US releases film of 9/11 attack on Pentagon

The US government has released video clips for the first time showing how a hijacked airliner struck the Pentagon and exploded into a ball of fire on September 11, 2001.

The US government has released video clips for the first time showing how a hijacked airliner struck the Pentagon and exploded into a ball of fire on September 11, 2001.

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Two security cameras at a Pentagon parking lot caught the moment that American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the south west side of the military headquarters.

Although the two video clips last about two minutes, the nose of the jet is seen for only a fraction of a second in one film before the explosion.

A huge ball of flame rises from the building and black smoke starts gushing out.

The attack, which came shortly after Al-Qaeda hijackers flew two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, killed 189 people on the jet and inside the Defense Department headquarters in the Washington suburbs.

The Pentagon handed the videos over to Judicial Watch, a watchdog group that sued for its release.