Grief, solidarity as US marks 21st anniversary of 9/11

Relatives of victims touch the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, on Sept 11, 2022, on the 21st anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. - Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP

NEW YORK (AFP): The United States, on Sunday (Sept 11) observed the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with President Joe Biden recalling Americans' sacrifice and honouring the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes hit the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

Relatives of victims, police officers, firefighters and city leaders gathered at the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, where the names of those who died there were read aloud in an hours-long ritual that has occurred annually since the deadliest single attack on US soil.