![Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (Arabic: ???? ??? ????; also transliterated as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, et al., and also known by as many as twenty-seven aliases[1] (b. March 1, 1964, or April 14, 1965) is a prisoner in U.S. custody for alleged acts of terrorism, including mass murder. Formerly a Kuwaiti member of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization, according to the 9/11 Commission Report he was "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks." He is also thought to have had a role in many of the most significant terrorist plots over the last twenty years, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Operation Bojinka plot, an aborted 2002 attack on Los Angeles' U.S. Bank Tower, the Bali nightclub bombings, the failed bombing of American Airlines Flight 63, and the murder of Daniel Pearl. He was captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on March 1, 2003 by the Pakistani ISI, possibly in a joint action with agents of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation, and has been in U.S. custody since that time. Mohammed is thought to have been born in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan, and spent some of his formative years in Kuwait. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood at age 16 and returned to Pakistan soon after, studied in the United States for several years, and left for Afghanistan in the 1980s where he and his brothers fought against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He is thought to have commenced anti-American terrorist operations in the early 1990s. Until his capture in Pakistan in 2003, he was an important figure in Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization, where he came to head the group's propaganda operations sometime around 1999. He was indicted on terrorism charges in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in January 1996 and was subsequently placed on the October 10, 2001 initial list of the FBI's twenty-two Most Wanted Terrorists. In September 2006, the U.S. government announced it had](/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20080806__20080807_A16_ND07GITMOSIDEp1.jpg "20080806__20080807_A16_ND07GITMOSIDE~p1.JPG")
Omar Khadr, a Canadian captured at age 15, faces charges including murder for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. special forces soldier during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2002. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 8.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani often referred to as KSM, is the highest-ranking al-Qaeda suspect in U.S. custody. He is charged with masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks and could face the death penalty. Pretrial hearings are expected in September, but a trial date has not been set.
Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni, is one of four alleged co-conspirators who face a joint trial with Mohammed. They too could face the death penalty. Binalshibh allegedly helped find flight schools for the hijackers, helped them enter the United States and helped finance their operation.
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi of Yemeni descent, is charged with organizing and directing the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. Prosecutors are also seeking the death sentence for him, on charges that include murder, treachery and terrorism.
Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan, is accused of throwing a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers and their interpreter as they drove through the capital of Afghanistan in 2002. His lawyer says he was 16 or 17 at the time, but the military says a bone scan suggests he may have been 18. Pretrial hearings are scheduled for next week in his case.
