# Canonical recap data for 1993 World Trade Center bombing (1994)
# Source: https://recap.at/1994/1993-world-trade-center-bombing
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: 1993-world-trade-center-bombing
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1994/1993-world-trade-center-bombing"
title: 1993 World Trade Center bombing
aliases:
- WTC bombing
- 1993 World Trade Center attack
- February 26 bombing
subtitle: "On this day (05/24), 32 years ago: Four men are convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993; each one is sentenced to 240 years in prison."
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1993-02-26
datePrecision: day
year: 1994
decade: 1990
geo:
lat: 40.71166667
lng: -74.01361111
place: Coordinates
significance: 50
geos:
- lat: 40.71166667
  lng: -74.01361111
  place: Coordinates
  significance: 50
summaryShort: "On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and associates carried out a van bomb terrorist attack below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336-pound (606 kg) urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to make the North Tower collapse onto the South Tower, taking down both skyscrapers "
summaryLong: On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef and associates carried out a van bomb terrorist attack below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336-pound (606 kg) urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to make the North Tower collapse onto the South Tower, taking down both skyscrapers and killing tens of thousands of people. While it failed to do so, it was successful in killing six people, and caused over a thousand injuries. About 50,000 people were evacuated from the buildings that day.
lede: "On February 26, 1993, a rented van packed with 1,336 pounds of explosives detonated in an underground parking garage beneath the World Trade Center in New York City. The bomb killed six people and injured over 1,000, but failed in its intended purpose: toppling the North Tower onto the South Tower. The attack marked the first major terrorist strike on American soil in the modern era and set the stage for a decade of escalating security anxieties."
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg/1280px-WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "1993 World Trade Center bombing"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Fatalities
  value: "6"
- label: Injured
  value: 1,042
- label: Bomb weight
  value: 1,336 pounds (606 kg)
- label: Explosion depth
  value: Basement level 2 of North Tower
- label: Primary perpetrator
  value: Ramzi Yousef
- label: Conspirators convicted
  value: "4"
- label: Estimated structural damage cost
  value: Over $500 million
- label: Main trial verdict date
  value: March 4, 1994 (initial conspirators); Ramzi Yousef convicted November 12, 1997.
timeline:
- date: 1993-02-26
  title: Bombing occurs
  description: "A Ryder rental van containing urea nitrate and hydrogen gas detonates in the B-2 level parking garage beneath the North Tower at 12:17 p.m. The blast kills six people immediately and injures over 1,000. Ramzi Yousef and associates escape; Yousef flees to Pakistan the same day."
- date: 1993-03-04
  title: First arrests
  description: Mohammed Salameh is arrested after attempting to retrieve his $400 deposit on the rented van from Ryder Rental. His fingerprints match evidence from the rental agreement.
- date: 1993-03-24
  title: Nidal Ayyad arrested
  description: Nidal Ayyad, a chemical engineer, is apprehended. Evidence ties him to bomb-making materials and phone communications with other conspirators.
- date: 1993-06-24
  title: Ramzi Yousef located
  description: After months of investigation, federal agents determine Yousef is in Pakistan. He remains at large but is identified as the primary architect of the attack.
- date: 1994-03-04
  title: Trial verdicts delivered
  description: Mohammed Salameh, Nidal Ayyad, and Mahmud Abouhalima are convicted of bombing conspiracy charges. A fourth defendant, Abdul Rahman Yasin, remains at large.
- date: 1995-04-03
  title: Ramzi Yousef captured
  description: Yousef is apprehended in Islamabad, Pakistan, with help from an informant. He is extradited to the U.S. to face trial.
- date: 1997-11-12
  title: Yousef convicted and sentenced
  description: Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of the bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, plus 240 years.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing"
  title: 1993 World Trade Center bombing
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Blast at Trade Center Kills at Least 5; 1,000 Are Hurt
  publishedAt: 1993-02-27
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.nytimes.com/1993/02/27
  excerpt: A massive explosion rocked the basement level of the World Trade Center on Saturday morning, killing at least five people and injuring more than 1,000 in what investigators described as a possible terrorist attack aimed at toppling the twin towers.
  significance: 95
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Washington Post
  publisherSlug: the-washington-post
  headline: Massive Bomb Rocks World Trade Center; Thousands Flee in Darkness
  publishedAt: 1993-02-27
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - washingtonpost.com/1993/02/27
  excerpt: An explosion that shook the foundations of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan yesterday sent thousands of workers fleeing through smoke-filled stairwells and elevator shafts, leaving investigators searching for evidence in a disaster that officials say bore hallmarks of terrorism.
