Struck at home

NEW YORK — In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, and the twin 110-story towers collapsed Tuesday morning. An aircraft also crashed at the Pentagon in apparent coordinated series of attacks that spread fear across the nation.

“I have a sense it’s a horrendous number of lives lost,” Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. “I don’t know yet. Right now we have to focus on saving as many lives as possible.”

Authorities had been trying to evacuate those who work in the twin towers, but many were thought to have been trapped. About 50,000 people work at the Trade Center.

“This is perhaps the most audacious terrorist attack that’s ever taken place in the world,” said Chris Yates, an aviation expert at Jane’s Transport in London. “It takes a logistics operation from the terror group involved that is second to none. Only a very small handful of terror groups is on that list . ... I would name at the top of the list Osama bin Laden.”

President Bush ordered a full-scale investigation to “hunt down the folks who committed this act.”

Within the hour, an aircraft crashed on a helicopter landing pad near the Pentagon, and the White House, the Pentagon and the Capitol were evacuated.

One of the planes that crashed into the Trade Center was American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked after takeoff from

Photos by The Associated Press One of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York collapses after planes crashed into the upper floors of both buildings this morning.

Smoke and fire surround the upper floors of the World Trade Center in New York City after a second plane crashed into one of the buildings.

People run from the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York this morning.