Terrorist attacks can happen on an international or domestic scale. International terrorism is defined as “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored),” according to FBI.gov.

Domestic terrorism is defined as “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature,” per the source. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary agency that is responsible for both investigating and preventing terrorism on an international and domestic level.

Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas and the Taliban are all examples of groups the U.S. government has named foreign terrorist organizations.

A tragic day in American history occurred on September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers in New York City collapsed after being struck by commercial airplanes. A plane also crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. This terrorist attack was orchestrated by Al-Qaeda, which was led by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs in May 2011 when Barack Obama was Commander-in-Chief.

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