Charges Filed Against 9/11 Terror Suspects

US military prosecutors at Guantanamo were expected to file fresh charges on Tuesday against the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four alleged co-conspirators.

The recommendations, which must still be approved by a military tribunal official, set the stage for the high-profile Al-Qaeda suspects to finally face justice almost a decade after the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

President Barack Obama’s administration last month abandoned plans to try the five in a civilian court just blocks from the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, felled by Al-Qaeda hijackers on September 11, 2001.

A letter sent to families of 9/11 victims said fresh charges against Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, and Mustapha Ahmed al-Hawsawi would be filed at Guantanamo on Tuesday.

It listed the charges as: “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.”

Almost identical charges were filed in May 2008 but dropped when the Obama administration announced plans to try the 9/11 suspects in a civilian court in New York.