WTC bombing

who was due to start maternity leave the next day.

“Every part of our effort has considered the ‘93 bombing as a part of the story that we are telling,” museum Director Clifford Chanin said.

The explosive was planted by Muslim extremists who sought to punish the U.S. for its Middle East policies, particularly Washington’s support for Israel, according to federal prosecutors.

Six people were convicted and imprisoned, including accused ringleader Ramzi Yousef. A seventh suspect in the bombing remains on the FBI’s most wanted list.

Yousef hoped the bomb would fell the twin towers by making one collapse into the other, according to the FBI.

The idea of razing the skyscrapers endured. A message found on another convicted conspirator’s laptop warned that “next time it will be very precise, and the World Trade Center will continue to be one of our targets.”

Yousef’s uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would later become the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, when hijacked planes were used as missiles to strike the buildings.

Although the towers endured the ‘93 bombing, it knocked out power, backup generators and the public address system. Tens of thousands of people picked their way down the stairs; others were rescued from stalled elevators and the wrecked garage. Some workers kicked out windows for air, a group of 120 kindergarteners were stranded for a time on an observation deck and police helicopters flew to rooftops to pick up two dozen people.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the trade center, apologized to the victims’ relatives on the 25th anniversary, saying the complex and the country weren’t prepared for the attack.

After the bombing, the trade center forbade underground parking and installed security cameras and vehicle barriers, and the complex issued worker ID cards for entry.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson was again in her office, by then on the 70th floor. When flames started shooting out of the tower next door, her company ordered an immediate evacuation.

Now she wonders whether what she experienced — twice — seems “like folklore” to people born after both attacks. She warns against complacency.

“You’re just at work getting a cup of coffee,” she said, “and you might have to run for your life.”