, 2000) September 11 attacks (September 11, 2001) Richard A. Clarke John P. O'Neill Rick Rescorla Gary Hart The Looming Tower (2006 book) The Looming Tower (2018 miniseries) Oklahoma City bombing (April 19, 1995) Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing Philippine Airlines Flight 434 (bombed on December 11, 1994) Islamic fundamentalism Islamic terrorism Islamism Jihadism List of Islamist terrorist attacks List of terrorist incidents Religious terrorism Terrorism in the United States Domestic terrorism in the United States Timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States References General sources 9/11 Commission 2004a Final Report of the 9/11 Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States July 22, 2004 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States August 15, 2021 https://9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf August 16, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210816164111/https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf live Dwyer Jim Jim Dwyer (journalist) Kocieniewski David Murphy Deidre Tyre Peg Two Seconds Under the World: terror comes to America—the conspiracy behind the World Trade Center bombing 1994 Crown Publishers New York 0-517-59767-5 30623523 Lance Peter 1000 Years for Revenge 2003 HarperCollins 9780060543549 Reeve Simon The New Jackals: Ramzi Yousef, Osama bin Laden and the Future of Terrorism https://archive.org/details/newjackalsramziy00reev registration Northeastern University Press 1999 9781555534073 Wright, Lawrence The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 2006 Alfred A. Knopf 0-375-41486-X https://archive.org/details/loomingtoweralqa00wrig External links Rewards for Justice World Trade Center Bombing page "1993: World Trade Center bomb terrorises New York", BBC News: On This Day FBI – 1993 World Trade Center Bombing – Press Room FBI February 26, 2008 Images from the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing WCBS 880 radio aircheck, February 26, 1993 https://web.archive.org/web/20130526061906/http://www.sorabji.com/a/airchecks/wtc_1993.01.ram May 26, 2013 at sorabji.com A fire dispatcher's perspective from FDNewYork.com Category:1993 in New York City Category:1993 murders in the United States Category:1990s crimes in New York City Category:1990s in Manhattan Category:February 1993 crimes in the United States Category:Car and truck bombings in 1993 Category:1993 mass murders Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States in 1993 Category:Attacks on office buildings in the United States Category:Building bombings in New York City Category:Car and truck bombings in New York City Category:Crimes in Manhattan Category:Islamic terrorism in New York (state) Category:1990s mass murders in the United States Category:Mass murders in New York City Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton Bombing Category:1993 building bombings Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 1993 1993 World Trade Center bombing Category:Crimes adapted into films