Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 11 September attacks, has admitted responsibility, a court transcript says. "I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z," he said. Good enough. Hang him.
He also reportedly confessed to planning to attack Big Ben and Heathrow airport in London, at the hearing at the US Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba. The hearing was the first time the Pakistani national had faced a court since being captured four years ago. Sheikh Mohammed was believed to be the third most senior al-Qaeda leader before his capture in March 2003. He was held in US custody at an undisclosed location from then until his transfer to Guantanamo Bay.
Hearings opened at the detention camp last week to decide whether key suspects can be deemed enemy combatants and therefore face military trials. In total, 14 terror suspects are due at the hearings. The court is not open to the public. Transcripts of testimony have been translated from Sheikh Mohammed's Arabic and edited by the Pentagon to remove sensitive intelligence material.
| Trial transcript is here (pdf). |