Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Khalid Shaikh Mohammad; among at least fifty pseudonyms; Arabic: خالد شيخ محمد, born March 1, 1964; or April 14, 1965) is a Kuwaiti-born Pakistani terrorist affiliated with the al-Qaeda organisation. He is currently held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-related charges. He is seen as the person who planned the September 11 attacks in the 9/11 Commission Report.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a member of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization, leading al-Qaeda's propaganda operations from around 1999 until late 2001. He is widely regarded as the person who originally came up with the "planes operation" plan to Osama bin Laden which involved using hijacked planes in suicide attacks. He was born in Kuwait to ethnic Baloch parents originally from Balochistan, Pakistan. He graduated from the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan.
He confessed to FBI agents to a role in many of the most significant terrorist plots over the last twenty years. He also admitted to personally overseeing the progress of the hijackers for the September 11 attacks.
Mohammed's trial (started again or) restarted on 7 September 2021.
On July 31, 2024, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed avoided a death penalty trial, in exchange for a sentence of life imprisonment.
