US Defense Secretary Revokes Plea Deals for 9/11 Plotters

In a decisive move, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused perpetrators of the September 11 attacks. These individuals are detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a facility established in 2002 to house foreign militant suspects.

The Pentagon confirmed the cancellation of the agreements in a statement issued on Friday, though it did not elaborate on specifics. 'Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements,' Austin wrote in a memo to Susan Escallier, who oversees the Pentagon's Guantanamo war court.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, allegedly the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, had his plea deal revoked along with those of four other defendants. This decision follows criticism from several Republican lawmakers who condemned the initial plea deals, describing them as a 'national disgrace.'

(With inputs from agencies.)