Honoring Resilience: 24 Years After 9/11

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump participated in a solemn ceremony at the Pentagon to mark the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Those attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 individuals when hijacked planes hit New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In New York's Ground Zero, the tradition of reading the victims' names continued, honoring over 2,700 lives lost in the Twin Towers' collapse.

The morning of September 11, 2001, started like any other day in New York City, characterized by the routine bustling of office workers and tourists. That normalcy was shattered by the roar of jet engines as a plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, marking the onset of the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil. Another plane soon followed, hitting the South Tower, witnessed by shocked onlookers, as both towers crumbled in moments. Simultaneously, further attacks targeted the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, highlighting the attack's vast scale.

The hijackings involved four airliners and 19 individuals, who embarked on a suicide mission that engraved a deep scar in American history. The attack, described as the largest in human history, left the US shaken to its core, casting the Twin Towers into rubble, and wounding the spirit of those who lived through it, especially those who lost loved ones. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost, countless others were injured, and America entered a new era of security challenges and warfare.

The events of 9/11 emerged from a long-standing conflict between al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the United States, culminating in a direct assault on American soil. This grim confrontation, originating far from America's borders, found its way to the heart of the US, executed by 19 hijackers trained by al-Qaeda.

(With inputs from agencies.)