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Write key words, phrases and quotes from the people that capture the Human Story. Explain what these uncover about the day from the human perspective.

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Write key words, phrases and quotes from the people that capture the Human Story. Explain what these uncover about the day from the human perspective.

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What is the timeline of events. How did the day unfold? 

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What is the timeline of events. How did the day unfold? 

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Note for screen reader users: once expanded, the first four items of the navigation menu have some associated content which may provide additional information of interest. These sections can be located by jumping to the level 3 heading which follows each sub-menu.

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From the archives: George W. Bush's Oval Office speech on 9/11

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On September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack claimed the lives of almost 3,000 Americans. NBC News goes to the archives to revisit President George W. Bush's address to the nation from the Oval Office.

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Write key words and phrases and quotes from the people that capture how this event creates and fits into a Global Story. Make links here to terrorism in a global sense

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Write key words and phrases and quotes from the people that capture how this event creates and fits into a Global Story. Make links here to terrorism in a global sense

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Research and investigate how this event changed America and the world. What is the new story 20 years on?

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Research and investigate how this event changed America and the world. What is the new story 20 years on?

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World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

Osama bin Laden

The hijackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation.

Where Did the 9/11 Planes Take Off From?

The 19 terrorists smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports-Logan International Airport in Boston, Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. and Newark International Airport in New Jersey-and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

Pentagon Attack

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Twin Towers Collapse

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only 18 people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of the collapse survived. Most were with a group of FDNY firefighters in the North Tower's Stairwell B, which remained intact. One woman survived after the stairs she was rushing down disintegrated around her. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Flight 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane- United Flight 93-was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger-Todd Beamer-was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

How Many People Died in the 9/11 Attacks?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes. Citizens of 78 countries died in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

America Responds to the Attacks

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, then-President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan; it took until August 2021 for all U.S. forces to withdraw.

Department of Homeland Security Is Created

In the wake of security fears raised by 9/11 and the mailing of letters containing anthrax that killed two and infected 17, The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the Department of Homeland Security. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002. Today, the Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet responsible for preventing terror attacks, border security, immigrations and customs and disaster relief and prevention.

The act was followed two days later by the formation of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The bipartisan " 9/11 Commission," as it came to be known, was charged with investigating the events that lead up to September 11th. The 9/11 Commission Report was released on July 22, 2004. It named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind behind 9/11, "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks."

Mohammed led propaganda operations for al Qaeda from 1999-2001. He was captured on March 1, 2003 by the Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and interrogated before being imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay detention camp with four other accused terrorists charged with 9/11-related war crimes. The use of torture, including waterboarding, during Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's interrogation has received international attention. In August 2019, a U.S. military court judge in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba set a trial date for Mohammed and the other four men charged with plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks to begin in 2021; it was later postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic Impact of 9/11

The 9/11 attacks had an immediate negative effect on the U.S. economy. Many Wall Street institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, were evacuated during the attacks. On the first day of trading after the attacks, the market fell 7.1 percent, or 684 points. New York City's economy alone lost 143,000 jobs a month and $2.8 billion wages in the first three months. The heaviest losses were in finance and air transportation, which accounted for 60 percent of lost jobs. The estimated cost of the World Trade Center damage is $60 billion. The cost to clean the debris at Ground Zero was $750 million.

Victim Compensation Fund

Thousands of first responders and people working and living in lower Manhattan near Ground Zero were exposed to toxic fumes and particles emanating from the towers as they burned and fell. By 2018, 10,000 people were diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer.

From 2001 to 2004, over $7 billion dollars in compensation was given to families of the 9/11 victims and the 2,680 people injured in the attacks. Funding was renewed on January 2, 2011, when President Barack Obama signed The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act into law. Named for James Zadroga, a New York City Police officer who died of respiratory disease he contracted after rescuing people from the rubble at Ground Zero, the law continued health monitoring and compensation for 9/11 first responders and survivors.

In 2015, funding for the treatment of 9/11-related illness was renewed for five more years at a total of $7.4 billion. The Victim Compensation Fund was set to stop accepting claims in December 2020.

On July 29, 2019, then-President Trump signed a law authorizing support for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092. Previously, administrators had cut benefits by up to 70 percent as the $7.4 billion fund depleted. Vocal lobbyists for the fund included Jon Stewart, 9/11 first responder John Feal and retired New York Police Department detective and 9/11 responder Luis Alvarez, who died of cancer 18 days after testifying before Congress.

