Six years on, U.S. marks September 11 attacks

The United States was to mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Tuesday with more muted commemorations than in previous years, amid increasing controversy over the war led by Washington, international headlines read. In New York, where more than 2,700 people were killed when two hijacked planes plowed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, rescue workers were to read out the names of the dead in a solemn ceremony. Unlike in past years, most of the ceremony will be held at a park near Ground Zero, the area where the Twin Towers once stood, and not on the site itself, where construction on a memorial and other new buildings is under way. In the evening, two massive beams of light are to be projected into the night sky above Ground Zero to symbolize the collapsed towers. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2007, with the largest death toll in history (2,973 persons, including 2,749 in New York), were carried out by 19 members of al-Qaeda, who hijacked four planes to hit the Twin Towers in New York and the Defense Department headquarters.