9/11 mastermind to remain in detention without trial: report

The Washington Post says Khalid Sheik Mohammed will likely remain in military detention for foreseeable future.

WASHINGTON: The alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, will likely remain in military detention without trial for the foreseeable future, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said the administration of President Barack Obama has concluded that it could not put Mohammed on trial in a federal court because of the opposition of lawmakers in Congress and in New York.

There is also little internal support for a military prosecution at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because it would alienate Obama's liberal supporters, the report said.

The White House has made it clear that a federal prosecution of Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators has not been ruled out, the paper said.

But officials says a trial is unlikely to happen before the next presidential election and would require a different political environment, The Post noted.