Sept. 11 Terrorist Mastermind Finally Pleads Guilty to Murdering 2,976 People
PHOTO: In this March 1, 2003 file photo obtained by The Associated Press, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan. (AP Photo/File)
The top suspect in the September 11 terror attacks will plead guilty to the murder of nearly 3,000 people on that terrible day.
The Defense Department released news of the plea deal late Wednesday.
The Pentagon says Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others – Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi – will plead guilty to all charges, including the murder of 2,976 people.
The Islamic jihadists helped to plot the coordinated terror attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and left a gaping hole in the side of the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
After the attack, President George W. Bush launched a war on terror, which led to the U.S. military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The 9/11 plea deal was reportedly made in exchange for a sentence of life in prison.
Some relatives of the victims are unhappy with the news, saying they deserve to see the men put on trial.
Terry Strada, the head of one group of families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, said of the terrorists, “They were cowards when they planned the attack, and they’re cowards today.”
“For me personally, I wanted to see a trial,” she continued. “And they just took away the justice I was expecting, a trial and the punishment.”
Michael Burke, whose fire captain brother Billy died in the collapse of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, said, “It took months or a year at the Nuremberg trials… To me, it has always been disgraceful that these guys, 23 years later, have not been convicted and punished for their attacks, or the crime. I never understood how it took so long.”
The prosecution’s case was held up by legal challenges and other delays for more than 16 years. Authorities captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in 2003.
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