September 2001 (Page 24)

The Euro shot from 89 to 91 cents, oil rose three dollars a barrel, and European stocks were set back sharply. London’s FTSE Index closed down 5.72%, the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 7.39% and Frankfurt’s DAX fell 9.1%. These are astonishing drops for these exchanges, where a change of one or two percent marks a day of substantial change.

A Paris trader said, “People are selling massively.” Across Europe, airline and insurance stocks led the decline. Meanwhile, prices of oil company shares shot up. Gold rose $20 per ounce on the day.
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At 5:22, Building 7, a 25 story building in the World Trade Center complex collapsed.

As of 5:20PM EST, it was believed that as many as twenty thousand people may have been in the World Trade Center when the twin towers were struck by hijacked aircraft between ten and ten thirty this morning. Many of these people would have been able to leave the towers, but it is believed that there have been heavy casualties.

There continues to be concern that other buildings in the area may collapse, and despite earlier hopes, area fires continue to spread.
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Top US officials are leaking information that there is evidence that master terrorist Osama bin Laden appears to be responsible for today’s attack on America. Bin Laden was responsible for the attack on the USS Cole in October of 2000, and numerous other terrorist actions in recent years.

The Taliban government of Afghanistan said earlier today through its ambassador to Pakistan that they did not believe that bin Laden could have mounted such a complex and sophisticated attack. The US has stated that Afghanistan will be held directly responsible for any attacks by bin Laden.
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At 6:02PM EST CNN began transmitting videotape from Kabul, Afghanistan showing explosions on the ground and incoming missiles. There are multiple detonations taking place in the city, but there is as yet no evidence of attacks elsewhere in Afghanistan.

Observers familiar with military ordnance have identified the exhaust plumes of the incoming hardware as coming from missiles rather than jets. However, there is as yet no indication that the attack came from US forces. There is a revolution ongoing in Afghanistan, and the Northern Alliance is in possession of missiles that may be able to reach the city.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said at 6:50 EST that the US was not involved in the attack on Kabul.
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