The US has reached a plea agreement with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, along with two other defendants, as confirmed by the Department of Defence on Wednesday.
Captured in Pakistan in 2003, Mohammed was charged in 2008 with multiple offenses including conspiracy, murder under the law of war, and terrorism, according to CNN. The US intends to pursue the death penalty for him.
Additionally, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi have agreed to plea deals. The New York Times reports they will plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for life sentences, avoiding the death penalty.
The September 11, 2001 attacks, the deadliest terrorist acts in US history, resulted in over 3,000 deaths. Within 102 minutes, hijacked planes caused the collapse of New York’s World Trade Center towers. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists took control of four flights, crashing two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth in Pennsylvania after passengers intervened.
