A New York federal court issued judgments requiring the Taliban and the Iranian government to pay $144.7 billion to thousands of people who were directly injured or lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels issued the awards after the defendants failed to respond to the decadeslong litigation in U.S. courts seeking to hold them responsible for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

In orders issued on Tuesday and Wednesday, Judge Daniels referenced earlier court rulings finding that federal courts can exert authority over the Taliban and Iran to find them liable for the attacks.

The judgment against the Taliban, the Islamic extremist group in power in Afghanistan, covers more than 6,000 people participating in Burnett v. Al Baraka Banking and Investment , a lawsuit filed in August 2002 against dozens of foreign governments, banks, corporations and charities that have allegedly sponsored al-Qaida, the perpetrators of the attack.

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The judgments against the Taliban and Iran are just the latest in a string of awards that have come out of the litigation. Jerry Goldman, a representative for one set of plaintiffs that secured judgments against Iran, has estimated that he has obtained court orders collectively worth billions against Iran over the past few years.

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