By Deborah Reed
deborah@wktv.org
As the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks dawns, events across the nation honor the memories of lives that were lost.
Terrorists from the Islamist extremist group Al Qaeda hijacked four commercial aircraft on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
Two of those aircraft crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane, crashed into an empty field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the terrorists, thwarting plans to crash the plane in Washington D.C.
Nearly 3,000 people from 93 countries lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, and another 6,000 injured in what is remembered as the worst terrorist attack in our homeland’s history.
“The memory of those who perished on 9/11 reminds us of why we must continue to fight against those who commit acts of terrorism,” said Secretary of State, Anthony J. Blinken, in a statement posted to the U.S. Department of State website. “The United States will continue to defend our homeland, our people, and our allies.”
