U.S. Immigration focuses on U.S. News: A series of memorial activities are held on the 11th in Washington, D.C., New York, and other locations to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the "9/11" terrorist attacks. President Obama and other government officials and members of Congress attended the events to pay their respects to the victims.
President Obama and Mrs. Obama, along with Vice President Biden and his wife, held a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House. Obama then went to the "9/11" Memorial at the Pentagon, where he participated in the commemorative activities with Defense Secretary Hagel and other government and military officials, family members of the victims, and representatives of survivors, offering condolences to the victims of the "9/11" attacks. Obama also expressed condolences to the American diplomats who were killed in last year's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
More than 200 family members of the victims and attendees participated in the memorial event in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the attacks 12 years ago, crashed into a field in Shanksville, resulting in the deaths of all 40 passengers and crew on board. Investigations revealed that the terrorists intended to hijack the plane to carry out an attack in Washington, D.C., but the passengers bravely intervened.
New York also held a series of public memorial activities that day, the largest of which occurred at the WorldWay Center "9/11" Memorial, where people laid flowers and held moments of silence while family members recited the names of the victims.
September 11 this year marks the 12th anniversary of the "9/11" terrorist attacks on American soil in 2001 and the anniversary of the Benghazi attack on U.S. diplomatic missions abroad. The White House issued a statement on the evening of the 10th saying that the national security team is taking a series of measures to prevent terrorist attacks related to the 12th anniversary of the "9/11" events and to enhance protection for U.S. personnel and facilities abroad.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four passenger planes. Two crashed into the "Twin Towers" of the WorldWay Center in New York, one hit a corner of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and another crashed. These series of attacks resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000 people and caused economic losses of hundreds of billions of dollars. Following the events, the United States identified al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as the main suspect and decided to launch a "War on Terror."