New York City will mark the 8th anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center next Friday.

The ceremony will be similar to years past, local TV news channel NY1 said on Friday. Family members and survivors will gather at Zuccotti Park, across the street from the site.

Moments of silence will be observed four times during the service, twice at the precise times the two planes struck the towers, and at the two moments when the towers fell.

In tradition, victims' names will be read aloud one by one.

Family members will be paired with volunteers from the five boroughs of the city to read the names. Volunteers were chosen to highlight the fact that Sept. 11 was officially designated the " National Day of Service and Remembrance" this year, said NY1.

The 9/11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. In total 2, 993 people, including the hijackers, died in the attacks. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2009)