Man accused of plotting 9/11 to plead guilty, US government says

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged main plotter behind the September 11 terror attack which hit New York's Twin Towers in 2001. Credit: AP

The man accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 terror attack has agreed to plead guilty, the US Department of Defence says.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accomplices in the attack are all expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week.

The US agreement with the men to enter into a plea agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaeda's attack, and more than 20 years after militants flew commandeered commercial airliners into buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people.

US authorities believe Mohammed came up with the idea to use planes as weapons.

He allegedly received approval from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden - killed by US forces in 2011 - to craft what became the 9/11 hijackings and killings.

Families of many of the victims have said they wanted to see the men formally admit guilt.

Pentagon officials declined to immediately release the terms of the plea bargain.

Authorities captured Mohammed in 2003, and subjected him to waterboarding 183 times while in CIA custody before coming to Guantanamo. The use of torture became an obstacle to trying the men in the military commission at Guantanamo, because of evidence linked to abuse becoming inadmissible.

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The 9/11 attack triggered what President George Bush's administration called its war on terror, prompting US military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and years of military operations against armed extremist groups elsewhere in the Middle East. US retaliation brought the overthrow of two governments outright, devastated communities and countries caught in the battle, and played a role in inspiring the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprisings against authoritarian Middle East governments.

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