Anniversary and Memorial

On December 18, 2001, Congress approved naming September 11 "Patriot Day" to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In 2009, Congress named September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The first memorials to September 11 came in the immediate wake of the attacks, with candlelight vigils and flower tributes at U.S. embassies around the world. In Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth sang the American national anthem during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Rio de Janeiro put up billboards showing the city's Christ the Redeemer statue embracing the New York City skyline.

For the first anniversary of the attacks in New York City in 2002, two bright columns of light were shot up into the sky from where the Twin Towers once stood. The "Tribute in Light" then became an annual installation run by the Municipal Art Society of New York. On clear nights, the beams are visible from over 60 miles away.

A World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was held to select an appropriate permanent memorial to the victims of 9/11. The winning design by Michael Arad, "Reflecting Absence," now sits outside the museum in an eight-acre park. It consists of two reflecting pools with waterfalls rushing down where the Twin Towers once rose into the sky.

The names of all 2,983 victims are engraved on the 152 bronze panels surrounding the pools, arranged by where individuals were on the day of the attacks, so coworkers and people on the same flight are memorialized together. The site was opened to the public on September 11, 2011, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum followed, opening on the original World Trade Center site in May 2014. The Freedom Tower, also on the original World Trade Center site, opened in November 2014.

Sources

"Study Confirms 9/11 Impact on New York City Economy." The New York Times
"September 11: nearly 10,000 people affected by 'cesspool of cancer.'" The Guardian.
"Congress passes 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund extension championed by Jon Stewart." CNN.com
The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.
FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.
September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.

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September 11 Attacks: Facts, Background & Impact

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On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was faced with a historic decision. Should he inform President George W. Bush, who was speaking that morning at an elementary school in Florida, that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center? Card knew that America was in the middle of an emergency. He had to decide what to tell the president -- and how. But he didn't want to provoke a reaction or cause a response from the president as he was sitting in front of the news cameras surrounded by elementary school children. Card decided that his message would be short and direct. He told the president, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."

In doing so, Card activated one of the most covert and never-before-used plans of the federal government: Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), which was stipulated in Presidential Decision Directive 67 by the Clinton administration in 1998.

The directive laid out the response of federal executive branch agencies during a national emergency. The Sept. 11 attacks were the first test.

Under the COOP plan, federal agencies are assigned different functions to protect federal government operations. The Secret Service, under 18 USC 3056, has the prime responsibility to protect the president, the vice president and other leaders in the government. On 9/11, the Secret Service was thrust into the very real scenario of an unknown actor possibly targeting the president and trying to decapitate the government.

The attacks also put the president's Secret Service detail leader as commander of any government assets, including the Department of Defense. For the Secret Service, the first goal was to get the president back on Air Force One.

In Washington, D.C., Vice President Dick Cheney sat in the White House with others trying to manage the attacks in a building that was now considered a target. Down the street from the White House, Secret Service Director Brian Stafford, a Vietnam veteran, oversaw the Director's Crisis Center, which became the defacto control point for the relocation of every Secret Service protectee.

As officials in the Director's Crisis Center worked to get their arms around the crisis, the Secret Service office in New York at 7 World Trade Center was holding a planning meeting for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly when the planes hit the North and South Towers. Agents raced down to the streets and assisted other first responders with evacuating civilians, triaging the wounded and fighting fires. Some agents ran into the burning towers, including Tom Armas and John Buckley, who ran 40 flights up into the North Tower.

Back in Washington, the White House Incident Notification System (WHIN) system was alerted. An aircraft near the nation's capital was thought to be headed toward the White House. Special Agent Jimmy Scott of the vice president's detail burst through Cheney's office door and said, "Mr. Vice President, we've got to leave now." Before Cheney could respond, Scott moved behind the vice president's desk, put one hand on his belt and another on his shoulder, and propelled him out of his office toward the "PEOC," the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, located beneath the White House.

Secret Service personnel were also evacuating the White House to ensure that if an aircraft struck it, there would be minimal loss of life.

Aboard Air Force One, Secret Service Assistant Special Agents in Charge Dave Wilkinson and Eddie Marinzel knew there had been an incident but not much else. The communications system on Air Force One was spotty. Air Force One was also not equipped with cable TV and email was unavailable. The agents had to compete with an already clogged cellphone network that day.

