September 11, 2002	Wednesday	Rajab 3, 1423

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WASHINGTON, Sept 10: With fighter jets patrolling the skies, Americans prepare to commemorate the worst terror attacks in their history with a day of solemn events and prayers set to culminate in an address by President George W. Bush, on Wednesday.

Special religious and memorial services will mark the day with broadcasts replaying the horrific footage of the landmark World Trade Centre — a symbol of New York and of US economic might — ablaze, then collapsing in a cataclysmic tableau of destruction.

Bush will lead the country in Wednesday’s ceremonies to commemorate the attacks, in which three hijacked airliners crashed into the twin World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon just outside Washington.

A fourth hijacked jet crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers tackled the hijackers, preventing it from reaching what some experts believe was meant to be another key site, perhaps the White House.

After a day of religious services, Bush and his wife Laura will head for Ground Zero, where the president will lay a wreath in memory of the more than 2,800 people killed at the World Trade Centre.

He will later give a nationwide address from New York.

Security is tight with fighter jets that have been patrolling skies over major US cities since Friday and nuclear plants, airports, bridges, monuments, shopping centres and public buildings all under closer-than-usual watch.

The US State Department warned of the threat of new terror strikes against its interests worldwide on the anniversary, urging Americans around the world to be “specially vigilant.”

The high (yellow) alert level in effect since shortly after the attacks on Washington, New York and Pennsylvania remains, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

On commercial airliners, passengers will be required to remain seated for 30 minutes before takeoff and landing, the so-called “30-minute rule” already in force since last October at Reagan National Airport near downtown Washington.—AFP