At 8:46 a.m. (local time), a minute’s silence began at the attack site in southern Manhattan, known as Ground Zero – exactly at the time when Islamist terrorists piloted the first of four hijacked aircraft into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York 20 years ago. In total, almost 3,000 people were killed in the attacks.
In addition to the President and First Lady Jill Biden, numerous relatives of the victims and survivors came to the memorial service at today’s memorial. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were also present with their wives. Before the minute of silence, a choir had sung the US national anthem.
Another plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center during the attacks. Both towers then collapsed. A third machine directed the terrorists into the southwestern part of the US Department of Defense near Washington. Plane number four crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers resisted the hijackers. The mastermind behind the attacks, Osama bin Laden, was killed by US special forces in 2011.
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