The Cold War ended in the late 1980s and early 1990s as communist governments fell across Eastern Europe and Russia. This led to the rise of global terrorism as extremist groups formed in response to perceived Western influence and attacks against Muslim nations. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda emerged during this time, carrying out terrorist attacks against US interests abroad in the 1990s. Their most infamous attack was on September 11, 2001 involving hijacked planes flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, marking a major escalation in global terrorism.