SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Relatives of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed have released the first photographs of the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind at Guantanamo Bay, and experts say the images are being used by terrorist groups to inspire attacks against the United States.
The photos, taken in July by the Red Cross at the detention center on a U.S. naval base in Cuba, show Mohammed sitting serenely and wearing a white robe.
They are the first known images of Mohammed since a widely distributed shot taken upon his capture in Pakistan in March 2003. The International Committee of the Red Cross took the images in July and sent them to his family, spokesman Bernard Barrett said Wednesday. Barrett said the photos were not intended for public release, but the organization does not impose conditions on detainee families.
The photos began appearing in recent days on websites that have previously been used by al-Qaeda and sympathizers to communicate with one another, said Jarret Brachman, the former research director at the Combating Terrorism Center of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
