US holds memorials for the 9/11 attacks, 25 years later

In New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, mourners gathered to remember nearly 3,000 people killed during the hijackings.

One World Trade Center is seen in the background behind flowers for the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. [Angela Weiss/AFP]

To mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Americans gathered to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

The most prominent event on Friday was arguably at Ground Zero, the site in New York City where the landmark World Trade Center, known as the Twin Towers, once stood.

The buildings collapsed after two commercial jets crashed into them as part of the hijacking. A memorial and museum now sit at the site. During Friday’s ceremony, relatives of victims read the names of those killed as they have every year since the attack, surrounded by the two reflecting pools that mark the towers’ footprints.

In Arlington, Virginia, mourners also gathered at the Pentagon, where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building, killing 184. United States President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth were among those delivering remarks.

“In those harrowing days after the attacks, we saw the authentic spirit of our nation. We were all New Yorkers that day, every one of us,” Trump said at the Pentagon ceremony. “The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail and to win.”

Families also came together in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for an observance in honour of the passengers and crew killed aboard United Airlines Flight 93.

While it is believed the attackers aimed to crash the plane in Washington, DC, they faced a revolt from those trapped on the aircraft with them. The plane ultimately made a nosedive into a rural field, instead of hitting the attackers’ target. Forty victims were killed.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered flags in the state to fly at half-staff, to “honor the bravery of the men and women who stood up to evil and ran towards danger while others were running away”.

The attacks on September 11 marked a new era for the United States, ushering in the “global war on terror”, a decades-long effort that involved US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There have also been lifelong consequences for survivors of the attack. Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released government documents indicating that city officials knew about the risks of toxic exposure after the fall of the Twin Towers.

An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to chemicals including carcinogens, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thousands are believed to have died from conditions like cancer in the quarter century since the attacks.

Visitors to the September 11 memorial in New York, built on the World Trade Center site, make an etching of a name during the 25th anniversary on Friday. [Dave Sanders/AFP]

Bagpipers play during the 25th anniversary commemoration at the National September 11 Memorial in New York. [Angela Weiss/AFP]

The Pentagon logo is displayed on a screen at a 25th anniversary commemoration event just outside Washington, DC. [Jim Watson/AFP]

Mark Heiderich places flowers at the Wall of Names in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honour his friend, Flight 93 Captain Jason M Dahl. [Gene J Puskar/AP Photo]

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump listen to the national anthem during the 25th anniversary commemoration at the Pentagon outside Washington, DC. [Saul Loeb/AFP]

Bells are rung as part of a remembrance at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania [Gene J Puskar/AP Photo]

A New York Police Department officer pays his respects during the 25th anniversary ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial. [David Dee Delgado/AFP]

A mourner holds a photograph at the National September 11 Memorial in New York on Friday. [David Dee Delgado/AFP]

Memorial attendees gather around the reflecting pools at the National September 11 Memorial in New York. [Adam Gray/EPA, pool]

Flowers adorn one of the reflecting pools during a memorial at the National September 11 Memorial. [Adam Gray/Reuters, pool]

A memorial for a victim bears the slogan, 'Never forget', near the National September 11 Memorial in New York. [David Dee Delgado/AFP, pool]

A mourner touches one of the names of the victims enscribed on the National September 11 Memorial in New York. [Angela Weiss/AFP]

在纽约、弗吉尼亚和宾夕法尼亚，哀悼者聚集在一起，缅怀在劫机事件中丧生的近3000人。

在9·11事件25周年纪念日的鲜花簇拥下，可以看到世界贸易中心一号大楼。[Angela Weiss/AFP]

为纪念 2001 年 9 月 11 日袭击事件 25 周年，美国民众聚集在一起，缅怀在被劫持的飞机撞击世界贸易中心、五角大楼和宾夕法尼亚州一处田野时丧生的近 3000 人。

