U.S. on Tuesday 11th September 2018 marked the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
U.S. President Donald Trump attended a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers affiliated to Al-Qaeda took control and hijacked the plane.
In the annual presidential proclamation declaring September 11 as Patriot Day, President Trump said the “evil acts” did not crush the country’s spirit or its commitment to freedom.
“We come together, today, to recall this timeless truth: When America is united, no force on Earth can break us apart. Our values endure; our people thrive; our nation prevails, and the memory of our loved ones never fades,” he said.
The plane was hijacked by 19 men affiliated with Al-Qaeda terrorist group. This was the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor in 1944.
The events of September 11 permanently changed America’s perception of security and provoked then-President, George W. Bush to declare war on terrorism and subsequently invaded Afghanistan.
Since the September 11 attacks, terrorism has grown and spread. There were 10,900 terrorist events recorded worldwide in 2017, more than five times the number recorded in 2001.
Violent jihadist groups have gained footholds in 19 countries across the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, a region along the Sahara Desert stretching across North Africa.
