9/11 attack anniversary | Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, mastermind of deadliest terror strike on US soil

Born as Usama ibn Mohammed ibn Awad ibn Ladin anglicized as Osama bin Laden was the founder of Al- Qaeda, an organisation primarily responsible for carrying out terrorist activities all over the world and executing the September 11 attacks in the United States (US). An event that changed the outllook towards terrorism and took it to a whole new level. A brief look at his life and times. 

Early Life and education:

Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arbia on March 10, 1957 to the wealthy bin Laden family. Osama was the 17th of the 52 child of his parents. Impressed by his father Mohammed Awad bin Laden's dedication in work, members of the Royal family awarded him several contracts to carry out expansion work in the city of Medina. 

Little did the world know that the Saudi builder's son would someday destroy the worl's highest commercial building.  

Where his brothers received education in the West and came to join his Father's company which evolved to be a huge conglomerate by then but Osama chose to stay close to home.

He went to school in Jiddah, married young and, like many Saudi men, joined the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Islam was more than just a religeon to him which influenced him in making every decicion of his life.

Cold war era:

In 1979 Bin Laden joined the resistence against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan along with his mentor Abdullah Azzam who believed that all Muslims should rise up in 'Jihad' or holy war to create a single Islamic state.

Both Abdullah and Osama used their connection to convince young men all over the Middle East to join the Afghan war. Through their organisation Makhtab al-Khidmat which served as a global recruitment network had offices right in the heart of Brooklyn.

Creation of Al-Qaeda:

Osama believed in symbollic acts of terrorism rather than carrying out military campaign. This led him to the formation of Al- Qaeda in 1988.

Feared with his pan Islamic rehtoric the Saudi Royal fanily tried to keep him quiet as much as they could.

They even took aways his passports. Bin laden felt that he has been snubbed and thereafter he carried the first ever terror attack which was in the form of a bomb blast at a hotel in Aden, Yemen, that had housed American peacekeeping troops on their way to Somalia. No soldiers were reported dead from that attack.

9/11 World Trade Centre attack:

In what looked like a cinematic view, on September 11, 2001 two passenger aircraft hit the neck of the then tallest commercial building standing on the face of the planet called the World Trade Centre.

The impact made the twin towers tumble down in few hours. The then President of the United States (US) George W Bush in his address immediately after the attack said that it was an act of terror and that his government will do everything to bring down the perpetrators of the act.

End of days:

Finally on May 02, 2011 in a highly classified operation a team of US Navy Seals raided a compound in Pakistan's Abbottabad where he was shot and killed by members of the Seals.