President Donald Trump has commemorated his first 9/11 anniversary as president.
In a solemn service at the White House and later at the Pentagon, Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump marked the occasion with a moment of silence.
Around the United States, thousands have gathered to commemorate what is termed the deadliest attack on US soil.
Almost 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks which saw hijackers crashing planes into the World Trade Centre in New York, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania instead of its intended target of Washington.
The commemoration at the White House took place at the same time relatives of the victims, survivors, rescuers and others gathered at the September 11 memorial in New York to mark the exact time the first plane struck the World Trade Centre’s North Tower.
The names of the close to 3,000 people killed were read aloud at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum as bells rang out in memory of the dead.
Each year on the anniversary, two light beams illuminate the sky to represent the two towers.
During the commemoration at the Pentagon, President Trump said, “our values will endure, our people will thrive, our nation will prevail, and the memory of our loved ones will never, ever die.”
President Trump also added that, “the terrorists who attacked us thought they could incite fear and weaken our spirit, but America cannot be intimidated and those who try will join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared test our mettle.”
Offering words of consolation to people who lost family and loved ones as a result of the September 11 attacks, President Trump said, “we know that not a single day goes by when you don’t think about the loved one stolen from your life. Today, our entire nation grieves with you”.