The Secret Service agents aboard Air Force One knew that going back to Washington was not an option. President Bush protested, but ultimately, if the Secret Service felt the situation could not be made safe, the president couldn't override them. As Wilkerson put it, "[T]he Secret Service has to protect the president. The wishes of that person that day are secondary to what the law expects of us."

The president was moved to secure military installations including Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Once there, Bush made the statement confirming that the United States was at "war" but also, despite Secret Service protestations, he would return to Washington. To do so, the Secret Service not only had ensure the White House was secure but that the route there was also safe.

After returning to the White House, Bush meet with Cheney, Card, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Special Agent in Charge Carl Truscott in the president's Emergency Operations Center -- commonly referred to as "the bunker" -- to discuss America's response and his speech to the nation later that evening.

From the passengers on the highjacked aircraft to first responders and civilians in all three target locations, heroism was on full display during the Sept. 11 attacks. Americans ran toward danger, including the many unsung heroes in the Secret Service who held to their oath that no matter what, America and its symbols would stand.
Donald J. Mihalek is an ABC News contributor, retired senior Secret Service agent and regional field training instructor who served as a police officer and in the US Coast Guard. Opinions expressed in this piece do not reflect those of ABC News.

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'America is under attack': Reliving the Secret Service response on 9/11: OPINION

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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was faced with a historic decision. Should he inform President George W. Bush, who was speaking that morning at an elementary school in Florida, that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center?

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Bush Advisor Recalls Telling Bush About 9/11 Attacks | MSNBC

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On September 11, 2001, 19 assailants related to the Islamic fanatic gathering, al Qaeda captured four planes and did self-destruction assaults against focuses in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin pinnacles of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon right external Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane slammed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Very nearly 3,000 individuals were killed during the 9/11 psychological militant assaults, which set off major U.S. drives to battle psychological oppression and characterized the administration of George W. Hedge.

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on an unmistakable Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 stacked with 20,000 gallons of stream fuel collided with the north pinnacle of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The effect left a vast, consuming opening close to the 80th floor of the 110-story high rise, in a split second killing many individuals and catching hundreds more on higher floors.

As the departure of the pinnacle and its twin got in progress, TV cameras communicated real-time pictures of what at first seemed, by all accounts, to be a monstrosity mishap. Then, at that point, 18 minutes after the principal plane hit, a second Boeing 767—United Airlines Flight 175—showed up out of the sky, turned forcefully toward the World Trade Center, and cut into the south pinnacle close to the 60th floor.

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People didn't understand what was happening after the first plane hit. Most people thought it was just a freak accident and it just happened to hit one if the twin towers

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People at first were just watching mostly being unsure of what had just happened

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“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”-David Leviathan

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"if we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no for hate" Sandy dahl wife of flight 93's pilot

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This quote captures the essence of the Global reaction as people from other countries flooded to provide their support for America in this time of need despite having no prior connections to the country

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“I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” George W Bush

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George W Bush in this quote says that the whole world can hear those crying out from the pain suffered in the 9/11 attacks. Thanks to globalisation it made it a lot easier for the information to travel faster and for people from far away to give their support no matter where they were

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"One of the worst days in America's history saw some of the bravest acts in America's History. We'll always honour the heroes of 9/11 ... we will never forget their sacrifice" George w. Bush

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People could also sympathise due to the fact that Terrorism had become a global thing at this point due to globalisation

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“On this day… 19 years (September 10th) ago, 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights. 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning. 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift. 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning patrol. 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift. None of them saw past 10:00am Sept 11, 2001. In one single moment life may never be the same. As you live and enjoy the breaths you take today and tonight before you go to sleep in preparation for your life tomorrow, kiss the ones you love, snuggle a little tighter, and never take one second of your life for granted.” - Unknown

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This event changed the world as it was one of the biggest terrorist attacks ever and it still is. It was also very different as it was the western world being attacked instead of the middle east being attacked.

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The event also demonstrated that America did have weaknesses and they weren't immune to attacks and ever since then America has been attacked through terrorist acts. especially one of the plans hitting the pentagon which is the Headquarters for the US defence so the irony in that

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People mourned for the loss of all of the lives even if they didn't know someone. It has become a day  of sadness in memory of all the lives lost .

