America marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Friday with solemn ceremonies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, as survivors, relatives and first responders gathered to remember the 2,977 people killed in the terrorist atrocities.
Former president Barack Obama arrived at the National September 11 Memorial in lower Manhattan for the main commemorative service, alongside fellow former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. Vice-President JD Vance also attended the ceremony, while President Donald Trump was due to mark the anniversary at the Pentagon.
Families of the victims read out the names of those who died when al-Qaeda hijackers seized four passenger aircraft on September 11, 2001. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center, another struck the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.
The memorial service included moments of silence marking the attacks on the Twin Towers, their subsequent collapses, the strike on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93. A further silence was held in memory of those who later died from illnesses linked to the rescue and recovery operation.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum said the ceremony was private and centred on an in-person reading of the names by relatives. It also said the anniversary was intended to remind a younger generation of the loss, courage and public service that followed the attacks.
New York remembers the victims of the September 11 attacks
First responders and mourners gathered around the two memorial pools built on the footprints of the Twin Towers, while ceremonies were also held to honour the 343 New York firefighters and other emergency workers who died at the World Trade Center.
Earlier in the week, New York staged a large-scale aerial tribute in which 2,977 illuminated drones formed the outline of the Twin Towers over the harbour. Each light represented one of the people killed in the attacks.
Tributes extended beyond the three main attack sites. The Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania held its own observance, while communities across the United States organised vigils, stair climbs and moments of silence.
Trump has also faced renewed scrutiny over an account he gave during a speech honouring first responders earlier this week. He said he had gone to Ground Zero shortly after the attacks and had been pulled from an unstable building by firefighters.
Critics, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and television commentator Rachel Maddow, questioned the account. Trump rejected claims that the story was fabricated and attacked the criticism on his Truth Social platform.
As the anniversary ceremonies continued, the focus in New York remained on the victims and on those who ran towards danger as the towers burned, rather than on the political dispute surrounding the President’s recollection.
