Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here is a look at the life of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the alleged 9/11 co-conspirators.
Personal
Birth date: March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965 (both are used)
Birth place: Kuwait
Father: Father’s name unavailable publicly
Mother: Mother’s name unavailable publicly
Marriage: Wife’s name unavailable publicly
Education: Attended Chowan College; North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, degree in Mechanical Engineering, 1986
Other Facts
Has been called the mastermind of the September 11th attacks.
Is sometimes called KSM.
Timeline
1996 – Mohammed is indicted on seven counts of terror conspiracy in the Southern District of New York for his alleged involvement in a failed plot to blow up as many as a dozen American commercial airliners over the Pacific.
September 11, 2001 – Terror attacks.
October 10, 2001 – The FBI releases a list of its 22 “most wanted terrorists.” Mohammed is on the list.
March 1, 2003 – Mohammed is captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
September 6, 2006 – The United States acknowledges Mohammed has been held at a secret overseas CIA prison and is being transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where he will face a trial before a military commission.
March 15, 2007 – The Pentagon releases a 26-page transcript in which Mohammed says he was responsible for 9/11 and confesses to the killing of journalist Daniel Pearl. He also claims he was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center attack and a 2002 Bali nightclub bombing, as well as Richard Reid’s 2001 shoe-bombing attempt.
February 11, 2008 – The United States announces it will seek the death penalty against Mohammad for charges related to the 9/11 attacks which include: 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.
June 5, 2008 – The arraignment for Mohammed and four co-defendants is held. Mohammed tells the judge, Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann, that he wants to represent himself and wishes to become a martyr.
January 21, 2009 – At the request of newly inaugurated US President Barack Obama, trial proceedings are frozen for 120 days.
April 16, 2009 – The Justice Department releases a 2005 memo which states that Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003.
November 13, 2009 – The Justice Department announces five Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Mohammed, will be transferred to New York for trial in a US District Court courtroom just blocks from the site where the Twin Towers stood.
April 4, 2011 – In a reversal, Attorney General Eric Holder announces that Mohammed will face a military trial at Guantanamo Bay rather than a civilian trial in New York.
May 31, 2011 – The Department of Defense (DoD) announces that capital charges have been re-filed against Mohammed and four other alleged 9/11 co-conspirators. The charges include: 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, hijacking aircraft and terrorism.
May 5, 2012 – Is arraigned at Guantanamo Bay.
October 17, 2012 – At a pretrial hearing, Mohammed declares that the US government sanctioned torture in the name of national security and equates the nearly 3,000 people killed on 9/11 to the “millions” killed by America’s military. After Mohammed’s remarks, military judge Captain James Pohl says that no other personal comments by the accused will be allowed.
December 9, 2014 – The Senate Intelligence Committee releases its report on “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by the CIA in the post-9/11 era. The CIA had said the method was effective in helping interrogators pull information from Mohammed, but according to the Senate report, Mohammed figured out a way to “beat the system,” often recanting information he told CIA officers to get them to stop the waterboarding.
December 18, 2020 – Military judge Col. Douglas K. Watkins extends litigation deadlines, which will postpone the start date of the trial. This follows the recusal and resignation of two judges earlier in 2020, and delays brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
March 2022 – Lawyers are in discussions with prosecutors to reach a possible plea agreement and avoid a death penalty trial, according to a person familiar with the matter. On July 31, 2024, the DoD announces that the US has reached a plea deal with Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the 2001 terror attacks. Two days later, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin abruptly revokes the plea deal in a surprise memo.
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