Suspected 9/11 mastermind admits to British terror plots

Published on Thursday 15 March 2007 11:46

THE suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks confessed to plotting a chilling series of hits against British targets, including Big Ben and Heathrow Airport and more than 30 other sites around the world.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed made the admission during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon.

Mohammed said he planned the September 11 attacks "from A to Z" and went on to confess to the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, that killed 202 people, and a string of further attacks.

The transcript connects Mohammed to dozens of the worst terror plots of the past 15 years. The hearing held at the weekend ruled he was an "enemy combatant" who should remain in detention indefinitely.

It now opens the way for Mohammed to face criminal charges and eventually a trial.

The terrorist said he was involved in planning the 2002 bombing of a Kenya beach resort frequented by Israelis and the failed missile attack on an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya.

His words draw al-Qaida closer to plots of the early 1990s than the group has previously been connected to, including the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.

Other plots Mohammed said he was responsible for included planned attacks against the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Empire State Building and New York Stock Exchange and the Panama Canal.

He also said he was involved in planning assassination attempts against former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.