US honors 9/11 dead on 20th anniversary of attacks

New York police and firefighters hold a US flag as a band plays the US National Anthem at the National 9/11 Memorial.

America marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 Saturday with solemn ceremonies given added poignancy by the recent chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and return to power of the Taliban. At the 9/11 memorial in New York, a moment's silence was held at 8:46 am (1246 GMT), the time the first hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Relatives, many wiping away tears, then began reading the names of those killed as the four-hour-long ceremony, attended by President Joe Biden and Barack Obama, got under way under tight security in New York.  Heart-wrenching commemorations will also unfold at the other two sites targeted by Al-Qaeda, the Pentagon in Washington DC and Shanksville in Pennsylvania,