Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban is commemorating this day in their own special way. As the Associated Press reported on Saturday, the Taliban raised their black and white flag at the Afghan presidential palace that morning.
"The Taliban’s new Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund raised the flag in a ceremony at 11 a.m. local time to mark the official start of work by the Taliban’s 33-member caretaker government, said Ahmadullahh Muttaqi, multimedia chief of the group’s cultural commission," according to the AP report.
The Taliban have painted the shahada on the exterior wall of the former U.S. embassy in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/w4iLhfRpWy
— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) September 9, 2021
Another official said that the flag was first raised on Friday. They had also painted their banner on the entry gate to the U.S. Embassy.
The official Twitter account for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has for weeks mostly retweeted Sec. of State Antony Blinken and Ned Price, the spokesperson for the State Department. On September 11 it retweeted remembrances of the anniversary, though it did tweet out a photo of staff having a moment of silence.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the @USEmbKabul team met for a moment of silence to remember & honor the victims of the attacks and the first responders who risked their lives on that fateful day. #WeRemember911 pic.twitter.com/tshT6oXPHs
— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) September 11, 2021
President Joe Biden is set to visit all three sites on the 9/11 anniversary. His official Twitter account shared video remarks last night.
20 years after September 11, 2001, we commemorate the 2,977 lives we lost and honor those who risked and gave their lives. As we saw in the days that followed, unity is our greatest strength. It’s what makes us who we are — and we can’t forget that. pic.twitter.com/WysK8m3LAb
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 10, 2021