Alleged 9/11 mastermind, 13 others closer to U.S. military trial

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fourteen suspected terrorists listed as "high-value detainees" at the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been designated as enemy combatants, placing them in line to be charged and put on trial by the U.S. military, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

The detainees -- including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States -- were moved to Guantanamo Bay by the president last September after being held in secret CIA prisons around the world.

All 14 detainees went through closed hearings before a military panel to determine whether they would be eligible for a military tribunal.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England approved their designation as enemy combatants by the panels, paving the way for military prosecutors to charge them, Pentagon officials said.

Among the other high-value detainees are Ramzi bin al-Shibh, alleged to be another key 9/11 planner; and Abu Faraj al-Libi, allegedly a top al Qaeda planner.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/09/enemy.combatants/