The devastating image of New York’s iconic twin towers descending into dust is etched into the minds of millions across the globe.

The 9/11 World Trade Center attack, the deadliest terror atrocity in the history of the United States, was dubbed ‘America’s darkest day’.

Many newspapers reported on how the tragic event was perceived as an ‘Act of War’.

The utter destruction was also described as an ‘Apocalypse’ and ‘Doomsday’.

And one newspaper used a single word headline to reflect the collective view of civilised society – branding the al-Qaeda terrorists behind the attack ‘b******s’.  

Almost every single front page in Britain and across the Atlantic featured the shocking image of the explosions as a hijacked plane smashed into the World Trade Center, followed by another jet.

As the horror unfolded, a third plane hit the Pentagon, the nerve centre of the US armed forces, before a fourth was downed in Pennsylvania.

The attack claimed the lives of 2,977 people from 93 different nations, with 2,753 killed in the Big Apple, heralding a chilling new era of fear.

‘We occupy a different reality than we did a day ago,’ The Atlanta Constitution reported on its front page, under the headline: ‘Outrage’.

It added: ‘Millions grieve. Two landmarks of the Manhattan skyline have been obliterated and an atmosphere of war pervades Washington.’

The Washington Post reported how President George W. Bush vowed to hunt down those responsible and seek retribution, as the military was put on the highest alert.

The New York Times also told readers how the President was determined to ‘exact punishment for “evil”’ as he pledged: ‘terrorism cannot prevail’.

The Los Angeles Times reflected on the heroism of those who helped others escape the fiery chaos, while the Seattle Post Intelligencer said at least 300 firefighters could be among the dead on a day ‘None of us will ever forget’.

Heart-breaking eye witness reports told of seeing ‘bodies falling out of buildings’ as people desperately tried to save themselves.

Today, exactly two decades on, President Joe Biden addressed the nation telling them how the unity shown after 9/11 was ‘America at its best’.

The Pentagon was lit up with the US flag unfurled as dawn broke on the 20^th anniversary of the attack.

The building was targeted after the twin towers came down, as hijackers forced a jet into the western side, killing everyone on board and 29 people inside.

The Queen and Boris Johnson have led tributes to victims of the atrocity, which included 67 Britons.

The monarch told Biden: ‘As we mark the 20th anniversary of the terrible attacks on September 11 2001, my thoughts and prayers and those of my family and the entire nation, remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty.

‘My visit to the site of the World Trade Centre in 2010 is held fast in my memory.

‘It reminds me that as we honour those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild.’

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