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NEW YORK, Friday (Reuters) Bells rang across New York and moments of silence were observed as children led an emotional ceremony to remember the 2,792 people killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 two years ago, when hijacked planes destroyed the 110-story twin towers.

The solemn ceremony marked the anniversary at the site now called Ground Zero as the State Department in Washington urged caution among Americans overseas due to indications that the Islamist al Qaeda network, blamed for the Sept. 11 disaster, was planning even "more devastating" attacks.

In New York thousands of victims' relatives, some holding flowers and portraits of their loved ones, took part in the ceremony, which lasted over three hours. Some wore T-shirts showing portraits of the dead. Police and firefighters wore dress uniforms, bagpipes were played and many were tearful.

By the gaping hole where New York's tallest buildings once stood, children related to the dead read out the victims' names, leaving many family members wracked with tears.

Bells rang and silence was observed at 8:46 a.m. (1246 GMT) to mark the moment when the first plane hit one tower and at 9:03 a.m. (1303 GMT), when the second airliner crashed into the other, and again at 9:59 a.m. (1359 GMT) and 10:29 a.m. (1429 GMT) when each tower crumbled.

In Washington, President George W. Bush attended a church service to remember the victims of the New York attacks and of two other hijacked planes - one that crashed into the Pentagon, killing 189 people, and the other into a field in Pennsylvania, where 44 lives were lost.

In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, church bells tolled at 10:06 a.m. (1406 GMT) to mark the moment the plane plunged to earth after passengers apparently fought to regain control from hijackers. Those passengers were awarded Congressional Gold Medals. "Countless innocent lives were saved by those courageous passengers," Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said at a ceremony at the Capitol.

At the Pentagon, 20,000 military and civilian workers were silent at 9:37 a.m. (1337 GMT) to mark the moment a hijacked plane crashed into the symbol of American military might.

At dusk two beams of light were switched on until dawn on Friday. The "Tribute in Light" to the dead and workers who cleared the site was first used in March 2002.

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