9/11 mastermind KSM and two other terrorists awaiting trial on Guantanamo Bay strike plea deals

The alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and two other terrorists being held on Guantánamo Bay will be spared the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, it was revealed Wednesday.

The announcement came as a bitter pill to swallow for victims’ families who have anxiously awaited the conclusion of the case for nearly 24 years — many of whom felt death was the only appropriate punishment for the perpetrators of the heinous attacks.

A spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), which is prosecuting the case, confirmed it had entered into pre-trial agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the accused principal architect of the al Qaeda attacks — and two alleged co-conspirators, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, all of whom have been held at the US military prison on the coast of Cuba since 2003.

“In exchange for removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three Accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” said a letter signed by Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, chief prosecutor for the OMC, and sent to victims’ families Wednesday.

News that the death penalty was no longer on the table for the suspects — whose alleged actions killed nearly 3,000 in the worst terror attack on US soil in American history — came as a gut punch to victims’ families .

“I am very disappointed. We waited patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty — the government has failed us,” Daniel D’Allara, whose twin brother, John, was one of 23 NYPD cops killed the day of the attacks, told The Post.

Retired police officer Jim Smith, husband of Moira Smith, the only female police officer who died on Sept. 11 said he felt like he had been “kicked in the balls.”

“The prosecution and families have waited 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They took that opportunity away from us,” the anguished widower said.

“They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty.”

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Retired cop Kathy Vigiano, wife of NYPD Det. Joseph Vigiano, who was killed on 9/11, said: “I am angry and disappointed that enemy combatants who killed thousands of Americans in our homeland are now able to exploit the US judicial system to their benefit, receiving support from American taxpayers for shelter, food, and healthcare for the rest of their lives.”

The guilty plea hearings — to charges including murder and conspiracy — could take place as early as next week, with the sentencing hearings expected sometime next summer, according to the letter obtained by The Post.

The OMC letter revealed that the terror suspects have also agreed to respond to any questions the family members of victims have “regarding their roles and reasons for conducting the September 11 attacks.”

Family members were told they were allowed to submit questions which would be funneled to the men through their defense attorneys and answered within 90 days.

It was not immediately known where the men will be incarcerated following their pleas.

Terry Strada, national chair of 9/11 Families United, a community of families of people murdered in the attacks, said some of the relatives wanted a plea deal “because they wanted it to end” after waiting for justice for more than two decades.

“But for me personally… I wanted a trial, I wanted him to be found guilty, and I wanted him to be punished accordingly,” said Strada, whose husband Tom Strada, a 41-year-old bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, was in the north tower when the planes hit and was killed.

Describing the terms of the deal, Strada said: “We’ll take off the death penalty, you say you’re guilty, and you get to live in Gitmo country club until you die.”

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“I’ve been there,” she added. “It’s a lot cushier than it would be in a max prison.”

The defendants stand accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa. on Sept. 11, 2001.

The three accused who have accepted a plea deal — along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh — were initially jointly arraigned on June 5, 2008, then again on May 5, 2012, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

The OMC said it first entered into plea deal negotiations with the suspects’ defense counsel in March 2022.

Mohammed, known to the FBI as “KSM,” is said to have proposed the idea for the attacks to Osama bin Laden in 1996. The Pakistani-born terrorist is accused of playing a key role in the planning, including training some of the hijackers in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He was captured in Pakistan in March, 2003 and interrogated at secret CIA prisons, including being waterboarded 183 times, which attorneys argue constitutes torture and should render any testimony he gave inadmissable.

Bin Attash allegedly provided key training to terrorist hijackers, including lessons on hand-to-hand combat, as well as conducted meticulous research into airline timetables. Born in Saudi Arabia, he lost part of his right leg fighting the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, where he joined the jihad at age 14 along with his older brother, who was killed in the battle.

Al Hawsawi is a citizen of Saudi Arabia charged with helping hijackers with their travel arrangements and finances.

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He was captured in Pakistan along with Mohammed on March 1, 2003.

Soon after news broke of the plea deal, the White House issued a statement through a National Security Council official distancing itself from the agreement.

“The President and White House played no role in this process. The President has directed his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter.”

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry, who has been inundated with calls from officers’ families upon learning of the plea deal, said it was “heartbreaking and infuriating.”

“Their loved ones’ sacrifice is being disrespected, and they are being victimized all over again. These individuals masterminded an attack on our nation that not only claimed 2,977 lives that day, but thousands more in the years since,” Hendry said.

“Their crime merits the ultimate punishment. There should be no plea and absolutely no leniency.”

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro told The Post that the FDNY’s thousands of firefighters feel “betrayed and disgusted.”

“Three hundred and forty-three New York City firefighters died on that day, and hundreds have died since then — we’re still losing three firefighters a month to the effects of 9/11 Ground Zero,” said Ansbro, who responded to the attacks on his first day on the job.

“We feel betrayed and disgusted that they will not face the ultimate justice of the death penalty…   that these terrorists were offered a plea deal which will allow them to live into old age with contact with their families.”

— Additional reporting by Ben Kochman and Katie Donlevy

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