10 months ago
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused arsenic the main plotter successful al-Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks connected the United States, has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday, pointing to a long-delayed solution successful an onslaught that altered the people of the United States and overmuch of the Middle East.
He and 2 accomplices, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to participate the pleas astatine the subject committee astatine Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arsenic soon arsenic adjacent week.
Pentagon officials declined to instantly merchandise the presumption of the plea bargain. The New York Times, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, said the presumption included the men’s longstanding information that they beryllium spared hazard of the decease penalty.
The U.S. statement with the men to participate into a plea statement comes much than 16 years aft their prosecution began for al-Qaeda's attack. It comes much than 20 years aft militants flew commandeered commercialized airliners into buildings. The onslaught killed astir 3,000 radical and triggered years of U.S. wars against militant extremist groups that reshaped Middle East countries and, successful galore ways, U.S. society.
Terry Strada, nationalist chairperson of a radical of families of victims called 9/11 Families United, had been astatine Manhattan national tribunal for a proceeding connected 1 of galore civilian lawsuits erstwhile she heard quality of the plea agreement.
Strada said galore families person conscionable wanted to spot the men admit guilt.
“For maine personally, I wanted to spot a trial,” she said. “And they conscionable took distant the justness I was expecting, a proceedings and the punishment.”
“They were cowards erstwhile they planned the attack. And they’re cowards today,” she said.
Dozens of relatives of those killed died portion awaiting solution of the case, Strada said.
