Silent tribute to US victims

The victims were remembered at a service in Glasgow

Scotland fell silent as the country joined the rest of Europe in a day of mourning for those who lost their lives in the American terrorist attacks.

Silence fell at 1100BST for three minutes in an act of sombre remembrance.

Emergency services paused and remembered their American colleagues who have been killed in New York and Washington - as well as the others still working to save lives.

In common with people across Europe, workers halted their day-to-day tasks at airports, military bases, shops and council offices across the country.

Thousands gathered in George Square

Traffic lights stayed at red to allow drivers time for reflection on the atrocity which has claimed thousands of lives.

In Edinburgh, traffic came to a standstill as crowds gathered on Princes Street to observe the three minutes' silence.

Hundreds stood in Princes Street Gardens with their heads bowed as the union flag flew at half mast from Edinburgh Castle.

Workmen dismantling the scaffolding built for last month's Military Tattoo at the castle put up an American flag and stopped their work.

Around 200 tourists, most of them Americans, gathered around the flag to observe the three minute silence.

Multi-faith service

A special service was also held at St Andrew's and St George's church in Edinburgh's New Town.

In Glasgow, an estimated 4,000 people gathered in George Square for a multi-faith service.

George Square was hung with giant black drapes, and on nearby buildings the Union flag and Saltire flew at half-mast.

Representatives of many faiths were joined by Lord Provost Alex Mosson and the American Consul-General in Edinburgh, Ms Liane Dorsey.

Two members of an American Airlines crew, normally stationed in Chicago but stranded in Glasgow because of travel difficulties, held aloft their national flag.

The World Trade Center was destroyed

In Lockerbie, where 270 died when Pan Am Flight 103 came down in December 1988, the town hall bell tolled to signal the start of the silence.

Police officers stood at the town's war memorial bowing their heads while the people of the town stopped to pay their respects.

The silence was also observed by police and prison service staff at Camp Ziest in the Netherlands, where the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is currently being held pending his appeal.

Thousands of Aberdonians lined Union Street as the chimes of Mither Kirk St Nicholas brought the city to a standstill.

Traffic lights were all switched to red and firefighters turned out at stations in the city to observe the silence, which was also marked by the city council's 11,000 employees.

Emergency services

Traffic lights also turned to red in the centre of Dundee, where prayers were said in the City Square.

A crowd gathered around the town house in Inverness, where the flag flew at half mast, as shoppers, office workers and the emergency services marked the silence.

At the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness the emergency siren gave a signal for workers to down tools and pay their respects.

A special prayer vigil was held at Selkirk Parish Church in the Scottish Borders.