Today in History: The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing

By Y.M. Lowy

32 years ago, on February 26, 1993, at 12:17 p.m., a powerful explosion shook New York City’s World Trade Center. A 1,500-pound bomb went off in the underground parking garage beneath the North Tower, causing massive damage. The blast created a huge crater and filled the building with smoke and debris.

The attackers hoped to collapse the North Tower into the South Tower, but their plan didn’t work. Still, the bombing tragically killed six people and injured over 1,000 others.

This attack was a major warning sign, showing that terrorism was becoming a serious threat in the United States. The mastermind behind the bombing, Ramzi Yousef, and his team were eventually caught, but this event would later lead to the bigger tragedy of the 9/11 attacks.

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