9/11 anniversary marked with ceremonies across U.S.

The United States marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with ceremonies and moments of silence at the sites tied to the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Memorial events were held at Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon in Virginia and the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the fourth hijacked plane went down after passengers fought back.

How the attacks unfolded

On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida hijackers seized four passenger jets and turned them into weapons against U.S. targets. Two planes struck the Twin Towers in New York shortly after 8:45 a.m., causing both skyscrapers to collapse later that morning. A third aircraft hit the Pentagon, while the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching what was believed to be its intended target, the U.S. Capitol.

The attacks killed 2,977 people in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard the four aircraft, not including the 19 hijackers. They also reshaped U.S. foreign policy, triggering the invasion of Afghanistan and contributing to the wider war on terror that later included the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The scale and coordination of the assault still define how the day is remembered in the U.S.

Ceremonies and remembrance

At the New York memorial, former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden joined Vice President JD Vance and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the anniversary observance. President Donald Trump attended the Pentagon ceremony, where the victims of the attack on the military headquarters were also commemorated. In Shanksville, the site linked to Flight 93, Americans gathered to honor the passengers who tried to retake control of the plane.

This year’s anniversary has taken the form of public remembrance rather than new political debate, with the focus on the victims, first responders and the communities shaped by the attacks. The commemorations underscore how the events of 2001 continue to carry national weight a quarter-century later. For many families and survivors, the annual observances remain a fixed point of mourning and memory.

The photos released to mark the day showed firefighters, uniformed personnel and ordinary citizens taking part in the commemorations. The images reflected both the ceremonial nature of the anniversary and the personal grief that still surrounds it. Even after 25 years, the attacks remain a defining event in modern U.S. history.

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