US soldiers paid solemn tribute on Sunday to victims of September 11 at bases across Afghanistan, where the war is still raging 10 years to the day after the Twin Towers attacks. Underlining the violence wracking much of Afghanistan, a Taliban suicide bomber detonated a bomb-laden truck near the entrance of a combat post in a central province, injuring nearly 90 people, about 50 of them US troops. From giant hubs such as Bagram in the north and Kandahar in the south to dusty remote outposts on the frontline against the Taliban, US soldiers paused in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 people who died a decade ago. At the Forward Operating Base Fenty in the eastern city of Jalalabad, hundreds of troops rose at dawn to attend a ceremony of prayers and memories, as the US flag and brigade colours flew at half mast. “It started here and it’s gonna finish here alright,” Command Sergeant Major Andrew Spano told the crowd, reading out the names of US troops killed in the area during the deployment. He requested a moment of silence later in the day to mark the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center, “and brought us to this moment we’re at right now. Since that moment, our lives changed forever, and we’ll never forget.” The ceremony was followed by a five-kilometre (three-mile) memorial run around the base.
