One of the most notable foreign terrorist groups that began to form overseas during the 1990s was al-Qaeda. Led by Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda was responsible for a series of attacks against the United States and its allies, including the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. These attacks culminated in the devastating September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which killed nearly 3,000 people. The Clinton administration had made efforts to combat terrorism, but the attacks of 9/11 highlighted the need for a more robust and coordinated approach to counterterrorism efforts.
