The United States marked the third anniversary Saturday of the attacks on New York's World Trade Center by reading the names of all 2,749 victims.
Beginning at 8:46 a.m. EDT, when the first of four hijacked domestic airliners crashed into the center, dignitaries, community leaders and relatives of victims stood at ground zero and read victims' names in a solemn tribute, the BBC reported.
On Sept. 1, 2001, 19 Muslim extremists flew two jets into the the World Trade Center twin towers and another into the Pentagon, killing 184. The fourth aircraft crashed in rural Pennsylvania, killing all aboard.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, New York Gov. George Pataki and New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey were scheduled to deliver readings during the Saturday ceremony in New York City.
In Washington, the defense secretary spoke at a memorial service, President Bush vowed an unrelenting hunt against terrorists around the world. In Pennsylvania bells were to be rung in memory of the victims.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
