The mastermind behind the September 11th terrorist attacks was Osama bin Laden, the founder of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. Bin Laden orchestrated the attacks, which involved hijacking four commercial airplanes and crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Pennsylvania, resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. The attacks were planned meticulously over several years, with the aim of causing mass casualties and striking at the heart of American power and influence. Bin Laden's motivation was largely driven by his extremist ideology and opposition to U.S. foreign policies, particularly its military presence in Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia.
