Khalid Sheikh, four others charged in 9/11 attacks

WASHINGTON: The United States issued charges on Wednesday against the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, along with four alleged plotters, setting the stage for a much-awaited military trial. Mohammed and the other four are accused of planning and executing the September 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks that killed 2,976 people in New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. They are accused of conspiring with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other members of the group. The official overseeing the Guantanamo tribunals, retired Vice Admiral Bruce MacDonald, referred the case to a capital military tribunal on charges of terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians and other counts, the Pentagon said. The decision to move to trial in a military court follows years of political and legal wrangling over whether terrorism suspects like Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators should be tried in civilian courts as criminals or before military courts as enemy combatants. Asked on Wednesday about the decision to proceed to trial, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “It has been more than 10 years since 9/11 and the president is committed to ensuring that those who were accused of perpetrating the attacks against the United States be brought to justice.” The referral of charges comes one year after the administration abandoned efforts to try the five before a civilian court near the site of the World Trade Centre attack, as US President Barack Obama had promised, and shifted the case to a military tribunal at Guantanamo. agencies

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