US silence marks 9/11 anniversary

11 September 2011 Last updated at 08:49 ET

The US has held a moment of silence to mark 10 years since the first plane was crashed into the World Trade Center.

The ceremony at the in New York observed a pause to remember the dead of a day which saw nearly 3,000 people killed.

Security is tight following warnings of a possible al-Qaeda attack.

Relatives of victims have also gathered in Washington and Pennsylvania, where planes also crashed.

The first plane hit the WTC’s North Tower at 08:46 (13:46 GMT).

Addressing the ceremony at the WTC , New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a “perfect blue sky” had turned into “the blackest of nights” on 9/11.

An official memorial is to be unveiled at the whose twin towers were destroyed in the attacks.

Metal barriers have been erected on nearby roads, while police in New York and Washington are stopping and searching large vehicles entering bridges and tunnels.

The CIA received a warning last week that al-Qaeda might have sent attackers, some of them possibly US citizens, to bomb one of the cities.

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The warning was described by officials as “credible but unconfirmed”.

President Barack Obama has arrived in New York for the ceremony.

As in previous anniversaries, the names of all the victims will be read out at the of the WTC.

There will also be pauses for silence at the exact times when the second jet hit the WTC, an airliner smashed into the Pentagon, and a plane was forced down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, by passengers who fought the hijackers after learning of the other attacks.

President Obama is due to travel to all three s.

New York’s National September 11 Memorial, to be unveiled later on Sunday, features two reflecting pools, each almost an acre in size, in the footprints of the twin towers.

The names of those who died on 9/11, as well as the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, are inscribed on the edge of the pools.

Sunday’s ceremonies began at the US embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where the flag was lowered to half-mast to remember those who died 10 years ago, as well as those who have died since.

A piece of the twin towers is buried underneath the flag pole.

US forces were sent to Afghanistan to oust the Taliban from power after they had given sanctuary to al-Qaeda.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker acknowledged that many in the US were “tired” of the 10-year war in Afghanistan.

“We’re here so there is never again another 9/11 coming from Afghanistan’s soil,” the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

Overnight, insurgents attacked US bases in Bagram and Wardak, injuring about 80 US troops and killing two Afghan civilians, officials say.

On Saturday, President Obama said the US was stronger 10 years after the attacks. “As a resilient nation, we will carry on,” he told Americans in his weekly address.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our military personnel and our intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security professionals, there should be no doubt: today, America is stronger and al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat.

“Yes we face a determined foe, and make no mistake – they will keep trying to hit us again. But as we are showing again this weekend, we remain vigilant.”

President Obama is being joined in New York by George W Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks.

Speaking in Shanksville on Saturday at the unveiling of a memorial to the 40 victims of flight United 93, Mr Bush said the US would “never forget”.

He lauded the passengers and crew of the flight saying they had launched “the first counter-offensive in the war on terror”.

In an interview with National Geographic, he said the events of that day had changed his presidency dramatically.

“I went from being a president that was primarily focused on domestic issues, to a wartime president. Something I never anticipated nor something I ever wanted to be.”

Also on Saturday, firefighters from around the world attended a memorial service in New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral to honour the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11 while rescuing people from the WTC towers.

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