9/11 Conspirators to Be Transferred from Gitmo to NYC for Trial

The man who admits masterminding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be transferred along with four co-conspirators from the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to New York City for trial, a White House source said Friday.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other detainees will be tried in a civilian federal court.

The source, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said Attorney General Eric Holder would officially announce the decision later in the day.

Holder was also expected to announce that Abdul al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a major suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole, will be tried before a military commission, along with a number of other suspects. It was unclear where the commission would be held.

The actual transfer of the detainees from Guantanamo isn't expected to happen for weeks because formal charges have not been filed against most of them.

Critics, including some lawmakers, have fought any effort to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial in the U.S., saying it would be too dangerous. The White House has defended the planned trials, saying many terrorists have been safely tried, convicted and imprisoned on U.S. soil, including 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef.

The attorney general's decision in these cases comes before a Monday deadline for the government to decide how to proceed against 10 detainees.

The news of the transfers comes on the same day as the resignation of White House counsel Greg Craig, who had been criticized for his efforts to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. President Obama had planned to close the prison by January, but that deadline is no longer expected to be met.