![Commemoration of the 9/11 attacks. [Image via DVIDSHUB/Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/9/11/660x290/b_502x220x82/commemoration-of-the-911-attacks-image-credit-dvidshub-wikimedia_1564299.jpg "Commemoration of the 9/11 attacks. [Image via DVIDSHUB/Wikimedia Commons]")
US President Donald Trump, along with his wife First Lady, Melania Trump, observed a few minutes of silence at the White House to remember those who suffered losses during deadly September 11 attacks, BBC reported. It has been 16 years since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York. More than 3,000 people lost their lives.
After the ceremonies at the White House, President Trump and the First Lady headed to the Pentagon. Pentagon was also affected by the terrorist attack after an aircraft crashed into the structure in 2001.
The White House remembered the moment by symbolically holding the ceremonies on the exact time the terror incident occurred.
Beyond the walls of the White House, thousands of Americans gathered to commemorate the attacks. This has been an annual tradition since the gruesome incident.
Defense Secretary James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Joseph Dunford were present during the ceremony. They hosted a private event at the Pentagon dedicated to the family members of the victims.
The 9/11 attacks
The world was shocked when terrorists hijacked four airplanes with people on board, and two of these airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center at the Big Apple. The third aircraft reportedly crashed into the Pentagon, and the fourth landed on an open field in Pennsylvania.
It has been said that the attacks were planned by the notorious Islamic terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda.
Aside from those killed, the incident reportedly injured more than 6,000 people and damaged properties worth $10 billion. Al-Qaeda has not only survived the "War on Terror," it also managed to expand its global reach.
The United States then waged a war against Afghanistan, the home of the Al-Qaeda, in order to depose the Taliban group, a timeline on CBC noted.
The incident made other nations around the world to combine their forces to fight terrorism, and urged lawmakers to strengthen legislation on preventing attacks like these from happening again.
Various events
Aside from the events held in New York and Washington, D.C., Vice President Mike Pence hosted a commemoration in Pennsylvania.
There was also a memorial service at the Barlow Vista Baptist Church in Hampstead, and at Jacksonville City Hall, WWAY 3 News reported.
In New York, two light beams were illuminated on the exact spot where the attacks happened. This is done annually, BBC added.
