A visitor pauses at one of the reflecting pools at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Getty Images
On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists backed by al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger airliners. They flew two planes into the twin skyscrapers of the World Trade Center in New York, the first at 8:46 a.m. and the second at 9:03 a.m., and both towers collapsed later that morning. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia, while a fourth — believed to have been headed for the U.S. Capitol — crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to retake control of the plane.
The coordinated attacks became the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, killing 2,977 people in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard the four hijacked planes, excluding the 19 hijackers. The attacks led directly to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and helped usher in a broader U.S. “war on terror” that also included the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
On the attack’s 25th anniversary, Americans are remembering the victims with moments of silence and ceremonies at New York’s ground zero, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Vice President JD Vance and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the ceremony at the Sept. 11 memorial at ground zero, while President Donald Trump spoke at the Pentagon ceremony.
Photos show how first responders, families and friends of the victims, and others marked the anniversary.
A man touches the Empty Sky memorial in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the sun rises behind lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
Military personnel and first responders watch as an American flag hangs from the side of the Pentagon on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
A woman pauses at a reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum ahead of a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Spencer Platt | Afp | Getty Images
A man holds a sign showing a photo of a firefighter who died in the Sept. 11 attacks, at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Sept. 11, 2026.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
Police officers gather near One World Trade Center during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Ryan Murphy | Afp | Getty Images
Rosanne Spirito and her daughters Sabrina and Amanda at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Adam Gray | Getty Images
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero before a ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Adam Gray | Getty Images
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to the national anthem at the Pentagon during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
Fire Department of New York firefighters pay their respects at a reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Sept. 11, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Firefighters salute outside the FDNY’s Ten House, the first station to respond to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, during the 25th anniversary commemoration of the attacks, in New York, Sept. 11, 2026.
Ryan Murphy | Afp | Getty Images
From left, former first lady Jill Biden, former President Joe Biden, former first lady Laura Bush, former President George W. Bush, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Vice President JD Vance, along with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, far right, attend the ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Sept. 11 survivor George Mironis and a first responder visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum ahead of the commemoration ceremony to mark the the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Sept. 11 victims’ family members at the memorial stone marking the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Sept. 11, 2026.
Jeff Swensen | Getty Images
People stand inside the Oculus at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York as sunlight passing through its skylight forms two parallel columns of light representing the twin towers as part of the “Wedge of Light” on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2026.
Andres Kudacki | Getty Images
An attendee places their hand on the memorial ahead of the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, Sept. 11, 2026.
David Dee Delgado | Bloomberg | Getty Images