On the morning of 11 September 2001, terrorists hijacked four American commercial passenger aircraft. Two were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, the third struck the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. No one aboard the aircraft survived. Thousands of people died in the Towers and the Pentagon
The United States launched an international campaign against terrorism, to which the Canadian Forces (CF) is making a significant contribution. Canada currently has about 2,200 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel serving in the following operational units deployed on Operation APOLLO in Afghanistan.
These are:
- a Battle Group (composed of infantry, armoured reconnaissance, field engineer and combat service support units) integrated with Task Force Rakkasan, the coalition force based at Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan.
- a Naval Task Group of five major warships serving with the coalition fleet in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea
- a Long Range Patrol Detachment, flying the CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft
- a Tactical Airlift Detachment, flying the CC-130 Hercules tactical transport
- a Strategic Airlift Detachment, flying the CC-150 Polaris long-range transport