US Reaches Plea Deal with 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
The United States has reached a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and two other defendants, according to the US Department of Defence. Mohammed, often known as KSM, was captured in Pakistan in 2003 for his alleged involvement in the terror attacks.
In 2008, Mohammed was charged with a list of crimes including conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, and terrorism and material support of terrorism. The US had initially sought the death penalty for Mohammed.
Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi have also reached plea agreements. The men agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
The 9/11 Attacks
On September 11, 2001, the United States faced the deadliest terrorist attack in its history. More than 3,000 people were killed in the terror attacks. In a span of just 102 minutes, the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Centre collapsed after planes hijacked by Al Qaeda operatives crashed into them.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the northeastern US to California. They seized control of the jets to use them as passenger-filled missiles. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the American military) in Arlington, Virginia. Another plane crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching its presumed target. The attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 overcame the hijackers and the plane crashed in a field, preventing another target from being hit.
Doubts Revealed
Plea deal -: A plea deal is an agreement in a legal case where the accused agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge to avoid a more severe punishment.
9/11 Mastermind -: The 9/11 mastermind is the person who planned and organized the 9/11 attacks, which were a series of terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a person who is believed to have planned the 9/11 attacks. He was captured in 2003 and faced many serious charges.
Conspiracy -: Conspiracy means secretly planning to do something illegal or harmful with other people.
Terrorism -: Terrorism is the use of violence and threats to scare people, usually for political reasons.
Life sentence -: A life sentence means that a person will spend the rest of their life in prison.
Death penalty -: The death penalty is a punishment where a person is sentenced to die for their crimes.
Al-Qaeda -: Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group that was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. They use violence to try to achieve their goals.
World Trade Center towers -: The World Trade Center towers were two very tall buildings in New York City that were destroyed during the 9/11 attacks.