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After 9/11 people put out signs and posters of the people that were missing and New York became covered in these posters

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it got so bad after the buildings collapsed that the search dogs who were looking for people through the ruble started to become depressed because they weren't finding anyone so the fist responders would hid in the ruble so the dogs could find them

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"America is under attack"

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Until recently America has still been in war in Afghanistan and recently have left after 20 years from being in Afghanistan

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Although in almost a week the Taliban has been able to take over Kabul the capital of Afghanistan

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How did the 20 year anniversary of 9/11 affect the actions of both America and the Taliban. and what they are currently doing.

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Taliban fighters Thursday opened fire on a group of protesters celebrating Afghanistan's independence day and waving the Afghan national flag in Kabul.

Afghans gathered in the streets to commemorate the anniversary of a 1919 treaty that gave the country independence from Great Britain and waved the Afghanistan national flag, only to be dispersed by gunfire from Taliban forces.

In the video obtained by Fox News, Afghans who were upset that the Taliban changed the national flag after taking over the country on Sunday took to the streets of Kabul on foot and in cars waving the former national flag. Shots can be heard being fired by the Taliban and the crowd quickly disperses in panic.
PENTAGON PRESSED ON WHY BRITISH PARATROOPERS LEAVING KABUL AIRPORT TO RESCUE CITIZENS BUT AMERICANS AREN'T
"In many cities, the Taliban opened gunfire and charged and beat the people," a source told Fox News, explaining that protesters were attacked by Taliban fighters across the country in similar fashion.

"May the Afghan flag fly forever," the protesters could be heard chanting while others shouted, "Long live Ashraf Ghani" in reference to the now-deposed former president of Afghanistan, who fled the country as the Taliban took control.

"May Afghanistan live forever," others chanted.
MCENANY RIPS PSAKI FOR NOT HOLDING DAILY BRIEFINGS DURING AFGHANISTAN CRISIS
At least two people were reportedly killed in a similar protest in the country's Kunar province after gunfire prompted a stampede.

U.S. forces are trying to evacuate thousands of American citizens and allies trapped in Kabul, where the Taliban has taken full control of the city with the sole exception of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, which 4,500 U.S. troops are currently occupying.

President Biden has authorized 6,000 U.S. troops to deploy to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation mission, as the Taliban pushes to restore the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - the formal name of the country under the Taliban rule before the militants were ousted by U.S.-led forces in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, were orchestrated by al Qaeda while it was being sheltered by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The president, adamantly standing by his initial decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, outlined the current mission for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, saying it will be "short in time, limited in scope and focused on our objectives: get our people and our allies as quickly and as safely as possible."
Fox News' Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report.

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Taliban opens fire on protesters waving Afghan national flag in frightening video

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Taliban fighters Thursday opened fire on a group of protesters celebrating Afghanistan's independence day and waving the Afghan national flag in Kabul. Afghans gathered in the streets to commemorate the anniversary of a 1919 treaty that gave the country independence from Great Britain and waved the Afghanistan national flag, only to be dispersed by gunfire from Taliban forces.

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Fallout from Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

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Thousands of desperate Afghans have tried to flee after the Taliban takeover of the country.

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Copy of Global Politics Unit 2: Global Connections

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https://twitter.com/i/events/1424874627164082176

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban militants attacked protesters Wednesday in Afghanistan who dared to take down their banner and replace it with the country's flag, killing at least one person and fueling fears about how the insurgents would govern this fractious nation.

While the Taliban have insisted they will respect human rights, unlike during their previously draconian rule, the attack in Jalalabad came as many Afghans were hiding at home or trying to flee the country, fearful of abuses by the loosely controlled militant organization. Many people have expressed dread that the two-decade Western experiment to remake Afghanistan will not survive the resurgent Taliban, who took control of the country in a blitz that took just days.

Taliban leaders talked Wednesday with senior Afghan officials about a future government. In a potential complication to any effort to stabilize the country, the head of the country's central bank warned that American sanctions over the Taliban's designation as a terrorist organization threatened Afghanistan's economy, which already is dangerously low on hard foreign currency.

One figure who was not at the talks in Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled as the Taliban closed in on the capital. The United Arab Emirates acknowledged Wednesday that the Gulf nation had taken him and his family in on humanitarian grounds.

In an early sign of protest to the Taliban's rule, dozens gathered in the eastern city of Jalalabad and a nearby market town to raise the tricolor national flag, a day before Afghanistan's Independence Day, which commemorates the 1919 treaty that ended British rule. They lowered the Taliban flag - a white banner with an Islamic inscription - that the militants have raised in the areas they captured.

