US marks 25th anniversary of September 11 terror attacks

• The United States commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with ceremonies, flag-flying, and solemn moments of silence across the nation.

• The day honours the 2,977 victims who lost their lives on 9/11 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

What happened on September 11, 2001?

• Twenty-five years ago, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jet planes and converted them into weapons of mass murder.

• At 8:46 am (US Time) American Airlines Flight 11 was deliberately flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

• Shadowing closely behind was United Airlines Flight 175 and within a span of 17 minutes, the South Tower was struck.

• At 10:28 am, both soaring towers — icons of US economic power, and among the tallest buildings on Earth — collapsed into the city below, claiming thousands of innocent lives and leaving behind unfathomable destruction.

• Just 34 minutes later, American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon, the fortress of American military might, striking down members of the Armed Forces and civil servants.

• Aboard United Airlines Flight 93, passengers learned through frantic cellphone calls of the terror already unfolding in New York and Virginia.  Knowing that their plane was being used as a weapon, they resolved to fight back. The passengers mounted a daring assault on the hijackers and forced the aircraft down in a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, just 20 minutes flying time from their intended target of the nation’s capital. 

• In just a little over two hours, 2,977 innocent souls perished in the most despicable act of terror in the history of the United States.

• By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001, the US Congress designated September 11 of each year as ‘Patriot Day’.