[Dimitris Manis]: Memorial ceremonies were held today, Wednesday, September 11, 2013, in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania in honor of the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the attacks orchestrated by the terrorists of Al Qaeda. In New York, relatives and friends of the victims gathered at the site of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. In a ceremony that tends to become a tradition, the names of the victims of the attack were read out. In Washington, President Obama, senior government officials, and relatives of the victims who lost their lives at the American Pentagon held a minute of silence in a ceremony held at the White House, and then proceeded to the headquarters of the Armed Forces, where they laid a wreath at the September 11, 2001 Victims’ Memorial. [President Obama]: We pray in memory of all those who left us, nearly 3,000 innocent souls. We still ache for those we lost. Twelve years ago, at this place, at this time, 184 people lost their lives due to a horrific terrorist act. Today, we honor those who were lost. [Dimitris Manis]: Another ceremony took place in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the United Airlines plane that was on the doomed Flight 93 crashed, resulting in the deaths of the 33 passengers and 7 crew members. The plane crashed as the passengers tried to regain control from the hijackers, who it is believed, intended to direct the plane to Washington. This year’s September 11 anniversary also marks a year since the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the US ambassador, Christopher Stevens, and three other members of the diplomatic mission traveling with him lost their lives. Dimitris Manis, Voice of America, Washington.