周五最引人注目的事件可以说是在世贸中心遗址发生的，那里是纽约市标志性的世界贸易中心（又称双子塔）曾经矗立的地方。

在劫机事件中，两架商用飞机撞向世贸中心双塔，导致大楼坍塌。如今，这里已建有纪念馆和博物馆。在周五的纪念仪式上，遇难者家属像往年一样，在两座倒影池的环绕下，宣读了遇难者的名字。这两座倒影池正是世贸双塔原址的标志。

在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿，哀悼者也聚集在五角大楼，美国航空77号航班撞入该大楼，造成184人死亡。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯等人发表了讲话。

“在袭击发生后的那些令人痛心的日子里，我们看到了我们国家真正的精神。那天，我们都是纽约人，我们每个人都感同身受，”特朗普在五角大楼的仪式上说。“此后的25年向我们展示了美国精神更加强大的力量，它能够坚持不懈、战胜困难、最终取得胜利。”

在宾夕法尼亚州尚克斯维尔，遇难者家属也聚集在一起，举行悼念活动，缅怀在联合航空 93 号航班上遇难的乘客和机组人员。

虽然人们认为袭击者的目标是让飞机在华盛顿特区坠毁，但他们遭到了机上乘客的反抗。最终，飞机没有击中袭击者的目标，而是机头朝下坠入一片乡村田野。四十名遇难者不幸遇难。

宾夕法尼亚州州长乔什·夏皮罗下令该州所有旗帜降半旗，以“纪念那些挺身对抗邪恶、在其他人逃跑时迎难而上的勇敢男女”。

9·11 袭击事件标志着美国进入了一个新时代，开启了“全球反恐战争”，这是一场持续数十年的战争，其中包括美国领导的伊拉克战争和阿富汗战争。

袭击事件也给幸存者带来了终身影响。本周早些时候，纽约市市长佐兰·马姆达尼公布了政府文件，表明市政府官员在世贸双塔倒塌后就已了解有毒物质暴露的风险。

据美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）估计，约有40万人接触过包括致癌物在内的化学物质。自袭击事件发生以来的25年间，据信有数千人死于癌症等疾病。

周五是9·11事件25周年纪念日，在纽约世贸中心遗址上建造的9·11纪念馆内，参观者们正在刻下遇难者的名字。[戴夫·桑德斯/法新社]

在纽约国家9·11纪念馆举行的9·11事件25周年纪念活动上，风笛手演奏。[Angela Weiss/AFP]

在华盛顿特区郊外举行的五角大楼成立25周年纪念活动上，屏幕上显示着五角大楼的标志。[吉姆·沃森/法新社]

马克·海德里希在宾夕法尼亚州尚克斯维尔的“遇难者姓名墙”前敬献鲜花，以纪念他的朋友、93号航班机长杰森·M·达尔。[吉恩·J·普斯卡/美联社照片]

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普在华盛顿特区五角大楼举行的美国建国25周年纪念活动上聆听国歌。[Saul Loeb/AFP]

在宾夕法尼亚州尚克斯维尔的93号航班国家纪念馆，人们鸣钟悼念。[Gene J Puskar/AP Photo]

在9·11事件25周年纪念仪式上，一名纽约警察局警官向遇难者致敬。[David Dee Delgado/AFP]

周五，一名悼念者在纽约国家9·11纪念馆手持照片。[David Dee Delgado/AFP]

在纽约国家9·11纪念馆，参加纪念活动的人们聚集在倒影池周围。[Adam Gray/EPA，图片]

在9·11国家纪念馆的纪念活动中，鲜花点缀着其中一个倒影池。[亚当·格雷/路透社，合影]

在纽约国家9·11纪念馆附近，一座纪念遇难者的纪念碑上写着“永不忘记”的标语。[David Dee Delgado/AFP，联席拍摄]

一名悼念者触摸着纽约国家9·11纪念碑上镌刻的遇难者姓名。[Angela Weiss/AFP]