FBI: The 1993 World Trade Center Bombing—and the Investigation That Followed
On February 26, 1993—just after noon—an explosion tore through the underground parking garage beneath the World Trade Center, carving a crater nearly 100 feet wide and ripping through multiple levels. Six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured as smoke and fire surged upward into the towers and thousands fled through darkened stairwells.
From the first hours, investigators treated the blast as terrorism—not an accident—setting up a command center and moving evidence from the rubble into a widening federal case. The break came from a small but decisive find: a vehicle identification number recovered from bomb wreckage, apparently altered. Records tied it to a rented van reported stolen the day before. The renter was Mohammad Salameh, who was arrested on March 4 after he returned—unsuccessfully—to reclaim a $400 deposit.
A case built from forensics, records, and tight timelines
With Salameh in custody, the Joint Terrorism Task Force pulled on the threads quickly. Agents arrested three additional suspects—Nidal Ayyad, Mahmud Abouhalima, and Ahmad Ajaj—and identified locations tied to bomb construction, including an apartment used to mix chemicals and a storage locker holding hazardous materials. The FBI says the four men were tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.
A contemporaneous Justice Department release adds detail on the alleged bomb-making logistics—chemicals mixed in a Jersey City apartment in January and February 1993—and underscores the casualty toll: six dead and more than 1,000 injured.
The fugitive mastermind—and a wider plot map
Investigators soon identified the alleged mastermind as Ramzi Ahmed Yousef. While he initially escaped, U.S. authorities continued what the Justice Department described as a worldwide search; Yousef was apprehended in Pakistan in February 1995 and flown back to New York to face charges.
The FBI’s account also says the bombing’s “shockwave” led to another major discovery: a separate plot targeting multiple New York landmarks. On June 24, 1994, agents raided a Queens warehouse and caught members of a terrorist cell assembling bombs.
Accountability efforts that continued for years
According to the FBI, Yousef was later convicted along with Eyad Ismoil (described as the van driver). The FBI also states that a seventh alleged plotter, Abdul Yasin, remains at large.
IFebruary 26, 2026, the main public commemorations for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were:
- Port Authority Memorial Mass — held at St. Peter’s Church in Lower Manhattan at 10:30 a.m.
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum “February 26, 1993 Commemoration Ceremony” — held on the National September 11 Memorial Plaza starting around 12:00 p.m., including a moment of silence at 12:18 p.m. (the time of the 1993 blast).
Sources: FBI.gov , Big New York News BigNY.com
