NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is marking the anniversary of the 1993 bombing at the Old World Trade Center. The bomb blast blew a huge crater beneath one of the 110-story twin towers years ago, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000. The deadly attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey held a memorial mass Monday at St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan, followed by a memorial service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum near the 104-story skyscraper that towers over the site. A solemn ceremony was held. of the twin towers.
The bell rang at exactly 12:18 p.m., marking the time of the Feb. 26 attack, and a moment of silence was observed for the victims. Afterwards, participants placed roses with their names engraved on the reflecting pond, which represents the footprint of the North Tower, where the underground parking lot bombing occurred.
Charles Mikeish, the Port Authority’s World Trade Center director at the time of the bombing, said at the ceremony that the 1993 attack “targeted the heart of our free economy and democratic system.”
“The aim was to cause significant loss of life and permanent and permanent disruption to economic systems and ways of life.” “Well, they failed.”
The 1993 attack was carried out by Islamic extremists who sought to criticize US policy in the Middle East, particularly its support for Israel.
The terrorist cell detonated about 1,200 pounds of explosives inside a parked rental van, filling a five-story, 150-foot-wide crater with 4,000 tons of debris, the museum said.
Six people were convicted in the case, including Ramzi Yousef, the alleged mastermind. A seventh suspect in the bombing remains on the FBI’s most wanted list.
The attack was a precursor to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which ultimately brought down the city’s tallest skyscraper and killed nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest attack on American soil.
Yousef’s uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, later became the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, in which hijacked planes were used as missiles to attack buildings.
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