US marks 11th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

In New York, relatives will read out the names of those killed when hijacked jets were crashed at the World Trade Center, Washington and Pennsylvania.President Obama is due to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon and Vice-President Joe Biden is expected to speak at Shanksville.For the first time, politicians will not address the ceremony in New York.The National September 11 Memorial and Museum announced in July that this years ceremony at Ground Zero would include only relatives reading victims names.Memorial President Joe Daniels said that, in an election year, it was honouring the victims and their families in a way free of politics.Charles Wolf, whose wife Katherine was killed at the World Trade Center, said the absence of elected officials would make the event more intimate for the families.Weve gone past that deep, collective public grief, he said.Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks by al-Qaeda members who had hijacked four airliners.A sunset memorial was held at the Flight 93 National Memorial, Shanksville, on MondayPresident Obama has scheduled a moment of silence at the White House. He and First Lady Michelle Obama plan to attend the ceremony at the Pentagon, where one of the jets crashed, and then visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday that Mr Obama planned to remember those who lost their lives in 2001 as well as those who served in the conflicts that followed.He certainly hopes and knows that Americans across the country will take a moment to reflect upon the events of September 11, 2001, and all that our country has been through together since then, he said.And especially, I think, take that moment to remember the victims and their families from that terrible event.With a US election looming in November, President Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney have set aside campaigning for the day.Museum delayMr Romney is due to visit Reno, Nevada, to address the National Guard whose members were deployed as part of the US response to the attacks.Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar are due to speak at the Flight 93 National Memorial, near Shanksville, where one of the jets crashed as passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.A 9/11 museum in New York was due to have been completed for the 11th anniversary but has been plagued by setbacks.Officials say it will take at least another year to finish.A new building - the $3.9bn (£2.43bn) One World Trade Center - is due to open in 2014 on the north-west corner of Ground Zero.Last year an outdoor memorial was opened at the site and has since been visited by almost 4.5 million people.In the aftermath of the 2001 attacks, the US launched a campaign to destroy the al-Qaeda network headed by Osama Bin Laden.A team of elite US troops killed the al-Qaeda chief in a raid on his Pakistani compound last year.