21st century (2001–2100) (1421 AH–1527 AH) 2001 Damascus Spring is brought to an end by the arrest of 10 civil society activist who were sentenced to between two and 10 years. Over several weeks beginning on March 2, the Taliban began the systematic shelling and dynamiting of two giant sixth century Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Banyam valley in central Afghanistan. Mullah Mohammed Omar justified the destruction of this UNESCO World Heritage Site on the ground that they were idols under Islamic law. On September 11 members of the Al Qaeda Terrorist organization attacked the United States by hijacking commercial airliners and flying them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, killing upwards of three thousand. In response the United States government would declares a War on terror, beginning with the invasion of Afghanistan. The 7.7 Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured. 2002 General elections in Pakistan are held after the 1999 military takeover. PML (Q) led by Mian Muhammad Azhar, a pro-military party, gains majority throughout Pakistan. Mir Zafrullah Khan Jamali became the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The riots between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, India. More than 5000 reported killed, most of them Muslims. A terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda kills more than 200 people in the 2002 Bali bombings. Chechen rebels take 800 hostages in the Moscow theater hostage crisis. 2003 The United States leads the invasion of Iraq, searching for "weapons of mass destruction," starting the second Iraq War. As a result of US De-Ba'athification policy, former Iraqi soldiers and police form secret groups and begin insurgency. Shirin Ebadi becomes the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in promoting human rights. On April 5 Israel conducts the Ain es Saheb airstrike near Damascus, claiming the site was a terrorist training facility for members of Paletinian Islamic Jihad. Truck bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kill 34. Spanish restaurant and Jewish centers attacked in Casablanca, Morocco, killing 43 people. Attack on hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia kills 10. 52 killed in suicide attacks on British and Jewish targets in Istanbul. Demise of Mirza Tahir Ahmad, 4th Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam and Mirza Masroor Ahmad elected 5th Caliph. 2004 The second-largest earthquake ever