The US government has described it as the "most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history". But a quarter of a century on, the trial of its alleged mastermind is yet to begin and families of those killed fear that time for justice to be delivered is running out. Tom Resta's brother John and his wife Sylvia, who was seven months pregnant, were among the almost 3,000 people killed on 11 September 2001 when hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Virginia.
Another crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers fought back. The couple had been preparing their unborn baby's nursery, painting it with characters from the children's television show Blue's Clues in the days before 9/11. They had dreamed of having a baby and doted on the children of friends and family.
On the day of the attacks, the couple - both traders - were working on the 92nd floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center. "After all this time, it still chokes me up," Resta told the BBC through tears. While 25 years have passed, he said 9/11 was "almost constantly" on his mind.
New Yorkers were 'lied' to about toxic air after 9/11 attacks, says Mamdani New videos of man in 9/11 lawsuit reveal extremist links Resta has been to the US naval base of Guantanamo Bay four times to watch complex pre-trial proceedings for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants - a process he describes as "laborious and tedious". A military prison was established on the base in south-eastern Cuba during the "war on terror" that followed the 9/11 attacks, and Mohammed - often referred to as KSM - has now been held there for 20 years without ever being convicted. Relatives of victims enter a lottery process to attend the proceedings in a high-security courtroom, where thick glass separates them and members of the press from the defendants.
The pre-trial process has been going on for so long that it has now been presided over by five different military judges. Last month, as the 25th anniversary approached, there was a flurry of movement and something of a breakthrough, with a trial date set for Mohammed for June 2028. But Resta said he was bracing himself for further delays, and with so much time having passed, some of his relatives feared they would not live long enough to see the trial.
"My father will be 98 in November, and I don't think he's expecting to see it. I have a lot of family members - aunts, uncles - that would all like to see it happen. But my parents in particular, I don't think they expect to live long enough," he said.
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