Video footage later showed the Taliban firing into the air and attacking people with batons to disperse the crowd. Babrak Amirzada, a reporter for a local news agency, said the Taliban beat him and a TV cameraman from another agency.

A local health official said the violence killed at least one person and wounded six. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists. The Taliban did not acknowledge the protest or the violence.

It was a rare resistance to their rule. In the days since the Taliban seized Kabul on Sunday, the militants only faced one other protest by a few women in the capital.

There has been no armed opposition to the Taliban. But videos from the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, a stronghold of the Northern Alliance militias that allied with the U.S. during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, appear to show potential opposition figures gathering there. That area is in the only province that has not fallen to the Taliban.

Those figures include members of the deposed government - Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who asserted on Twitter that he is the country's rightful president, and Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi - as well as Ahmad Massoud, the son of the slain Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.

In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post, Massoud asked for weapons and aid to fight the Taliban.

"I write from the Panjshir Valley today, ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban," he wrote. "The Taliban is not a problem for the Afghan people alone. Under Taliban control, Afghanistan will without doubt become ground zero of radical Islamist terrorism; plots against democracies will be hatched here once again."

The Taliban, meanwhile, pressed ahead with their efforts to form an "inclusive, Islamic government." They have been holding talks with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the ousted government. Mohammad Yusof Saha, a spokesman for Karzai, said preliminary meetings with Taliban officials would lead to eventual negotiations with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the top Taliban political leader who just returned to the country from Qatar.

Karzai and Abdullah met Wednesday with Anas Haqqani, a senior leader in a powerful Taliban faction called the Haqqani Network. That network, once allied to the U.S. during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, was blamed for a series of devastating suicide attacks amid the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The Haqqani Network, like the Taliban at large, faces U.S. sanctions.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people remained outside Kabul's airport, already the scene of deadly chaos involving crowds trying to flee the country. The Taliban demanded to see documents before allowing the rare passenger inside. Many of the people outside did not appear to have passports, and each time the gate opened even an inch, dozens tried to push through. The Taliban fired occasional warning shots to disperse them.

One Afghan who formerly worked with the U.S. military said he was turned away by American troops even after the State Department told him to come for a flight, according to Sam Lerman, an Air Force veteran who is helping former colleagues leave the country. The Afghan was told he needed a green card, Lerman said.

"People are going to die" as a result of that confusion, Lerman said.

The Taliban have promised to maintain security, but residents say groups of armed men have been going door to door inquiring about Afghans who worked with the Americans or the deposed government. It's unclear if the gunmen are Taliban or criminals posing as militants.

In theory, Ghani remains the president of Afghanistan, though many in the country blame him for the collapse of Afghan security forces.

Speaking late Wednesday in a video posted to Facebook, Ghani defended abandoning Kabul as the Taliban advanced, describing it as the only way to prevent bloodshed. He denied rumors that he left with millions of dollars.

"I was forced to leave Afghanistan with one set of traditional clothes, a vest and the sandals I was wearing," Ghani said. He also said he supported the talks Abdullah and Karzai are conducting with the Taliban.

In a sign of the monetary difficulties any future Afghan government will face, the head of Afghanistan's central bank said the country's supply of physical U.S. dollars is "close to zero." Afghanistan has some $9 billion in reserves, Ajmal Ahmady tweeted, but most is held outside the country, with some $7 billion held in U.S. Federal Reserve bonds, assets and gold.

Ahmady said the country did not receive a planned cash shipment amid the Taliban offensive.

"The next shipment never arrived," he wrote. "Seems like our partners had good intelligence as to what was going to happen."

A U.S. official confirmed that the Treasury Department has frozen the Afghan government's accounts in the United States and halted direct assistance payments to the government. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter publicly.

Ahmady said the lack of U.S. dollars will likely lead to a depreciation of the local currency, the afghani, hurting the country's poor.

The "Taliban won militarily - but now have to govern," he wrote. "It is not easy."

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This story has been updated to correct that Sam Lerman is an Air Force veteran helping Afghans leave the country, not an Afghan trying to leave the country, and that an Afghan he was helping was turned away before he made it inside the airport.

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Faiez reported from Istanbul, Gannon from Guelph, Canada, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem, Rahim Faiez in Istanbul, Sylvia Hui in London and Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

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Taliban militants violently disperse rare Afghan protest

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban militants attacked protesters Wednesday in Afghanistan who dared to take down their banner and replace it with the country's flag, killing at least one person and fueling fears about how the insurgents would govern this fractious nation.

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