WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A portion of the Pentagon collapsed Tuesday after it was struck by an aircraft as an apparent coordinated attack spread fear throughout the U.S. capital.

The symbols of U.S. power came under attack as all federal government buildings, including the White House, the Capitol building and the Supreme Court, were evacuated.

The explosions and evacuations came shortly after two planes flew into the World Trade Center tower buildings in New York City.

Fighters jets scrambled to intercept what was reported to be second aircraft headed toward the area around the Pentagon, but the second aircraft never appeared.

The FBI suspects the events in New York and Washington were part of an organized terrorist campaign, a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press.

Among the developments in Washington were reports of:

An explosion at the Pentagon. A car-bomb explosion outside the State Department. A loud explosion reported in the vicinity of the Capitol.

In a remarkable scene, security guards brandishing automatic weapons patrolled outside the White House.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the entire nationwide air traffic system shut down and diverted to Canada all international flights inbound to New York.

Explosion, smoke:

At the Pentagon, a huge plume of smoke rose from the grounds of the building, headquarters for the U.S. military.

"A plane hit the building," David Cook, director of administration and management at the Pentagon, the world's biggest office building.

Eyewitnesses told local television stations that a commercial airliner appeared to have smashed into the side of the building, which is near the Potomac River running through Washington and close to Washington National Airport.

"I saw the tail of a large airliner. ... It plowed right into the Pentagon," said an Associated Press Radio reporter. "There is billowing black smoke."

Gray smoke billowed from the five-sided building. The more than 20,000 civilians and military men and women who work in the building streamed into the surrounding car parks, driven by blue-and-white strobe lights and wailing signs.

It was not immediately clear whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was in the building at the time of the crash, which occurred on the southwestern side of the complex.

Lisa Burgess, a reporter for the Army newspaper Stars and Stripes, said she was walking in a corridor near the blast site and was thrown to the ground by the force of the blast. Sirens wailed as the whole building was evacuated.

CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reported that the Pentagon had gone to "threat condition Delta," which is implemented when "a terrorist attack has occurred or intelligence has been received that action against a specific location is likely," McIntyre said.

White House employees evacuated.

There were also reports of a fire on the National Mall, a stretch of open, green space between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. That report was not immediately confirmed.

At the White House, employees ran out of the executive mansion as police cleared it. Aides said a "credible threat" against the White House had come in.

At first, the evacuation was orderly but, under orders from the Secret Service, employees were soon ordered to run out of the gates.

Officers, some with automatic rifles, were lined outside the White House. From Pennsylvania Avenue, CNN Correspondent Kate Snow reported that members of Congress were evacuating the Capitol grounds.

Incidents connected:

At the State Department, a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident at State appeared connected with the events in New York and at the Pentagon.

"Something has happened at the State Department," the source said. "We don't know what yet."

A voice on the building loud-speaker system said there was a fire in the building, but reports on that were sketchy as sirens blared throughout the building.

One official said there may have only been a fire alarm pulled. People were allowed into the building only to retrieve secure information.

Following the World Trade Center incident, a State Department official told CNN they will be involved in determining who carried out these attacks.

State Department officials sent cables U.S. embassies worldwide, advising representatives at each that they could decide their security posture and determine whether to remain open.

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