US marks 9/11 anniversary 22 years on

President Biden due to attend ceremony in Alaska

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: New York Mayor Eric Adams, Vice President Kamala Harris, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul place their hands on their heart as the National Anthem is sung during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2023 in New York City. Family and friends honored the lives of their loved ones on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, Shanksville, PA and the Pentagon, that killed nearly 3,000 people. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Firefighters stand near the National September 11 Memorial during an annual ceremony to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. EPA

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin delivers remarks during the Pentagon 9/11 Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon. EPA

On September 11, 2001, hijackers seized control of three passenger jets and crashed them into New York's World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in Washington, while a fourth plane came down in rural Pennsylvania. AFP

American flags outside the US Capitol on September 11, 2023. AP

The Wall of Names memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the fourth plane crashed. Getty / AFP

Visitors stroll through national park grounds in Shanksville. Getty / AFP

Photos of fallen firefighters are placed on the 9/11 Memorial in New York. AP

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis visit the memorial at Ground Zero in New York. EPA

People embrace at the National September 11 Memorial. EPA

First responders from the city of Miami Beach, Florida, hold a joint observance. EPA

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani attends the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony. Getty / AFP

The World Trade Center burns after being hit by a plane on September 11, 2001. Reuters

The US on Monday remembered the September 11, 2001 attacks, 22 years after hijackers seized control of three passenger jets and crashed them into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, while a fourth plane came down in rural Pennsylvania.

President Joe Biden, who has just wrapped up a visit to India and Vietnam, was due to break his return trip to Washington with a stop in Alaska to deliver remarks at a ceremony in Anchorage.

The decision to hold the event in Alaska, instead of Washington or New York, was a departure from what has been presidential custom, and right-wing critics condemned him for being so far from the East Coast. Vice President Kamala Harris attended a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in New York, built at the site of the collapsed World Trade Centre.

The attacks killed more than 3,000 people and prompted then-president George W Bush to launch a “global war on terror” that included a military assault on Afghanistan to find Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

“The memory of those who perished on 9/11 reminds us of why we must continue to fight against those who commit acts of terrorism,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“In the years since, we have stood side by side with partners from around the world to end the scourge of terrorism and ensure terrorists are held accountable for their crimes. The United States will continue to defend our homeland, our people and our allies.”

Bin Laden eluded capture until he was killed in a US raid on his Pakistan compound in 2011 ordered by then-president Barack Obama.

The 9/11 attacks were the worst on US soil since the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, when 2,400 people were killed. That event brought America into the Second World War.

One World Trade Centre, built to replace the Twin Towers. Reuters