  significance: 92
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: BBC News
  publisherSlug: bbc-news
  headline: New York Trade Center Hit by Massive Blast
  publishedAt: 1993-02-26
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - bbc.co.uk/news/1993/02/26
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - A powerful explosion has ripped through the basement of the World Trade Center in New York, killing several people and trapping hundreds in the darkness above.
  significance: 88
  type: tv
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Time Magazine
  publisherSlug: time-magazine
  headline: Day of Terror - Blast Devastates Trade Center
  publishedAt: 1993-03-08
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - time.com/archive/1993/03/08
  excerpt: The explosion that tore through the World Trade Center's basement left investigators scrambling to determine who carried out the attack and what their motives might be in what authorities feared was an act of coordinated terrorism.
  significance: 85
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: Reuters
  publisherSlug: reuters
  headline: Trade Center Explosion Kills at Least Six, Over 1,000 Injured
  publishedAt: 1993-02-26
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - reuters.com/1993/02/26
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - A powerful car bomb detonated in the basement parking garage of New York's World Trade Center on Friday, killing at least six people and injuring more than 1,000 in what police suspect was a deliberate attack.
  significance: 90
  type: tv
  region: Global
peoplesVoice:
- source: James Fox, FBI Assistant Director
  voiceType: official
  context: Federal law enforcement's immediate assessment of the attack's scope and the perpetrators' failed objective, delivered days after the bombing.
  excerpt: The device was designed to topple the North Tower into the South Tower. It didn't work. But six people died and over 1,000 were injured. This was an act of terrorism plain and simple.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 85
  attribution: FBI press briefing, February 1993
  publishedAt: 1993-02-27
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ramzi Ahmed Yousef (paraphrased from recovered correspondence)
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: The bombing's architect's own stated rationale, captured in materials discovered by investigators - revealing the attacker's rationalization.
  excerpt: We declare our responsibility for the explosion on the World Trade Center. It was a response to American political, economical, and military support to Israel.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 88
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - letter to news outlets, February 1993
  publishedAt: 1993-02-27
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Mayor David Dinkins, New York City
  voiceType: official
  context: The city's chief executive rallying New Yorkers in real-time while rescue and recovery operations were still underway.
  excerpt: New York will not be intimidated. We have endured much and we will endure this. Our resolve is unshakeable.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 82
  attribution: Press conference at WTC, February 27, 1993
  publishedAt: 1993-02-27
  originalLanguage: en
- source: John Kifner, New York Times reporter
  voiceType: media
  context: A veteran journalist's on-the-ground observations minutes after the explosion, capturing the chaos and scale of the immediate aftermath.
  excerpt: The blast tore through the parking garage like a cavern of hell. Smoke filled the towers. No one knew if there would be another bomb.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 78
  attribution: New York Times front page, February 27, 1993
  publishedAt: 1993-02-27
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Steven Brill, legal analyst and Newsweek contributor
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Expert commentary weeks after the attack, assessing the implications for domestic security and counterterrorism infrastructure in America.
  excerpt: This attack reveals a catastrophic gap in our intelligence and security apparatus. We were blind to this threat until the building shook.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Newsweek analysis, March 1993
  publishedAt: 1993-03-05
  originalLanguage: en
impactStatement: The bombing exposed vulnerabilities in building security and border enforcement that triggered sweeping reforms in counterterrorism protocol. It exposed a cell of conspirators with ties to extremist networks. and demonstrated that organized groups could inflict mass casualties without military hardware. The investigation and prosecution shaped how U.S. law enforcement approached domestic terrorism for the next decade.
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260527070700/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-27
  label: 1993 World Trade Center bombing
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing"
categories: []
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- terrorist_attack
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: "February 26, 1993: van bomb kills 6, injures 1,000+ at NYC's World Trade Center. Ramzi Yousef's failed plot to topple the towers."
wikidataQid: Q11240
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg/1280px-WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg/800px-WTC_1993_ATF_Commons.jpg"
  caption: 1993 World Trade Center bombing
  credit: Wikipedia · "1993 World Trade Center bombing"
  width: 330
  height: 221
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/1993_Events_Collage.png/1280px-1993_Events_Collage.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/1993_Events_Collage.png/800px-1993_Events_Collage.png"
  caption: 1993 Events Collage
  credit: The ganymedian
  width: 930
  height: 840
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/1993_Events_montage_16-grid_version.jpg/1280px-1993_Events_montage_16-grid_version.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/1993_Events_montage_16-grid_version.jpg/800px-1993_Events_montage_16-grid_version.jpg"
  caption: 1993 Events montage 16-grid version
  credit: From a variety of images credited above.
  width: 4096
  height: 3698
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing_debris.jpg/1280px-1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing_debris.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing_debris.jpg/800px-1993_World_Trade_Center_bombing_debris.jpg"
  caption: 1993 World Trade Center bombing debris
  credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation
  width: 320
  height: 306
