More of This Feature • Most Recent Events

Special Team Coverage • World Trade Center Destroyed: America Under Attack

Important Web Sites • The White House  • Report Information to FBI • American Red Cross - New York City • New York Blood Center • American Airlines Call: 1-800-245-0999 • United Airlines Call: 1-800-932-8555 • Family Member Information Lines (MSNBC) • New York Emergency Information (NYC.gov) • Nationwide Emergency and Contact Information (USnews.com) • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Defense Department • State Department • Justice Department • FBI • Transportation Dept. • Federal Emergency Management Agency • USAMA BIN LADEN - FBI Ten Most-Wanted poster

Chronology: All time shown below are approximate Eastern Daylight Times.

Tuesday, October 23, 2001

NOTE: Reports from news sources involving movements or operations of United States military personnel NOT confirmed by named U.S. government officials will be labeled as such.

Maps Detailing Allied Attacks (CNN)
Map of Coalition Bases of Operation (CNN)
Detailed Afghanistan Maps and Information (About Geography)
Afghanistan and Area Weather Forecast (AccuWeather)
Most Wanted Terrorist List (FBI)

Also Today: With their offices still closed for anthrax testing, both the House and Senate returned to session today.

• The Pentagon continued to investigate a U.N. report that a U.S. bomb had destroyed a military hospital in Herat, Afghanistan. Taliban leaders claimed up to 100 civilians had died in the incident. 
• Police in Frankfurt, Germany announced that a Turkish man arrested at the Frankfurt airport was found to have been carrying explosives and a chemical-resistant suit in his luggage. [Details from CNN]
• The Pentagon confirmed that an errant U.S. bomb had exploded in a field near a senior citizens' home in the city of Herat, but had no details concerning fatalities or injuries to civilians. [Details on CNN]

7:15 pm - Pentagon officials stated the U.S. military was prepared to continue the bombing of Taliban forces and facilities throughout the fast-approaching Afghan winter. [See: U.S. prepared to bomb Afghanistan through winter (CNN)]

6:15 pm - The U.S. Justice Department released photographs and contents of the anthrax-laced letters sent to NBC's Tom Brokaw and the editor of the New York Post. The letters, according to the Justice Department were almost, identical in content and handwriting as the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. The letters sent to NBC and the New York Post read: "09-11-01. This is next. Take penacilin now. Death to America. Death to Israel. Allah is great." The letter to Sen. Daschle read: "09-11-01. You can not stop us. We have this anthrax. You die now. Are you afraid? Death to America. Death to Israel. Allah is great." [See: Two Anthrax-Tainted Letters Virtually Same (Reuters)]

4:15 pm - Medical officials in Silver Spring, Maryland announced that two more employees of the Brentwood Post Office in Washington, D.C., had tested positive for exposure to inhalation anthrax.

3:45 pm - White House spokesman Ari Fleischer announced that a small amount of anthrax bacteria had been found a remote mail-handling facility that handles mail for the White House. The anthrax had been found on a device that opens mail and an investigation was underway, stated Fleischer. Fleischer said the facility had been shut down and all employees were being tested for exposure to anthrax. He also stated that no traces of anthrax had been found in the White House and the White House would remain open. 

1:45 pm - As medical forces battled anthrax at home, U.S. military forces launched a third straight day of air attacks against Taliban troops fighting against the Northern Alliance outside the Afghan capital of Kabul. [See: U.S. planes strike Taliban at northern air base (CNN)]

1:30 pm - After confirmation by the CDC of two additional deaths and yet another infection caused by inhalation of anthrax spores, Secretary of Health Tommy Thompson promised faster government action in response to the threat. [See: Government Promises Quicker Anthrax Action (Reuters)]

12:22 pm - The CDC confirmed that the two D.C.-area postal workers who died on Sunday, Oct. 21 had, indeed died from the inhaled form of anthrax. The CDC also confirmed finding the presence of anthrax in the Brentwood Post Office in Washington, D.C. where the two deceased postal workers were employed.

12:15 pm - The CDC reported that a third postal worker had tested positive and being treated for inhaled exposure to anthrax. The worker, a woman at the Trenton Processing and Distribution Center in Hamilton, New Jersey was listed in stable condition. [See: Suspected Inhalation Anthrax Case Found in New Jersey (Reuters)]

9:00 am - Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef stated that Osama bin Laden had survived allied attacks. [See: Taliban Say Osama Bin Laden Still Alive (Reuters)]

8:40 am - In an attempt to control anti-American protests, Pakistani police arrested a number of Islamic activist demonstrators in Jacobabad. [See: Pakistan arrests dozens of Islamic activists (CNN)]

6:00 am - Heavy U.S. bombing of Taliban positions continued with attacks underway north of Kabul. Leaders of the opposition Northern Alliance stated they hoped to soon surround the capital city of Kabul, but had no immediate plans to invade the city. [See: Taliban Frontline Positions Pounded Near Kabul (Reuters)]

Previous Days of the Crisis
A daily record of events since Sept. 11, 2001.