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Key 9/11 suspect confesses guilt Key 9/11 suspect 'admits guilt'
(about 1 hour later)
The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks has confessed to his role in them, and 30 other terror plots around the world, the Pentagon says. The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks has admitted his role in them, and 30 other plots in a hearing at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon says.
"I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z," said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a transcript of a US hearing at Guantanamo Bay prison camp. "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z," said Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a partial transcript from a closed-door hearing.
He also said he had planned attacks on Big Ben and Heathrow airport in London.He also said he had planned attacks on Big Ben and Heathrow airport in London.
The hearing was held to determine whether he was an "enemy combatant" who should remain in detention.The hearing was held to determine whether he was an "enemy combatant" who should remain in detention.
It could open the way for Mohammed to face criminal charges and eventually a trial before a special military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay. It could open the way for Mohammed to face criminal charges and eventually a trial before a special military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
KEY TARGETS Library Tower, Los AngelesSears Tower, ChicagoPlaza Bank, Washington StateEmpire State Building, NYHeathrow Airport, LondonBig Ben, London The 14 key detaineesKEY TARGETS Library Tower, Los AngelesSears Tower, ChicagoPlaza Bank, Washington StateEmpire State Building, NYHeathrow Airport, LondonBig Ben, London The 14 key detainees
According to the transcripts, Sheikh Mohammed admitted responsibility for a series of attacks, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York and the attempt by the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, to down an American plane. "I was the operational director for Sheikh Osama Bin Laden for the organising, planning, follow-up and execution of the 9/11 operation," Mohammed told the hearing, in a statement read by a representative.
He also claimed to be behind plots to assassinate the late Pope John Paul II and former US President Bill Clinton. According to the partial transcripts, he also admitted responsibility for a series of attacks, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, the bombing of nightclubs in Bali in 2002 and a Kenyan hotel in the same year.
Many of the operations, including plans to attack Heathrow Airport and Big Ben in London, never happened. He claimed responsibility for the failed attempt by the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, to bring down an American plane.
He also listed a string of plots that never came to fruition, including plans to attack Heathrow Airport, Canary Wharf and Big Ben in London, to hit targets in Israel, and to blow up the Panama Canal.
There was a follow-up project to the 11 September attacks, which involved hitting towers in the US cities of Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and the Empire State Building in New York, and to attack US nuclear power stations.
He also claimed to be behind plots to assassinate the late Pope John Paul II and former US President Bill Clinton, the transcript said.
He mentioned the killing in Pakistan of kidnapped US journalist Daniel Pearl - which he has been accused of carrying out personally - but it is not clear whether he was admitting responsibility.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Mohammed confessed to the beheading in a blacked-out section of the transcript.
'Don't like to kill kids'
Mohammed seemed to express some regret over the deaths on 11 September, 2001.
"When I said I'm not happy that 3,000 been killed in America, I feel sorry even. I don't like to kill children and the kids," he said, according to the transcript.
Transcripts of his testimony were translated from Arabic and edited by the US Defense Department to remove sensitive intelligence material before release.Transcripts of his testimony were translated from Arabic and edited by the US Defense Department to remove sensitive intelligence material before release.
'Sham tribunals' It appeared, from a judge's question, that Mohammed had made allegations of torture in US custody.
Mohammed is the most high-profile of 14 "high value" detainees recently transferred from secret CIA prisons abroad to the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba. However, when asked whether his statement was produced under duress, he said it was not.
The closed-door hearings were held over the weekend. It is the first time Mohammed has faced a court since his capture in March 2003 in Pakistan. Mohammed is the most high-profile of 14 "high value" detainees transferred in September from secret CIA prisons abroad to the Guantanamo Bay camp.
Some of the 14 have now appeared in the closed-door hearings, which began over the weekend. Others have refused to take part in the process.
Process condemned
It is the first time Mohammed has faced a court since his capture in March 2003 in Pakistan.
The US hearings have been widely criticised by lawyers and human rights groups as sham tribunals, with no chance for the defendants to get a fair trial.The US hearings have been widely criticised by lawyers and human rights groups as sham tribunals, with no chance for the defendants to get a fair trial.
Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said there was no way of knowing whether the confession was the result of torture.
"We need to know if this purported confession would be enough to convict him at a fair trial," he said.
Mohammed, a Pakistan national, was said to be the third most senior al-Qaeda leader before his capture.Mohammed, a Pakistan national, was said to be the third most senior al-Qaeda leader before his capture.
The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera says there is nothing new in Mohammed's admission and that there is a transcript of his interrogation over 9/11 available on the web. The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera says Mohammed has admitted his role in such attacks before.
Its significance lies in the fact that he made the statements at the hearing, which could now lead to a trial before a military tribunal, our correspondent says.Its significance lies in the fact that he made the statements at the hearing, which could now lead to a trial before a military tribunal, our correspondent says.