Vance to mark 9/11 in New York, Trump at Pentagon

Vance to visit New York, Trump to stay in Washington to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11 terror attack

Washington DC, September 4

During a media briefing here, Vance said that the decision was made to allow the two leaders to commemorate the attacks at different locations, with New York and the Pentagon being central to the tragedy.

"We just decided as a team that I would go to New York for 9/11 and the President would stay here in DC, of course, to commemorate what happened at the Pentagon because that was a critical part of the tragedy of 9/11 as well," Vance said.

The Vice President said he viewed the opportunity to participate in the New York commemoration as an honour, particularly the ceremony at which relatives read aloud the names of those who died in the attacks.

"As much as it's tragic and it was a terrible day, I am looking forward to it because it's such an amazing honour to be able to get to go to New York and to share in that moment where the parents and the kids read the names of the people who lost their lives," Vance said.

The 25th anniversary will be observed on September 11, marking a quarter century since the coordinated terrorist attacks that profoundly reshaped the United States and its approach to national security.

On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger aircraft in a coordinated attack against the United States. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers in New York, while a third struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defence, in Arlington, Virginia.

The fourth aircraft crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempted to regain control of the plane.

The attacks killed 2,977 people, according to official US figures, making September 11 one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history.

The destruction of the Twin Towers and the attack on the Pentagon triggered an immediate national crisis and ushered in a new era of US counterterrorism operations, military engagements and heightened domestic security measures.

At Ground Zero in New York, the site where the World Trade Centre towers once stood, an annual remembrance ceremony continues to honour the victims. The names of those killed are read aloud by family members and loved ones, preserving a solemn tradition that has become central to the country's 9/11 commemorations.

The attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and followed years of confrontation between the terrorist organisation and the United States. The assault on American soil prompted Washington to launch a global campaign against al-Qaeda and its affiliates, beginning with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.

— ANI