The alleged 9/11 mastermind will be transferred from Guantanamo to New York for a trial in which the death penalty will be sought, the US has confirmed.
Four men - the two Yemenis, a Saudi and a Pakistani-born Kuwaiti - will face trial alongside Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of helping finance and plan the attacks of 11 September 2001 in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Mr Mohammed has been described by US investigators as "one of history's most infamous terrorists". They say he has admitted being responsible "from A to Z" for the 9/11 attacks.
Believed to be the number three al-Qaeda leader, he was captured in Pakistan in March 2003. He told a pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo in December 2008 that he wanted to plead guilty to all charges against him.
But intelligence memos released earlier this year revealed he had been subjected to harsh interrogation techniques including water-boarding on multiple occasions since his capture - potentially rendering some evidence inadmissible.
Congressmen Howard McKeon, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said the decision would introduce "unnecessary risk to the citizens of New York".
But Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said the decision demonstrates "to the world that the most powerful nation on earth also trusts its judicial system".
The move is part of a White House bid to close Guantanamo by 22 January 2010.
Mr Obama's administration says it will try some detainees in US courts and repatriate or resettle others who are not perceived as a threat.
However, questions remain over the fate of those assessed as dangerous but who for legal reasons could not be prosecuted in a US court - prompting suggestions that the deadline will slip.
Is this enough for those people?
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