US ATTACK: World reels as terrorist attack unfolds
An unprecedented and highly orchestrated series of attacks Tuesday turned the twin World Trade Towers in New York into piles of rubble, severely damaged the US Department of Defense's Pentagon building near Washington, D.C., and prompted officials to close all US air traffic for the first time ever. The attacks also shuttered US financial markets, brought major cities in the country to a standstill, snarled telecommunication networks, swamped the Internet and left much of the world reeling in horror, anger, fear and disgust.