New York commemorates 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

The 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was commemorated with a ceremony at the site of the former World Trade Center in New York. The names of those who lost their lives were read aloud, while a separate moment of silence was held for the first time for those who became ill and died in the aftermath of the attacks.

A ceremony was held at the site of the former World Trade Center in New York to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. U.S. Vice President JD Vance, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and their spouses attended the event, along with former U.S. presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Former New York mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg also attended the ceremony. After the moment of silence, relatives of those killed in the attacks read out the victims’ names one by one and aloud.

No political speeches at ceremony lasting about five hours

In keeping with tradition, no political speeches were delivered during the approximately five-hour program, and JD Vance did not take the podium. Musical performances were also held during the reading of the names.

While the names were being read, a relative of one of those killed in the attacks alleged that the truth behind the attacks had been concealed for 25 years. Addressing Donald Trump, the same person called for the release of uncensored files implicating Saudi Arabia while relatives of the victims were still alive.

This year’s program also included, for the first time, a separate moment of silence for those who were exposed to the toxic dust clouds formed after the Twin Towers collapsed and later died from cancer and other illnesses.

Giuliani and Mamdani shook hands at ceremony

Rudy Giuliani had previously said that Zohran Mamdani should not attend 9/11 ceremonies. Despite this, the two shook hands and briefly spoke during the ceremony. The meeting was covered by U.S. media.

Rather than traveling to New York for the commemorative program, Donald Trump attended a ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Two people detained during protests

Anti-Islam protesters led by Jake Lang marched from City Hall to the 9/11 Memorial to protest Zohran Mamdani’s participation in the commemorative program. During the demonstration, called the “Crusader March,” the protesters encountered a group with opposing views near Ground Zero.

Police intervened after a scuffle broke out between the two groups and detained two protesters.

2,977 people killed in 9/11 attacks

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four passenger planes taking off from Newark, Boston and Washington for San Francisco and Los Angeles were hijacked. At 8:46 a.m. local time, a Los Angeles-bound American Airlines plane crashed into the north tower of the Twin Towers in New York.

Another hijacked plane operated by United Airlines crashed into the south tower at 9:03 a.m., 17 minutes after the first attack. One of the hijacked planes was directed toward the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. The last plane, known as Flight 93, was shot down by F-16s over the countryside near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

A total of 2,977 people were killed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania in the attacks, in addition to the 19 hijackers.