Politics
22:56, 11-Sep-2017
White House observes minute of silence for 9/11 victims
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US President Donald Trump observed a moment of silence on Monday at a White House ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
The observance, along with another at Ground Zero in New York, was held at 8:46 a.m. (12:46 GMT), the moment the World Trade Center in Manhattan was struck by the first of two hijacked airliners.
The president, and his wife, Melania, placed their hands on their hearts and bowed their heads as a bell tolled and a Marine played the mournful Taps on a trumpet.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump observe a moment of silence on September 11, 2017, during the 16th anniversary of 9/11. /AFP Photo
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump observe a moment of silence on September 11, 2017, during the 16th anniversary of 9/11. /AFP Photo
In all, four planes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda militants who used them to topple the trade center's twin towers and hit the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
The attacks, the deadliest ever on US soil, killed 2,997 people and plunged the United States into a chain of rolling wars against Islamic militants.
The US flag flies at half-mast at the White House during the moment of silence on September 11, 2017, during the 16th anniversary of 9/11. /AFP Photo
The US flag flies at half-mast at the White House during the moment of silence on September 11, 2017, during the 16th anniversary of 9/11. /AFP Photo
Memorial ceremonies were also being held in New York and at the Pentagon and Vice President Mike Pence was to deliver remarks in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the fourth plane crashed.
Pence was also scheduled to tour the Flight 93 National Memorial Visitors Center and take part in a wreath-laying ceremony.
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Source(s): AFP