President Bush has vowed to bring to justice the terrorists who committed the co-ordinated attacks by terrorists on the most potent symbols of US economic and military power - New York's World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in Washington.
In an address to the nation this morning, he said he would make no distinction between "the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harboured them.".
Twelve hours after the attacks in which he said "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror", the President directed the full resources of the US intelligence and law enforcement community to "find those responsible and bring them to justice". US troops around the world have been put on high alert.
The President added: "America was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no-one will keep that light from shining."
Three hijacked commercial planes were plunged into the famous landmarks, while a fourth came down in a wooded area near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in as yet unexplained circumstances.
The first Irish fatalities were confirmed last night. They were a Cork woman, Ms Ruth Clifford McCourt and her three year-old daughter who emigrated 10-years ago. They were aboard the hijacked plane which hit the South Tower of the World Trade Centre.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, offered his heartfelt sympathy to the family early this morning and said his thoughts were with those of all nationalities who were anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.
There were estimates that the death toll in New York would climb into many thousands. City hospitals were unable to cope. About 50,000 people work in the World Trade Centre and 24,000 in the Pentagon. A New York firemen's union leader said that as many as 200 firemen may have died around the World Trade Centre, while 78 policemen are missing.
The Irish embassy in Washington said they were trying to confirm whether Irish people were on any of the crashed airplanes. The Government has set up helplines for concerned relatives. They are: 1800-401800; 1800-385858; 1800-715165 and 1800-715159. Transatlantic flight chaos is predicted today, as all flights to the US have been cancelled.
New York was last night in a state of stupefaction and shock as its population tried to absorb the enormous impact of the destruction of the World Trade Centre and the deaths of an unknown number of victims.
The first of two hijacked passenger planes hit the northern tower of the World Trade Centre, which dominates the skyline of southern Manhattan, at 8.50a.m. New York time, sending a huge fireball out the side and causing a gaping hole several stories high. The second plane hit the southern tower about 18 minutes later, coming in low over the Hudson River and banking slightly as the pilot aimed it at the 110-storey structure.
They were the first strikes in a series of co-ordinated attacks which paralaysed the entire US. All air traffic was grounded, airports and bridges were shut, the Mexican border was sealed off and all incoming international flights were diverted to Canada. Terrified people trapped in the upper floors of the World Trade Centre appeared at the windows after the two crashes, waving bits of cloth.
Five people were seen from the Irish Times New York office falling to their deaths from the upper floors of the southern tower of the World Trade Centre, which contained 450 businesses. Thousands of panicked New Yorkers poured into the streets of Manhattan. They milled around as fire engines and police vehicles, sirens screaming, arrived at the scene of the catastrophe. At about 10a.m. New York time, the second tower collapsed, fatally weakened by the impact of the passenger plane, and masses of debris crashed on to the Marriott Hotel and the fire engines below.
Twenty minutes later, the first tower imploded as fire completed the destructive work of the plane, causing a glass enclosed walkway across West Side Highway to collapse on an ambulance and block the road. Police and firemen raced back along adjoining streets, choking on the white ash that billowed through a 20-block radius around the collapsed towers. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the trade centre were mountains of rubble and skeletal metal supports.
The leading suspect is the Afghan-based former Saudi businessman Osama bin Laden, blamed for the deadly bombings in 1998 of US embassies in Africa and last year's attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.
Explosions and anti-aircraft fire rocked Afghanistan's capital Kabul early this morning but US officials swiftly denied they were retaliatory strikes.
