US Defense Dept. reaches plea deals with three 9/11 defendants The US Department of Defense has announced that plea agreements have been reached with three defendants charged in connection with the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

Five individuals had been charged with involvement in plotting and carrying out the attacks.

The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that alleged mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two others entered into pretrial agreements.

The specific terms and conditions of the agreements were not disclosed, but US media reports say the three are expected to avoid the death penalty and receive life sentences in exchange for pleading guilty to the charge of killing 2,976 people.

The three are being tried by a military commission at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The likely sentencing will come more than 20 years after the terror attacks.

Reactions to the plea agreements have been mixed. US media report that some families of the victims want the defendants to get the death penalty, while others want them to admit their guilt.

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