9/11 MEMORIAL | Bell tolls marking collapse of WTC’s north tower

NEW YORK (AP) — A bell is tolling to mark the moment when the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.

The U.S. on Monday is marking the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000. Four hijacked planes hit the trade center towers and the Pentagon, and crashed in a Pennsylvania field. A moment of silence followed the bells.

The commemoration began with a moment of silence at tolling bells at 8:46 a.m., when the first terrorist-piloted plane slammed into the World Trade Center’s north tower.

Victims’ relatives are reading the names of those killed.

At a Pentagon ceremony, President Donald Trump said the nation grieves for the victims, and when America is united “no force on earth can break us apart.”

The president and first lady Melania Trump joined with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, members of his Cabinet and military personnel at the Pentagon to observe the anniversary of the attacks on the nation’s defense headquarters.

The president is issuing a warning to extremists, saying “America cannot be intimidated” and those who try will join the list of enemies “who dared to test our mettle.”

The native New Yorker is observing the 9/11 anniversary for the first time as president.