Together, We Hunted Down Bin Laden: US Tells UNSC On 25th Anniversary Of 9/11 Attacks

The United States told the UN Security Council that “together, we hunted down” Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as the 15-member body marked 25 years since the September 11 terror attacks and adopted its first presidential statement on counter-terrorism in five years.

The Security Council held a briefing on Friday, September 11, to commemorate the anniversary of the 2001 attacks, when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center twin towers. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz used the occasion to highlight the international fight against terrorism over the past quarter-century.

‘We Hunted Down Bin Laden’

“Together, we hunted down bin Laden. Our coalition destroyed ISIS’s caliphate. We killed al-Baghdadi and al-Zawahiri,” Waltz said during the Security Council briefing titled ‘Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’.

His remarks underlined how the global response to terrorism has extended well beyond the aftermath of 9/11, with countries working together against militant groups and their leaders. The statement also carried particular significance at the Security Council table, where Pakistan currently serves as a non-permanent member.

Pakistan At The UNSC Table

Pakistan’s two-year term on the Security Council is due to end in December. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, was found hiding in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad and was killed by US Navy SEALs in a raid in May 2011.

Waltz also turned attention to the experience of other Security Council members, arguing that terrorism has left few countries represented at the table untouched.

‘Everyone Has Lost Men And Women’

“Colleagues, as I look around the table, everyone in this room, all on this Council, from Latvia to Liberia, everyone has lost men and women in uniform confronting terrorism in the years since. So, for most of you, September 11 is sadly not the only terror attack in your national memory. We should take stock of that. We should remember that,” Waltz said.

He cited the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in Pakistan, which killed about 130 children, and the July 7, 2005, London bombings among major terror attacks experienced by countries represented on the Council. His references served as a reminder that while 9/11 remains a defining moment in the history of global terrorism, its consequences and the broader threat of terrorism have crossed national borders.

UNSC Reaffirms Condemnation Of 9/11

The Security Council also adopted a presidential statement reaffirming its “unequivocal condemnation” of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Arlington, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

The adoption of the Council’s first presidential statement on counter-terrorism in five years gave the 25th anniversary more than symbolic significance. A quarter-century after 9/11, the message from the meeting was clear: terrorism remains an international challenge, and confronting it continues to require collective action.